We had a successful Elder & Special Needs Law Symposium in Pinehurst in February. Thank you to the CLE committee who put the program together (Kara Gansmann, Nicki Applefield Engel, and Nancy Mayer). If you were not able to attend, the materials can be acquired through the NCBA CLE. I have already utilized the materials and planning techniques provided during Eric Barnes’ presentation about the new rules and gifting penalty related to the VA’s Aid and Attendance program.

The location for the symposium needs to be reserved a couple of years in advance, so change happens slowly. While Pinehurst has been a good host for quite a few years, we will be holding the symposium in Charlotte next year and then return to Pinehurst in 2021. The goal of the location change next year is to see if we can make the program more accessible and more enjoyable to more of our members. Our CLE committee would be very interested in feedback regarding your opinion about the location of the symposium going forward.

While in Pinehurst, we also held a council meeting and the annual section meeting, wherein the officers and the council members for the upcoming fiscal year were elected. Your officers for the North Carolina Elder and Special Needs Law Section for the coming fiscal year will be the following:

Chair: Mark Edwards of Fields and Cooper in Nashville

Vice Chair: Kathleen Rodberg of McGuire, Wood & Bissette in Asheville

Secretary: Colin Austin of Hillsborough Wills & Trust in Hillsborough

Treasurer: Nicki Applefield Engel of Patla, Staus, Robinson & Moore in Asheville

As a reminder, our section is governed by 12 council members who each serve on 3-year staggered terms. The four new council members who have been elected to serve for the term expiring in 2022 are as follows:

Heather Cox of Johnston, Allison & Hord in Charlotte

Jennifer Marshall Roden of Craige & Fox in Wilmington

Rush Simmons of Heritage Law in Boone

Tony Nicholson of McPherson, Rocamora, Nicholson, Wilson & Hinkle in Durham

Your Elder & Special Needs Law Section is always looking for ideas on how to provide value to its members in addition to the ListServ, discounted CLE and networking. Look for a PowerPoint presentation on Elder Abuse soon to be posted on our section’s NCBA webpage that you will be welcome to download and use/edit as you see fit. If you have some ideas, please share them. If you are interested in getting involved with the section, whether through the governance, through a committee, or otherwise, please reach out to me or any other officer or council member or committee member.

My term as Chair is almost up, and it has been a rewarding experience serving in this capacity. I encourage you to consider getting involved in the section and I promise you that the time commitment isn’t onerous.

March 29, 2019/by ElderLaw