Estate and Trust Administration in Virginia

Editor

James P. Cox, III, MichieHamlett, PLLC / Charlottesville James P. Cox, III, is the author of Chapters 1, 2, 3, and 5 and has been the editor of this publication since it was first published in 1997. Mr. Cox is a member of the firm of MichieHamlett, PLLC, in Charlottesville where he has practiced since 1983. His areas of practice include estate planning and administration, real estate, and litigation and court proceedings relating to estate matters. Mr. Cox received a B.A., summa cum laude, from Duke University in 1980 and a J.D. from the University of Virginia in 1983. He is a member of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a Virginia Law Foundation Fellow, and a Committee member of both Virginia CLE and the Virginia Law Foundation. He is also a member of The Virginia Bar Association, the Virginia State Bar, the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association, the Duke University Estate Planning Council, the Central Virginia Estate Planning Council, and Phi Beta Kappa. Mr. Cox is a former member of the Board of Governors of The Virginia Bar Association, a past Chairman of the Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section of The Virginia Bar Association, and is a member of the Legislative Committee of the Wills, Trusts and Estates Section of The Virginia Bar Association. He is also a past President of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association and the current Chairman of the Real Estate Committee of that organization. Mr. Cox is a frequent lecturer in continuing legal education programs and, since 1993, has been the author of the annual supplements to the treatise, Harrison on Wills and Administration in Virginia and West Virginia (LexisNexis). He is named in the current edition of Best Lawyers in America in both Trusts and Estates and Real Estate Law. Mr. Cox is named in current edition of the Best Lawyers in America, in both Trusts and Estates and Real Estate Law and has been designated as a A Super Lawyer. Mr. Cox has been an active participant in Community Services Housing, Inc., a nonprofit housing corporation which provides affordable low-income housing for mentally ill and/or disabled persons.

Authors

Farhad Aghdami, Williams Mullen / Richmond Farhad Aghdami, author of Chapter 6, is the Managing Partner of the Richmond Office of Williams Mullen. He focuses on wealth transfer tax planning, business succession planning, and general corporate matters. He is a past Chair of The Virginia Bar Association’s Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section and a past President of the Estate Planning Council of Richmond. Mr. Aghdami is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is listed in The Best Lawyers in America in the Tax and Trust and Estate categories. He is the immediate past Chairman of the Board of Governors of The Community Foundation Serving Richmond and Central Virginia and serves on the Board of Directors of St. Christopher’s School, the Boy’s and Girl’s Club of Metro Richmond, Venture Richmond, Richmond’s Future, and the Mutual Assurance Society of Virginia. Mr. Aghdami received his B.A. from the University of Virginia, his J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law, and his LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center. H. Michael Deneka, Deneka Law Firm, PC / Roanoke H. Michael Deneka, author of Chapter 8, is a shareholder of Deneka Law Firm, PC. His areas of practice include taxation, trusts and estates, estate planning, and estate and trust administration. He is a member of the Board of Governors of the Trusts and Estates Section of the Virginia State Bar, a member of the American and Virginia Bar Associations and a former president of the Roanoke Valley Estate Planning Council. He is also a member of the Planned Giving Advisory Board of Roanoke College and a member of the Radford University School of Nursing Advisory Council. Mr. Deneka was admitted to the Virginia State Bar and the U.S. Tax Court in 1988. He received a B.B.A. in Accountancy from the University of Mississippi and a J.D. from the College of William and Mary. John T. Midgett, Midgett & Preti, PC / Virginia Beach John T. Midgett, author of Chapter 4, is a founding principal with the Virginia Beach law firm of Midgett & Preti PC, where his practice is limited to estate planning and administration, estate taxation, estate litigation and family business planning. Mr. Midgett is a co-author of many continuing legal education publications and is a frequent lecturer on estate planning and administration topics. He is a member of the Virginia State Bar (Chair, Trusts & Estates Section 2008-2009), the Virginia Bar Association, where he currently serves as the Vice Chair of the Wills and Trusts Section, the Virginia Beach and Norfolk-Portsmouth Bar Associations, and the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, and is also a member of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council, the Duke University Estate Planning Council, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Mr. Midgett is a graduate of the University of Virginia (B.A., with distinction) and T.C. Williams School of Law, University of Richmond (J.D.), where he served as a member of the University of Richmond Law Review. John H. (Jay) Turner, III, Roberson, Shepard & Turner, PLC / North Chesterfield Jay Turner, co-author of Chapter 9, is a partner with Roberson, Shepard & Turner, PLC, in North Chesterfield, where he focuses his practice on estate planning and administration with an emphasis on estate, gift, generation skipping, and fiduciary income tax planning. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel. Mr. Turner is a member of the Virginia State Bar, where he served on the Board of Governors for the Trusts and Estates Section (2003-2009). He is a member of The Virginia Bar Association, serving on the legislative committee of the Section of Wills, Trusts and Estates. Mr. Turner is listed in Best Lawyers in America in the Trusts & Estates category and is past president of the Trust Administrators Council of Richmond. Mr. Turner received a master of laws from the Georgetown University Law Center (LL.M. taxation), his law degree from Thomas M. Cooley Law School, and his undergraduate degree from Hampden-Sydney College. Clark H. Worthy, Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore, LLP / Roanoke Clark H. Worthy, author of Chapter 7, is a partner in the commercial practice section of Gentry, Locke, Rakes & Moore, LLP. Mr. Worthy advises clients regarding gift and estate planning techniques and represents fiduciaries in the administration of trusts and estates. He also handles matters involving sales, mergers, acquisitions, and financing of businesses, and commercial real estate matters including purchases, sales, leases, tax free exchanges and financings. Mr. Worthy received his J.D. in 1993 from Washington and Lee University School of Law and a B.S. in Finance in 1986 from the University of Virginia, McIntire School of Commerce.