Event Information

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. 

Entered 11/8/18 by rsg (CLE 18-33)

Anna Maria Conner

Disability Rights South Carolina

Bennettsville, SC

Anna Maria Conner is a Senior Attorney at Disability Rights South Carolina (DRSC), the federal and state mandated protection and advocacy system for South Carolina. She is a member of SC Access for Justice, the Civil Rights Section of the SC Bar, the Health Law Committee of the SC Bar, and the Florence County Bar Association. She has also served on the Board of South Carolina Legal Services. Ms. Conner has litigated in federal and state court (in class actions and individual cases), worked on amicus briefs, represented clients in Medicaid appeals, supervised DRSC’s monitoring program, and investigated allegations of abuse and neglect at facilities throughout South Carolina. She has also appeared before the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. Prior to her work at DRSC, Ms. Conner was corporate counsel for Advantica Restaurant Group and was in private practice in labor, employment and environmental law defense, administrative law, litigation, appellate practice, and affirmative litigation. She has provided training through the National Institute for Trial Advocacy, the National Alliance on Mental Illness-South Carolina, the National Disability Rights Network, helped plan continuing legal education seminars on behalf of DRSC and the Civil Rights Section of the SC Bar and has given presentations on various topics, including preventing abuse and neglect, the rights of people with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, Medicaid law and appeals, alternatives to guardianships/conservatorships, and the Civil Rights Act of 1964. She received her B.A. degree from Furman University and her J.D. degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. 

A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Anne Kelley operates out of our Charleston office and offers clients throughout South Carolina and Georgia a wide range of estate planning and wealth transfer advice. Primarily, she provides counsel to business owners, individuals and families who want to ensure that their wishes are followed in the event of a serious illness or death.

With her Master of Tax Laws, Anne Kelley works with business owners, individuals and families to preserve, protect and transfer wealth to the next generation in the most tax efficient manner.

Anne Kelley has significant experience advising fiduciaries of estates and trusts on the probate and distribution of assets, the preparation and filing of fiduciary income and estate tax returns, and general estate and trust administration. Anne Kelley also represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in will contests, spousal elective share petitions, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and trust modifications.

Her experience extends to representing private foundations, supporting organizations, public charities and other nonprofit organizations.

Anne Kelley is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law in South Carolina.

Professional & Civic Engagement

American Bar Association Real Property Trust & Estates Section

Vice-Chair, Charitable Organizations Committee

Assistant Editor, e-Report

South Carolina Bar Probate Estate Planning and Trust Section

Current Chair, 2021 – 2022

Council Member, July 2015 – Present

Charleston Estate Planning Council, Member

Charleston Tax Council, Member

The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America

Honors & Awards

Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings) in the field of Trusts and Estates, 2022

Recognized in Charleston Business Magazine's Legal Elite, Tax & Estate Planning, 2021

Education

L.L.M. Taxation, University of Florida Levin College of Law

J.D., University of Arkansas at Little Rock, Bowen School of Law

B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill

Admitted to Practice

Georgia

South Carolina

Arkansas

U.S. Tax Court

April Sampson graduated from Washington University in St. Louis in 1995 and from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1998. She became a member of the South Carolina Bar in November of 1998. Mrs. Sampson began her legal career with Protection and Advocacy for People with Disabilities where she handled legal matters for those with physical and mental disabilities.

Judge David Allison was born in 1969 and raised in Pickens by his parents, Bob and Bert Allison, both schoolteachers.  He graduated from Pickens High in 1987, Erskine College in 1991, and the University of South Carolina law school in 1995.  He practiced law in Pickens County from 1995 until 2018.  He began working in his current position in January of 2019.
David has a younger brother, Mark, who is an attorney with the Greenville office of McAngus Goudelock & Courie.  David has one daughter, Sarah.

Judge Debora A. Faulkner served as Probate Judge for Greenville County from 1999 through 2022.  Prior to her election as Probate Judge, she served as a part-time Associate Judge from 1996-1998. Currently, Judge Faulkner is an Administrative Hearing Board Member for Clemson University in Title IX cases and other related university matters.
Prior to her judicial service, Judge Faulkner practiced law for 17 years. She graduated Magna Cum Laude/Phi Beta Kappa from the University of South Carolina in 1979. In May, 1982, she received a Juris Doctorate degree from the University Of South Carolina School Of Law; and, was admitted to the S. C. Bar in November, 1982.  She was admitted to practice before the Fourth Circuit District Court and the U.S. Supreme Court. Her memberships in professional organizations are numerous.  She has been a regular presenter for the SC Bar, the Greenville County Bar, and the S.C. Probate Judges Association.
Judge Faulkner has held various leadership positions with the SC Probate Judges Association including serving as President.  She was a member of and state delegate to the National College of Probate Judges (NCPJ).  In 2005, NCPJ recognized her for the design and usefulness of her Court's website, finding that it was one of the top 10 websites in the nation.  Also, in 2005, she worked with community leaders to fund and implement Mental Health Court in Greenville County. In 2015 the Greenville County Bar Association honored her for her design and implementation of the PAWS (Probate Attorney Web System); a free service for attorneys allowing them computer access to the Court's case management system.  Judge Faulkner headed up the Probate Court Pilot Mediation initiative which resulted in Rule 5 of the Probate Rules governing mediation in the Probate Courts.  She was also asked to present to mediation students across the state.  In 2013, Judge Faulkner served as chair of the Probate Judges committee charged with revising the estate forms, processes, and procedures to reflect the 2014 amendments to the Probate Code.  In 2019, she taught probate law as a part time adjunct professor at Greenville Technical College.  In 2021 and 2022, she was a guest lecturer on the S. C. Probate Courts at the University of South Carolina School of Law.
Until the end of her judicial service, she served on the S. C. Supreme Court Commission of Judicial Conduct, the SC Supreme Court's Probate Court Advisory Committee, and the S. C Supreme Court's Commission on Alternative Dispute Resolution.
Judge Faulkner has been published in various S. C. Bar Publications and other professional magazines.  As chairperson of the S.C. Supreme Court Task Force on State Courts and the Elderly, she oversaw an in depth study and comprehensive report detailing how the court system can be more responsive to seniors. The report was accepted nationally as a resource for state courts faced with the growing elderly population.
Judge Faulkner has received numerous awards, two of which she is especially proud: an Award from the S. C. Attorney General's Office for her work on behalf of South Carolina's senior citizens; and the Scales of Justice Award for her innovative work in educating the public, lawyers, paralegals and law students on the probate practice and procedures.
She is a graduate of Leadership Greenville, Class XXVI and Furman University's Riley Institute for Diversity. She received the Paul Harris Fellow award for her community work from Rotary International.  She is an advisory board member on the Shoeless Joe Jackson Museum Board and a past member of the Greenville Chorale board, United Way, and the Greenville Technical College Paralegal Board. 
 

A life-long Greenwood native, Judge Frank R. Addy, Jr. was born in Greenwood, South Carolina in 1967 to the late F. Robert Addy, Sr., and Mary Katherine Addy, a retired English teacher. Judge Addy is married and they have two children.

Judge Addy attended the public schools of Greenwood County, and upon graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Honors College at the University of South Carolina. While in college, he was nominated for Phi Beta Kappa. He graduated from USC cum laude in 1990 with a degree in International Studies and a minor in business. While attending USC law school, he served as Articles Editor for the Student Editorial Board of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Journal, was president of the International Law Society, served on the International Moot Court Team, and was a member of the Palmetto Law Society. Judge Addy graduated from law school in 1993 and was admitted to the SC Bar on November 15, 1993.

Judge Addy began his legal career as Assistant Solicitor for the Eighth Circuit and was promoted to Deputy Solicitor in 1995. Upon the passing of his father in early 1997, Judge Addy entered the private practice of law while also assisting his grandparents in the family business. From 1998 to 1999, he served as Chief Public Defender for Greenwood and Abbeville Counties. He was appointed Greenwood County Probate Judge on June 3, 1999 and was subsequently reelected without opposition. From 2006 to 2007 he served periodically as Special Circuit Judge during the convalescence of the late Judge Wyatt Saunders. In 2008, Judge Addy assisted in establishing the Eighth Circuit Drug Court.

Judge Addy has been active in many civic, community, and professional organizations, including serving as a youth mentor for Greenwood District 50, coaching the Greenwood High and Ware Shoals High mock trial teams, and den leader for Cub Scout Pack 222.  From 2005 to 2006 he served as President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges, chaired several committees of that organization, and chaired the Probate Judge’s Advisory Committee to the Chief Justice from 2001 to 2003. Judge Addy received the Executive of the Year award from the Emerald Chapter of IAAP in 2003. He currently serves as treasurer for the South Carolina Circuit Judges Association, he is the Judicial Branch liaison to the Department of Mental Health, and in 2021 he was appointed as the Circuit Court representative to the Access to Justice Commission.

Judge and Mrs. Addy are active members of St. Mark United Methodist Church.   He is a member of Greenwood Masonic Lodge #91, Greenwood Cotillion, and the Rotary Club of Greenwood.   In their spare time, the Addys enjoy travel and anything to do with boats, the water, or Gamecock Football.

Judge Heather Galvin graduated from Kent State University with a Bachelor of Arts in political science where she was a member of the Golden Key National Honor Society and the Delta Zeta Sorority. She obtained her Juris Doctor from the Cleveland Marshall College of Law at Cleveland State University and is admitted to the practice of law in Ohio, South Carolina, and Washington D.C. Prior to moving to South Carolina; she worked for LexisNexis as an Applications Consultant and Senior Legal Research Associate. Upon relocating to South Carolina, Judge Galvin served as an Assistant Solicitor for the 14th Judicial Circuit. In 2007, she opened the Law Offices of Heather Galvin focusing on the areas of family and probate law. As part of her practice, she had the opportunity to serve as part-time Staff Attorney for the Beaufort County Probate Court; contract attorney for the Guardian ad litem programs in Allendale, Beaufort, Colleton, Hampton, and Jasper Counties in abuse and neglect proceedings involving children; and pro-bono Special Prosecutor in Beaufort County for animal cruelty cases.   In October of 2012, she was sworn in as full-time Associate Probate Judge for Beaufort County where she served until her election as Probate Judge in 2023.  She is the Second Vice President of the South Carolina Association of Probate Judges and a member of the Executive Committee of the National College of Probate Judges. In her spare time, she enjoys jogging, swimming, Pilates, and tennis.

Jacqueline D. Belton has served as an Associate Probate Judge for the Richland County Probate Court since 1999. The majority of the cases Judge Belton currently hears are guardianship and conservatorship cases.   In addition, she also hears civil commitment and estate cases, and recently rotated from the role of primary to back up judge for the Richland County Mental Health Court.

Before coming to the Probate Court, Judge Belton was staff counsel in the Office of General Counsel, S.C. Department of Mental Health (SCDMH).  Her areas of practice there were primarily in employment law, probate law, and administrative law.  Judge Belton also rotated with other SCDMH attorneys as a Clinical Instructor for the University of S.C. School of Medicine, for a seminar covering landmark legal cases in the area of mental health law for fellows in the Medical School's Forensic Psychiatry Program.   Prior to her employment at SCDMH, Judge Belton was an Assistant Clinical Professor at the University of S.C. School of Law, and prior to that she was a legal services attorney.

Judge Belton and her husband, David E. Belton, were honored as the S.C. Bar Young Lawyers of the Year in 1991, the only husband and wife to have jointly received that honor.  She is a past board member, board chair, and Volunteer of the Year of Mental Health America in Mid-Carolina, and a past member of the board of Mental Health America of South Carolina. Judge Belton has made over 25 CLE and Bridge the Gap presentations, has presented several times at the School for New Probate Judges, and was a member of the faculty of the National Judicial College from 2005 to 2008, where she co­ taught the course "Managing Cases Involving Persons with Mental Disabilities."   Judge Belton has been a member of the S.C. Bar's Elder Law Committee since 2008.   She was a member of the S.C. Bar's Article 5 Task Force and the S.C. Association of Probate Judges' (SCAPJ) Article 5 Workgroup, regarding guardianship and conservatorship amendments to Article 5 of the S.C. Probate Code.  Judge Belton worked with other judges and attorneys on revisions to the statutory law, Reporter's Comments, and the applicable forms, serving on the drafting committee, comments committee, and the forms committee.   She is a member of the S.C. Association of Probate Judges and the National College of Probate Judges, and currently co-chairs the Mental Health Committee of the SCAPJ.

Judge Belton currently teaches a segment on civil commitment for the 40-hour Crisis Intervention Training (CIT) offered to local law enforcement officers by S.C. NAMI.  She is also part of the S.C. Judicial Department's S.C. Courts Mental Health Initiative Workgroup, which was created by Chief Justice Donald Beatty to address the need for courts at every level of the State's court system to address issues concerning individuals experiencing mental illness.  Judge Belton is from a military family, and proudly describes herself as an "Army Brat." She graduated from Wurzburg American High  School,  in  Wllrzburg,  Germany,  and  received  her  A.B.  degree  in  Sociology from  Duke University and her J.D. from Antioch School of Law, in Washington, D.C.

Jessica was the first person in her family to go to law school. After being home schooled through high school and growing up on a farm, she attended the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. While at UTK, she served as a Processor for the Forensic Anthropology Center ("The Body Farm") and graduated Magna Cum Laude with a degree in honors psychology and a double-minor in philosophy and neuroscience. Jessica then moved to South Carolina to pursue her law degree at the University of South Carolina School of Law, while she worked as a law clerk for the S.C. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee.

Upon graduating from the UofSC Law, Jessica served as a judicial law clerk to the Honorable Amy W. McCulloch, Richland County Probate Court Judge, and Jaqueline Belton, Associate Probate Judge. During this clerkship, Jessica collaborated with both judges to solve complex probate issues during the COVID-19 pandemic, instilling an understanding of and passion for probate law as the foundation of Jessica’s legal career.

Prior to joining Turner Padget, Jessica worked for South Carolina Legal Services, a non-profit law firm with a mission of providing equal access to justice for all. She was quickly promoted from Staff Attorney to Administration of Estates, Lead Attorney, and provided holistic legal services for indigent clients throughout the upstate, ranging from counsel and advice to extended services, with a focus in probate and elder law, including estate planning, administration, and litigation.

Jessica now works as an associate in Turner Padget’s Greenville office, where she founded the firm’s current probate practice in the South Carolina Upstate through community education presentations and creating professional relationships. She focuses on assisting clients comfortably discuss their estate plans, navigate estate administration, and ensure their voices are heard in probate litigation, taking care to provide excellent legal guidance and representation through difficult, uncertain, and emotional times.

Among other memberships, Jessica is Chair of the S.C. Bar Elder Law Committee, Co-Chair of the S.C. Bar YLD Wills Committee, and recently spearheaded the YLD + Pride Link Wills Clinic, where Jessica and other volunteers worked close to 12 hours preparing basic wills and health care powers of attorney for 26 individuals, pro bono. Jessica was recognized as a 2023 S.C. Woman in Business Honoree, and classified as a 2023 Legal Elite by the Greenville Business Magazine.

Ken received his B.S. degree in Accounting from Clemson University and his Juris Doctor degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law. He is a former Certified Public Accountant and is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law. He is a Fellow in the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a member of the American Bar Association, the Columbia Estate Planning Council, the South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and is enrolled to practice before the United States Tax Court.

Ken served as Articles Editor and Senior Articles Editor for Probate & Property, a magazine published nationally by the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the American Bar Association. He has served on planned giving advisory boards for the American Heart Association, Baptist Medical Center of Columbia, Columbia College, and the Medical University of South Carolina. He is a frequent speaker and an author on the subjects of estate planning, probate law, probate litigation, and charitable giving. He is listed in "The Best Lawyers in America" and "South Carolina Super Lawyers."

He served on the Estate Planning and Probate Law Specialization Advisory Board for the Commission on Continuing Legal Education and Specialization. He is a past president of the Richland County Bar's Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section and served as the Chairman of the South Carolina Bar's Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section.

Ken served as transition team leader and as Chairman of the Governor's Commission on Management, Accountability and Performance for Governor Mark Sanford in 2003, and served as chairman of the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education for Governors Mark Sanford and Nikki Haley. Ken served as Chairman of the South Carolina First Steps to School Readiness board as an appointee by Gov. Haley, and later as an appointee of Gov. Henry McMaster. He previously served on the board for South Carolina Jobs-Economic Development Authority and is a past treasurer for the State of South Carolina. Governor Mark Sanford awarded Ken the "Order of the Palmetto in 2011 for his service to the State of South Carolina".

Ken serves as the Secretary/Treasurer and as a Board member of the USLAW Network, an affiliation of more than sixty law firms with more than six thousand attorneys across the United States, Canada and Europe.

He is married to the former Catharine Edwards of Charleston, South Carolina, and has three children. He enjoys hunting and running. He is an elder and Sunday School teacher at First Presbyterian Church in Columbia. He is the author of "A Father's Gift: Lessons from Proverbs" (the Banner of Truth, 2009), and "Run with Endurance: The Triumph of Faith" (Tolle Lege Press, 2014). Ken is also a Certified Prescribed Fire Manager through the South Carolina Forestry Committee.

Laurel R.S. Blair, Esq. is a partner based in the Charleston, South Carolina office of Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP, a transatlantic law firm with offices across the U.K. and U.S. Laurel is a strategic advisor and litigator with over 25 years of experience representing professional fiduciaries and other clients exclusively in the trusts and estates, private wealth and wealth management areas. She is a certified mediator, and is admitted to the U.S. Tax Court, U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, U.S. Court of Appeals (Fourth Circuit) and all South Carolina state courts. She received her B.A. degree from the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, Virginia, and received her J.D. from Syracuse University College of Law in New York.
 

Maurice D. Holloway is a partner of Nelson Mullins Riley and Scarborough, L.L.P. and practices out of the Greenville, SC and Charlotte, N.C. offices.  Maurice advises clients in the areas of taxation related to mergers and acquisitions, corporate restructuring, entity formation and real estate transactions. Maurice also advises client in the areas of estate and business succession planning and probate and trust administration.  Maurice received his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida College of Law in 1995.  He received his J.D., cum laude, from the University of South Carolina School of Law in 1994.  He received his B.S. in Accounting and M.S. in Accounting with an emphasis in Taxation from Clemson University in 1987 and 1988, respectively.  While in law school he was a member of the South Carolina Law Review, the Order of the Coif, and the Order of Wig and Robe.  Maurice is a member of the South Carolina Bar.  In addition, Maurice is a Certified Public Accountant and a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and South Carolina Association of Certified Public Accountants.  Prior to entering law school Maurice practiced as a tax accountant with the international Big Four accounting firm Ernst & Young.