The Atlanta Lawyer May 2014 | Page 37

section update Estate Planning & Probate Section By Robert E. Turner, Chair Turner Law, P.C. [email protected] T he Atlanta Bar’s Estate Planning and Probate Section fiscal year will be over on May 31, 2014. This year has been a tremendous year for our Section. We have had nationally-known, as well as Georgia-renowned speakers, at our Section’s events, including Natalie Choate, Professor Jeffery Pennell, Professor Mary Radford, and Professor Sam Donaldson. The topics at our monthly breakfast are always relevant and important to our practice. Our Section posts most, if not all, of our monthly morning CLE written materials on our Section’s website with the Atlanta Bar. Topics at our morning breakfast have ranged from estate planning for same-sex and non-married couples to a discussion with the Chief Judge of the new Georgia Tax tribunal. Please check out our Section’s website for this valuable CLE material. Our Section has had some great social events with other Sections of the Atlanta Bar and with a number of professional organizations in the Atlanta community. We gathered at Aja with the Georgia Society of CPAs in November 2013. We then gathered with the Georgia Financial Planners, the Atlanta Bar Elder Law Section, and the Atlanta Bar Tax Law Section in March 2014. Our Section was active in the creation of the Dekalb County Probate Court and the Fulton County Probate Court Probate Information Centers (PIC) that assist lower income individuals with the probate of estates and other related matters in the Atlanta Metro Area. The members of our Section regularly provide volunteer lawyers to staff the Fulton County and DeKalb County Probate Information Center. The DeKalb Probate Court Judge Jeryl Rosh frequently attends our monthly breakfast meetings, where she also encourages our Section members to volunteer for the DeKalb PIC. Fulton County Probate Court Judge Pinky Toomer attended our meeting on May 14 to promote the Fulton County PIC and collected signatures from volunteers to work in the PIC. Business School. She specializes in advising large multibusiness family enterprises on strategy and governance. The presentation from Dr. Pendergast was very informative and interesting. We thank everyone who attended. On May 1, Georgia State College of Law Professor