Lenhart Pettit is pleased to announce that Jennifer Erdman Shirkey has been elected as a Fellow of The American College Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Established in 1949, ACTEC is the nation’s premier association of trust and estate lawyers. ACTEC Fellows are peer-elected after demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience as trust and estate counselors. Just 68 of approximately 32,566 active lawyers in Virginia are ACTEC Fellows. Jennifer is currently the only ACTEC Fellow located in the Shenandoah Valley.
ACTEC Fellows are elected based on their outstanding reputation, exceptional skill, and substantial contributions to the field by lecturing, writing, teaching, and participating in bar leadership or legislative activities. They advise clients in one or more of the following areas: planning for the orderly and tax efficient transfer of wealth during life and after death and preparing all related estate planning documents; administering trusts, decedent’s estates, guardianships, conservatorships and other family entities; planning for incapacity and elder concerns; planning for employee benefits; planning charitable gifts and advising exempt organizations; and handling tax controversy and fiduciary litigation.
Jennifer is one of just 32 new Fellows named nationwide and internationally this Spring. Skip Fox, the College’s President, offered his congratulations, saying, “The review process is very rigorous, and all the new Fellows should be commended on their commitment to the trust and estate profession. ACTEC is a compilation of the best in the field and we welcome this new class of Fellows.”
Jennifer’s election to ACTEC follows from her practice, which concentrates in estate planning, employee benefits, tax, and business law. She is a frequent public speaker on these legal areas. She also serves as an Assistant Commissioner of Accounts for Harrisonburg & Rockingham County, supervising executors and other fiduciaries on behalf of the Rockingham County Circuit Court. She is a member of the Virginia Bar Association, Wills, Trusts & Estates Section, serving on both its governing Council and Legislative Committee, and is a Past Chair of the Virginia State Bar Trust and Estates Section Board of Governors. She has been named for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America® and Virginia Business’ “Legal Elite” listings and has been selected to “Virginia Super Lawyers,” a Thomson Reuters publication. Jennifer lives in Harrisonburg with her husband, Aaron, and their three children.
Visit www.actec.org for more information on ACTEC, including free access to its Family Estate Planning Guide.
Lenhart Pettit is a business and litigation law firm with 24 attorneys specializing in over 23 diverse practice areas. Lenhart Pettit serves clients throughout Virginia and beyond in both routine and complex transactional and litigation matters. Lenhart Pettit attorneys excel at solving their clients’ toughest and most complex issues. Lenhart Pettit serves the Commonwealth from offices in Charlottesville and Harrisonburg.
