8:55 Welcome and Introductions
9:00 Ethics in Guardianship Representation*
Eric M. Fink, Elon University School of Law, Greensboro
This session addresses the most common ethical issues arising when representing parties in a guardianship proceeding. Issues covered include establishing the attorney-client relationship, identifying potential conflicts of interest early, preserving client autonomy and protecting confidentiality, and more.
10:00 Break
10:10 Less Restrictive Alternatives and Supported Decision-Making
Nicki A. Engel, Johnston Allison & Hord PA, Charlotte
Hear the most recent changes to the NC General Statutes regarding the requirement that less restrictive alternatives to guardianship be explored and ruled out before proceeding with a guardianship action. The presenter also explores the concept of supportive decision-making and its use in avoiding guardianship proceedings.
11:10 Break
11:20 Preparing and Filing Guardianship Actions
Marjorie J. Brown, Elder Law & Estate Planning Solutions of the Piedmont, Concord
Review the various AOC forms used in guardianship proceedings; the necessary information to gather before filing an action; the various roles of the parties, interested persons, and the guardian ad litem in a guardianship proceeding; and the appropriate use of an interim guardianship.
12:20 Lunch Break
1:00 Preparing for and Conducting Guardianship Hearings
Jennifer M. Roden, Craige & Fox PLLC, Wilmington
Learn best practices to prepare for a hearing on a guardianship matter, from the use of discovery and preparing witnesses to how to present evidence, and object to evidence, presented in the hearing. This session also provides guidance on best practices for examining witnesses during a hearing.
2:00 Break
2:10 Guardianship Administration
Victor C. Garlock, Garlock & McKinney PC, Black Mountain
Explore the statutory requirements of administering a guardianship, from the filing of inventories and accountings to seeking court approval for the expenditure of guardianship assets, selling personal property, and selling real property.
3:10 Break
3:20 Putting It All Together: Case Studies of Guardianship Matters
Charlotte-Anne T. Alexander, Colombo Kitchin Dunn Ball & Porter LLP, Greenville
Put it all together with case studies to aid you in applying all the topics covered during the CLE to real-life scenarios.
4:20 Adjourn
* Indicates portion providing Ethics/Professional Responsibility credit
The 2024 Basics of Elder and Special Needs Law program offers a foundational knowledge base for building an elder and special needs law practice.
This year's program provides practical guidance on the basics of guardianship — an essential part of most elder and special needs law practices.
Charlotte-Anne T. Alexander is a Partner at Colombo Kitchin Dunn Ball & Porter LLP in Greenville. Her practice areas include estate and trust disputes, elder law, estate and trust planning and administration, guardianships and special needs planning.
Charlotte is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys, North Carolina Pro Bono Honor Society and the Elder & Special Needs Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Charlotte earned her B.S., with honors, in French and Psychology from The Ohio State University and her J.D. from Capital University Law School.
Click here for more information about Charlotte-Anne.
Marjorie J. Brown is the founding member and partner of Elder Law & Estate Planning Solutions of the Piedmont in Concord. She advises clients on effective asset protection strategies and estate planning to provide the maximum benefit to all concerned. While utilizing asset protection strategies, she also aids clients in qualifying themselves or their loved ones for Medicaid. She also advises clients managing a multitude of concerns surrounding family members with dementia and Alzheimer's.
Marjorie is certified as a Specialist in Elder Law by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Specialization and is also Certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation. She has extensive knowledge and experience with estate planning and administration, special needs planning, and issues surrounding guardianships of adults.
Marjorie has served on the School of Government Elder Abuse Advisory Committee and serves as the Chair of the Cabarrus County Task Force for the Prevention of Elder Abuse. She currently serves on the Council of North Carolina Bar Association -- Elder Law and Special Needs Section. She also serves on the Elder Law Specialty Committee of the North Carolina Bar, and is the Board Member Treasurer of both the NC Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law and the NC Guardianship Association.
Marjorie is a graduate from North Carolina State University and University of North Carolina School of Law.
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Nicki Applefield Engel is Special Counsel at Johnston Allison Hord in Charlotte. Her core areas of practice include estate and special needs planning, asset preservation, public benefits, and long-term care planning, guardianships and conservatorships, and probate and trust administration.
Nicki is licensed in North Carolina and South Carolina, and she has over a decade of experience representing and advocating for older adults and individuals with disabilities. She is certified by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization as an Elder and Special Needs Law Specialist and as a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation.
Nicki is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), and she is the past president of the North Carolina Chapter of NAELA. She is the current Chair of the Elder and Special Needs Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association and the Co-Chair of the Section's Pro Bono Committee.
Prior to joining Johnston Allison Hord, Nicki practiced at several firms across North Carolina in the areas of elder law and special needs planning. She worked as a public benefits paralegal before law school, which provided her with vital hands-on experience assisting individuals with disabilities and older adults.
Nicki earned her J.D. from the West Virginia University College of Law and her B.S. in political science from Appalachian State University.
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Eric M. Fink is an Associate Professor of Law at Elon University School of Law in Greensboro. He teaches civil procedure, professional responsibility, and employment law. He has also taught consumer law, labor law, cause lawyering, administrative law, and business associations.
Eric's research examines legal problems and institutions from a sociological perspective. In recent publications, he has addressed the effect of post-employment repayment obligations on employee mobility and exploitation, labor organizing among incarcerated workers and worker self-management in public services.
Before joining the Elon faculty, Fink taught legal writing at Stanford Law School, and practiced law in San Francisco and Philadelphia. He has also taught at St. Joseph's University in Philadelphia and the Anglo-American College in the Czech Republic.
Eric earned his B.A. in Sociology from The Johns Hopkins University, M.Sc. in Sociology from the London School of Economics, and his J.D. from New York University School of Law. He was a doctoral student in sociology at the University of Chicago.
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Victor C. Garlock is the Senior Managing Partner at Garlock & McKinney PC in Black Mountain. His practice areas include estate planning, estate administration (probate), guardianship law and business organization.
As the Public Guardian for Buncombe County, North Carolina, the Clerk of Court appoints Victor to serve as Guardian of the Estate for incompetent adults and children. He is a member of the Buncombe County Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association and the North Carolina Guardianship Association. He volunteers with the Pisgah Legal Services Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer Program to provide wills and powers of attorney to low income residents of Western North Carolina. He also works with Pisgah Legal Services to provide a telephone guardianship clinic to help low income clients needing assistance with guardianship matters.
After a brief stint working for another attorney in the Asheville area, Victor began his own practice in the fall of 1998. At the same time, he also began a personal bookkeeping business he called Daily Money Management, which became Fidelicare, Inc., in 2010. Fidelicare is devoted to helping people needing assistance with their daily affairs and supporting individuals serving others as trustee, attorney-in-fact (power of attorney) or guardian. Fidelicare also provides trustee services for trusts, including Special Needs Trusts. He maintained a solo law office until 2015, when Mariah McKinney joined his practice. In 2016, Victor and Mariah founded Garlock & McKinney PC, with offices in Black Mountain.
Click here for more information about Victor.
Brian T. Lawler is President at The Forest Law Group in Asheville. He focuses on Elder Law, Estate Planning, Medicaid Planning & Asset Protection, Incapacity Planning & Guardianships, and serving adults and children with disabilities.
Prior to embarking on his legal career, Brian worked in social services for nearly a decade serving children, adults, and families throughout Western North Carolina.
Brian earned his Bachelor's degree in Religious Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D. from Campbell University. He is licensed to practice in North Carolina and South Carolina.
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B. Bailey Liipfert III is Director & Shareholder at llman Spry Attorneys at Law in Winston-Salem. His practice focuses on elder law, disability planning, estate planning, and fiduciary administration of special needs trusts. He is a Certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation and by the North Carolina State Bar Board of Legal Specialization.
Bailey is an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and a frequent speaker at national programs. He is a former president of the North Carolina Chapter of NAELA, and is a former chairman of the North Carolina Elder Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association. He frequently is appointed trustee of trusts for persons with severe disabilities in all parts of North Carolina.
Bailey is active in his local community and currently serves on the board of directors of Commonwealth Community Trust, a nonprofit organization enriching the lives of special needs individuals throughout the United States. He serves as treasurer of Honorbridge (formerly Carolina Donor Services), a federally designated nonprofit saving lives by recovering donated organ tissue. He is a former chair of Beyond Academics, Inc., a post-secondary school education program for people with developmental disabilities. Bailey was also the former board chairman of The Adaptables Inc., a Center for Independent Living, and former chairman of the North Carolina Eye Bank, now known as Miracles in Sight, a non-profit that helps restore sight to people with damaged corneas in North Carolina, the nation, and around the world.
Bailey Liipfert is a charter member of the Special Needs Alliance, a national, non-profit organization committed to helping individuals with disabilities, their families, and the professionals who represent them.
Bailey earned his B.A. in Russian Language and Soviet Area Studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and his J.D., cum laude, at the Norman A. Wiggens Law School at Campbell University, then in Buies Creek.
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Jennifer M. Roden is a Partner at Craige & Fox PLLC in Wilmington. Her principal areas of practice are elder law, estate planning and fiduciary litigation.
Jennifer assists the New Hanover County Public Guardian, Lawrence S. Craige, in his capacity as Guardian of the Estate for wards in New Hanover County. She also manages guardianship cases for private clients in New Hanover and surrounding counties.
Jennifer is Vice-Chair of the Elder & Special Needs Law Section of the North Carolina Bar Association as well as a Secretary and council member of the NC chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA). She is a past president of the New Hanover County Estate Planning Council. She was a 2012–2013 Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging Fellow.
Jennifer is a Board Certified Specialist in Elder Law by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization and a Certified Elder Law Attorney by ABA-accredited National Elder Law Foundation.
Jennifer earned her B.A. in Political Science the University of Alabama and her J.D. from the University of Alabama School of Law.
After graduating from law school, Jennifer was awarded a fellowship from the Borchard Foundation Center on Law and Aging. As a Borchard Fellow, she worked as a staff attorney for the Elder Law Clinic of the University of Alabama School of Law representing older clients in legal matters such as resident's rights, estate planning and Medicaid Long Term Care planning.
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