From the Executive Director
| Publication year | 2022 |
| Pages | 0014 |
| Citation | Vol. 27 No. 4 Pg. 0014 |
DAMON ELMORE
Executive Director
State Bar of Georgia
damone@gabar.org
Take Care of Yourselves
That is how an email to me closed not too long ago. The message shared the news of the recent passing of a member of our Bar. The cause of death was by suicide. The most difficult part was that it was not the first notice this year. Sadly, it also was not the last news of a lawyer’s passing between then and publication of this edition. Sure, COVID-19 has played a part. The generic “natural causes” description plays a part. Whatever the cause, hearing and processing that news—or stories of struggle and hardship that our friends and members face—is without question the most difficult part of this job.
From time to time, we are called upon to assist with certain administrative matters. It is why succession planning proves essential, particularly for lawyers in smaller firms. Those things we can deal with. Where I believe the greatest impact is made for our members is through our various programs, including our wellness offerings. Undoubtedly, our Lawyer Assistance Program (LAP) is the most valuable resource.
This is not the first time you have heard us promote, celebrate or encourage use of the LAP. A State Bar program for more than 20 years, the LAP is a confidential service provided through the Bar to help our members with life’s difficulties. In order to help meet the needs of our members and ensure confidentiality, a core tenet of the service, we have contracted with CorpCare Associates to manage the offerings and provide the professional services. Here’s a bit of foreshadowing: this won’t be the last time you hear me promote the LAP.
Through its work, helping members who are seeking assistance, I would argue with confidence that the LAP is designed to support our mission, and the work improves the quality of legal services. A good lawyer is a healthy and well lawyer. He or she is responsive, serves a client’s needs effectively, protects a client’s resources or defends their liberties, and in doing so advances the science of the law. Sometimes all at the same time.
Through our work, ensuring the program is providing the best service, we have learned that it is not just Georgia lawyers that feel certain occupational pressures. The Illinois Lawyers Assistance Program reminds “that the inherently competitive and demanding nature of the practice of law makes lawyers particularly vulnerable to stress, anxiety, depression, divorce, alcohol and drug use and compulsive behaviors.” I am not embarrassed to admit that some of those very struggles have affected me personally at points throughout my career. So I know how struggles aren’t a struggle, until they are a struggle.
Our feedback and research also mirrors what Illinois also highlights when it reminds that “lawyers are frequently reluctant to seek help because of fear, denial, embarrassment—even hopelessness. Above all, we are concerned about our problems becoming known and negatively influencing our status and reputation,” or even jeopardizing our license. Yes, I get that part, too. But the one thing I have learned is that the confidentiality is solid, and retaliation does not exist.
We are particularly proud of the LAP program. Not only is it beneficial to our members, but as we have been with some of our other programs and member benefits, including our Fastcase research tool, the State Bar of Georgia was at the forefront of providing critical benefits and services offered through the LAP.
Unrelated to the touching news but coincidentally, we recently met with the volunteer leaders who support our LAP program and the senior staff of our CorpCare partners. We wanted to ensure that we are continuing to provide value for our members and share feedback for potential change or improvement. We remain confident that the program is a practical and valuable investment, and it is crystal clear that the committee, made up of volunteer lawyers, is personally invested in the success of our members.
The utilization statistics that could be shared provoked a series of mixed emotions. Utilization of the tools and services provided, especially the #Use Your Six clinical counseling sessions has trended higher. In fact, it has nearly tripled over the past eight years. We are relieved more members are taking advantage of the service offerings.
But that means just that: more members are finding themselves ready and needing to use the benefit. Whatever works, I am here for it. But here is the additional, complicated layer: utilization
rates, as compared to our overall membership base, is extremely low, less than 2%. On top of that, many members do not take full advantage of the full six sessions offered.
We hear little concern related to the program. Members who have been willing to share about their experiences tell us that they are pleased with the access and feedback. We know that privacy and confidentiality remain a top concern. Similarly, we know that many members want a more diverse group of counselors who can relate to the unique issues that affect them individually. Also, some members face a limited quantity or selection of providers, often in smaller areas, and that can renew the challenges of confidentiality. CorpCare has taken all of those concerns back with them, and it will remain an area ripe for improvement.
I am not a therapist, counselor, your spiritual adviser or one with any ability to shape your decisions or will. But I do love Georgia lawyers. Our work is designed to help and provide value for Bar members. This is here for you.
I appreciate all of the people who are vulnerable and share their stories in this Journal, through the podcast and advanced focus on wellness, wherever. Those stories are heroic, and I am grateful because they help me. I know some of you can relate. I know that a program like the LAP can put you on a path at an early point in your career that will help you stay in that lane. It will allow you the chance to remain focused on all of your personal goals while being your complete self and making meaningful impact with your friends, your family, pets, your community—whatever it looks like. However, like Sy Sperling, I can also say that I know that services provided by the LAP can also help you get back on track, no matter what phase of your career or condition that you may think you are in. #UseYourSix
Take care of yourselves. DEE •
The Legal
Issues to Consider in Real Estate Transactions Involving Trusts and Estates
This article discusses Georgia trust and probate law and related federal tax law that real estate lawyers should consider when evaluating transactions involving a trust or a decedent’s estate.
BY KATHRYN BALDWIN HECKER, MATTHEW J. HIGGINS AND MICHAEL L. VAN CISE
The seller’s authority to convey is a threshold question in any real estate transaction. Real estate transactions in which a trust or the estate of a deceased individual is the seller present unique issues relating to the seller’s authority to convey and potential liens and encumbrances that affect marketability of title to the property. These issues present traps for real estate attorneys who are unaware of the interplay between trust and probate law and real estate conveyances.
This article discusses Georgia trust and probate law and related federal tax law that real estate lawyers should consider when evaluating transactions involving a trust or a decedent’s estate. Several provisions of Georgia trust and probate law and related federal tax law can affect a seller’s authority to convey real estate and the quality of the seller’s title. As such, real estate lawyers should be aware of certain sections of the Georgia Code and Internal Revenue Code that may present issues in a transaction involving a trust or estate seller.
This article first gives an overview of the Georgia Probate Code, which provides procedures for probate, intestate succession and ancillary probate in Georgia. It then highlights certain provisions of Georgia law and federal tax law relating to trusts and estates that real estate practitioners will likely consider relevant, given the potential of these laws to cause issues in the context of a real estate transaction.
Overview of the Georgia Probate Code
A person can die either with or without a valid will. A decedent who died with a valid will[1] is said to have died testate. A decedent who died without a valid will is said to have died intestate.[2] Different chapters of the Probate Code govern the estates of testate and intestate decedents. In a testate estate, the person appointed by the Probate Court to administer the estate is called the executor.[3] In an intestate estate in Georgia, the person appointed is called the administrator. Georgia law refers to administrators, executors and other possible fiduciaries of an estate as “personal representatives.”[4]
Testate Decedents
If a person dies with a will, the will must be probated (from the Latin word for “proven”) before the executor is granted the power to carry out the terms of the will. Probate is a process to determine that the will satisfies the requirements of Georgia law. Georgia has two methods to probate a will: solemn form and common form.[5] Both methods are described in detail below. Solemn form is by far the most routinely used, as common form provides little protection to the executor and therefore carries with it significant limitations. However, there are occasions where common form may be used or when both may be used. If presented with common form letters testamentary as evidence of an executor’s authority in a real estate transaction, one should exercise particular caution. Although there may be protection for bona fide purchasers without notice,[6] a party who knows the executor only probated the will...
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