Name Organization Speaking At
Andrew Atkins
Andrew J. Atkins is a partner in the firm of Millender Elder Law LLC and practices in Columbia, South Carolina. He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), the South Carolina Chapter of NAELA (SC NAELA), the Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar, and the Richland County Bar Association. Mr. Atkins is the current President of SC NAELA and is a former Chair of the Elder Law Committee. He has helped to plan continuing legal education seminars on behalf of the Elder Law Committee and SC NAELA and has given presentations on various topics, including estate planning, long term care planning, special needs trusts, and guardianships and conservatorships. In 2013, he was selected as Outstanding Chapter Member of SC NAELA. Mr. Atkins earned his B.A. degree from Furman University and his J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Millender Elder Law LLC
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Catherine Kennedy
Catherine Kennedy is a certified specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law, practicing with the firm of Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA., in its Columbia office. She is a past chair of the Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Section of the Bar and was the first recipient of the Wilkins Award from the Section for meritorious service to the Bar. From 1987 to 1999, she served as the Richland County Probate Judge.
Ms. Kennedy frequently testifies before legislative committees on changes in South Carolina probate and trust law, and serves as an expert witness in probate matters. She served on the committee studying the Uniform Trust Code, which resulted in the enactment of the South Carolina Trust Code in 2005. She also chaired the Bench/Bar committee that recommended changes to the South Carolina Probate Code, which became effective on January 1, 2014, and the current changes to the Power of Attorney provisions of the S.C. Probate Code effective January 1, 2017.
Catherine Kennedy is certified as a civil court mediator and arbitrator and served on the task force to draft and implement the pilot mediation program in the probate courts. She also assisted in drafting Probate Court Rule 5, which provides for permanent mediation in the Probate Courts. She is currently member of the Board of Governors of the SC Bar.
Ms. Kennedy is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, is listed in Best Lawyers in America--Trust and Estates, and has been named a South Carolina Super Lawyer in Estate and Trust Litigation. She is currently a member of the South Carolina Bar's House of Delegates and the Executive Council of the Senior Lawyers' Division of the SC Bar.
Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA
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Chadwicke Groover
Chad Groover practices law at Upstate Elder Law, PA. His law practice focuses on estate planning, probate administration, long term care planning, Medicaid qualification, special needs trusts, and guardianship/conservatorship actions. Prior to being in private practice, Chad served as a Special Assistant United States Attorney prosecuting federal narcotics and firearms crimes and as a Counsel on the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Crime. He is the current Chair of the SC Bar Elder Law Committee. He and his wife Gwen live in Simpsonville and have two children, Ava and Willes.
Greenville County Probate Court
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Donna Sands
Donna V. Sands is a solo practitioner who practices at the law firm of Priest & Sands, LLC. Mrs. Sands devotes her practice to estate planning, adult guardianships, adult conservatorships, probate law and long term care planning. Mrs. Sands earned her B.A. degree from the University of South Florida in 1988 and her J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina in 1992. She is a member of the South Carolina Bar Association and the Dorchester County Bar Association. She is also a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has been certified as an Elder Law Attorney (CELA) by the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF).
Priest & Sands, LLC
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Franchelle Millender
FRANCHELLE C. MILLENDER is certified as a specialist in elder law by the National Elder Law Foundation. Her primary practice is Elder Law, including long-term care planning, special needs planning, estate planning, guardianship and conservatorship proceedings, probate, and related real estate matters. She received both her undergraduate and law degrees from The University of South Carolina. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, served on the National Board of Directors from 2009 to 2013, and is a charter member of its Council of Advanced Practitioners. Franchelle was named a NAELA Fellow in 2012. She served as the first chair of the Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar from 2004 to 2006 and was selected as a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel in 2008. She is a member of the Special Needs Alliance.
She is a frequent presenter on long-term care and special needs planning and is the principal author and editor of A Practical Guide to Elder and Special Needs Law in South Carolina , published by the South Carolina Bar. Ms. Millender is an adjunct professor at USC School of Law.
Millender Elder Law LLC
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Kathryn DeAngelo
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina Central University School of Law, Durham, NC, in May, 1984. After graduation, she served as law clerk to Henry E. Frye, former Justice and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court. She also has a B.A. in Business Education from Marshall University, Huntington, WV, and an M.Ed. from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Kathryn is licensed to practice law in South Carolina and North Carolina, and recently resigned to practice in the District of Columbia where she was licensed for almost 34 years. She is also admitted to practice before the United States Supreme Court. Prior to attending law school, Kathryn was a public school teacher and taught business/secretarial studies for twelve (12) years at DuVal High School in Prince George's County, MD. Kathryn has been a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) since 1991. In April 1995, Kathryn was the first attorney in South Carolina to become Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation [NELF] after successfully passing the first examination administered in November 1994 and completing ABA-approved requirements for the specialty certification. In November 2009, Kathryn was among twelve (12) North Carolina attorneys to become the first to be certified by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in elder law by NELF. Kathryn was honored to receive the 2016 South Carolina Leadership in Law Award. She also has an AV® Peer Review Rating from Martindale-Hubbell. After 34 years of practice in Surfside Beach, SC, Kathryn closed her law office in Surfside Beach, SC, in 2019, and moved to Charlotte, NC, to be closer to her son and other family members and friends. She plans to stay connected with the legal community and hopes to serve in a part-time position in the law profession. Some of Kathryn's professional activities, present and past, include: Board of Governors of the South Carolina Bar for the Third Judicial Region (2011-2014); South Carolina Bar Foundation (2011-2014); Representative, South Carolina Bar House of Delegates for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Horry County, SC (July 2006 - July 2010 and July 2011-July 2014); South Carolina Bar, North Carolina Bar, and District of Columbia Bar; South Carolina Chapter NAELA, Board of Directors (2011-2013), past President (2001-2003), Chairperson of the Public Policy Committee (2011-2012), and Legislative Committee; Council of Advanced Practitioners [CAP] of NAELA 2008 - 2017; National College of Probate Judges (2006-2017); Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Section of the South Carolina Bar, Member (1999-2002), Secretary (2002-2003), Vice-Chairperson (2003-04), Chairperson-Elect (2004-2005), Chairperson (2005-2006), Immediate Past-Chairperson (2006-2007), Section Delegate (2007-2008), and Ex Officio (2008-2010); Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar, a founding member, current member, Chairperson (2008-2010), Chairperson, Legislative Subcommittee (2010-2011) and served as Chair of subcommittee for Fabian bills (2016-2017); Elder Law Section of the North Carolina Bar (2010-2013; 2020); North Carolina Bar, Board of Legal Specialization - Elder Law (Initial Term 2018-2020; Second Term 2021-2023); North Carolina Chapter NAELA, current member and Board of Directors (2011-2016); Board of Visitors, North Carolina Central University School of Law (2006-2010); South Carolina Super Lawyers 2011-2016; Professional Responsibility Committee and Professional Liability Committee of the South Carolina Bar (2019-2021); CLE Committee and Lawyer Mentoring Committee of the Mecklenburg County Bar (2020-2021); Horry County Probate Court Advisory Committee (2002-2015); Legacy Advisory Council, Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC (2011-2015); voted Best of the Beach Elder Law-Myrtle Beach Herald several years, including 2018; AVVO rating 10; South Carolina Super Lawyer; past member of various professional and civic organizations, including the Senior Advisory Board to Myrtle Beach City Council and Senior Summit Board of Horry-Georgetown Technical College. Kathryn has been a frequent presenter and lecturer on elder law issues at CLE's sponsored by the South Carolina and North Carolina Bar, NAELA, SC and NC NAELA, and Mecklenburg County Bar, and frequently speaks to various state and community groups on elder law issues, and has been invited to teach about elder law at classes at Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College.
*Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo, Esq.
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Kirby Mitchell
Kirby Mitchell is the Legal
Director of the Medical Legal Partnership (MLP) in Greenville, South Carolina. He received a B.A. in Economics in 1990 from
Furman University, and a J.D. in 1996 from the School of Law at the University
of Georgia. Prior to helping start South
Carolina’s 1 st MLP in 2016, Kirby was senior litigation attorney at
South Carolina Legal Services (2012-17) and the Greenville office’s managing
attorney (2000 -12). Kirby is a member
of the South Carolina Bar and the State Bar of Georgia, and is admitted to
practice in the U.S. District Court and U.S. Tax Court.
As Legal Director of the MLP, Kirby
represents low-income clients in a wide variety of civil cases, including the
family, probate, circuit and magistrate courts, as well as in appellate courts
and administrative proceedings. The MLP
approach is popular across the U.S. and is an innovative “legal aid” office,
embedded directly within Prisma Health, and Kirby helped start the 1 st
MLP in South Carolina. He teaches a
popular “Poverty, Medicine, and the Law” class at Furman (2011-2019).
Kirby served as 2019 president of
the Greenville County Bar Association, and in September 2019 was re-elected to
a second two-year term on the Board of Directors for the National Legal Aid
& Defender Association (NLADA).
Kirby and his wife, Danielle, a private attorney at Mitchell Ramseur,
LLC, live in Greenville with their 2 kiddos.
S.C. Legal Services
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Melody Breeden
Melody Breeden is a Shareholder at Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA. She has been practicing estate planning and probate law primarily in the Myrtle Beach area since 2002. Melody is licensed in both North and South Carolina. Melody is certified as a Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law by the South Carolina Supreme Court. Melody is also certified by the South Carolina Board of Arbitrator and Mediator Certification as a Civil Court Mediator. Melody is the 2018/2019 Chair of the Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Council of the South Carolina Bar. She serves on the South Carolina Estate Planning and Specialization Advisory Board. Melody is a member of the following Bar Associations: the American Bar Association, the Horry County Bar Association, the North Carolina State Bar, the North Carolina Bar Association, and the South Carolina Bar. She is a Member of the SC Bar House of Delegate.Melody is also a member of the following organizations: Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar; Grand Strand Area Estate Planning Council; Horry County Probate Court Advisory Council; Chair of the Coastal Planned Giving Advisory Council of Coastal Carolina University; and National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA).Melody is a Practical Law Contributor for Thomas Reuters on the topics of Health Care Powers of Attorney, Ancillary Probate, Signature Pages for Wills & Self Proving Affidavits, Wills, Probate, Revocable Trusts, and Powers of Attorney for South Carolina.
Turner Padget Graham & Laney, PA
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Michael Polk
Mike Polk is an attorney at Belser & Belser in Columbia. His practice focuses on probate administration and litigation, elder law, creditor rights, helping businesses, and general civil litigation. He attended Virginia Tech as an undergraduate and was in the Corps of Cadets. He was in the Navy for 4 years. Among other accomplishments, he appeared before King Neptune and his Royal Court and was initiated into the Solemn Mysteries of the Ancient Order of Shellbacks. Mike graduated from UofSC Law School in 1994. He practiced law in Winnsboro for one year with Kenneth G. Goode & Associates. He joined Belser & Belser in 1995. Mike is on the Richland County Bar Executive Committee. He is chair of the South Carolina Bar Technology Committee and used to be on the Elder Law Committee. He worked on the Probate Code Revision Committee. He was named 2021 Solo Small Firm Attorney of the Year. Mike enjoys watching hockey on TV and playing fantasy baseball, which, it turns out, is somehow even lamer than it sounds. He practices yoga. Mike, his wife, and his daughter thought it would be a good idea to get two border collie puppies a couple of years ago, and boy were they wrong. In fact, if you want them, he can probably work something out.
Belser Law Firm, PA
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Michael Bridges
Mr. Bridges, a Certified Estate Planning and Probate Law Specialist since 2005, earned his Juris Doctor from the Cumberland School of Law ( magna cum laude ). He earned Master of Laws in Taxation from University of Florida and Master of Laws in Estate Planning from University of Miami and earned his Masters' and Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Alabama.
He is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), President (2010-2011) and Vice President (2009-2010) of the South Carolina Chapter, and member of the South Carolina Bar Elder Law Committee and Chair for the Committee (2012-2014).
Mr. Bridges is admitted to practice in South Carolina, Florida and North Carolina .
Dobson Jones Ball Phillips & Bridges, PA
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Michael Large
Michael Large is a member of the Law Office of Deirdre W. Edmonds located in Surfside Beach. Michael’s practice focuses on our
aging population and adults with disabilities.
He is experienced in the areas of elder law, supported decision making,
guardianship and conservatorship matters, estate planning, probate
administration and litigation, and Medicaid planning for nursing home care.
Michael graduated from Richard Stockton College with a Bachelor of Arts degree
in Criminal Justice and earned his Juris Doctor degree from Temple University
School of Law in 1991. He is admitted to
practice law in South Carolina, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Michael is to his wife Becky
and they have two teenage sons, Harley and Jackson.
Law Office of Deirdre W. Edmonds, PA
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Mitchell Payne
Mitchell C. Payne is a Partner in the firm of Payne & Black, LLC with offices in Rock Hill and Columbia. Mr. Payne received his Masters in Accounting from the University of South Carolina in 1981, and his JD from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1984. Mr. Payne concentrates his practice in the fields of Elder Law, Long Term Care Planning, Estate Planning, Probate and Estate Administration, and Planning for Disabilities and Special Needs. Mr. Payne is a Member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and the Academy of Special Needs Planners. He is a founding board member and past Chair of the Carolina's Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and Past President of the South Carolina Chapter of NAELA. Mr. Payne also serves on the Elder Law Committee of the South Carolina Bar. Mr. Payne is a member of the South Carolina (1984) and Georgia (1985) Bar Associations.
Payne & Black, LLC
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Patricia Harrison
September 13, 2010-KLH
Attorney at Law - Columbia, SC
South Carolina Bar Section Member: Probate and Estate Planning; SC Women Lawyers; Solo and Small Firm
J.D., University of South Carolina, 1987
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Sarah St. Onge
Mrs. Sarah St. Onge started at Millender Elder Law in 2018. She brings to Millender Elder Law over fifteen years of experience in advocating for people with disabilities and their families. Her knowledge includes an understanding of the services and systems in South Carolina available to people with disabilities and the elderly. This knowledge base allows for her to take a holistic approach to problem solving, including establishing working plans based upon her clients' goals. Mrs. St. Onge has brought federal litigation to enforce the rights guaranteed by the Americans with Disabilities Act, drafted amicus briefs in both state and federal court, and investigated allegations of abuse and neglect at facilities throughout South Carolina. She has experience in the fields of estate planning, probate, elder law, administrative law, mental health law, appellate practice, and affirmative litigation. At the University of South Carolina School of Law, she taught Legal Writing for five years and has also taught Advanced Legal Writing. She is active in the South Carolina Bar, serving on the Elder Law Committee, a past chair; a member of SC Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, serving on the Board of Directors; and has taught continuing legal education classes on guardianship, Medicaid, estate planning, ethics, and advanced directives. She chaired the Article 5 Task Force, which was the body that drafted the changes to the guardianship and protective proceedings portion of the Probate Code. She is a contributing author to A Practical Guide to Elder Law and Special Needs Law in South Carolina by Franchelle Millender.
Millender Elder Law LLC
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