Wake County Estate Planning Lawyers

Ellis Family Law, PLLC was founded in 2002 by board certified attorney Gray Ellis with the singular goal to provide the very best legal representation to North Carolinians facing challenging family law issues. Since that time, the firm has successfully represented hundreds of husbands, wives, children, grandparents, and other family members in courts across the state. Our work has not gone unnoticed as the firm has earned awards from both national and local organizations such as Super Lawyers, North Carolina’s Legal Elite, and Best of Durham.

Jason helps families and small businesses protect and transfer their assets. He strives to give his clients the peace of mind that they are protected from whatever risks they face. The focus of Jason’s practice is comprehensive estate and business planning. He also assists clients in dispute resolution, and has tried a wide variety of cases to jury verdict. He is a Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law.

Our law practice is dedicated to protecting the interests of our clients through all of life’s seasons. As a small, local firm it is in our nature to provide a level of service and attention to detail that is unmatched by larger corporate entities or generic software products. We are also committed to staying on the cutting edge of our field through our membership in ElderCounsel – a national support organization that keeps us armed with the latest tools and research that produce successful asset protection strategies.

Margaret S. "Meg" Westall anchors iTicket in Western North Carolina, handling traffic matters in Buncombe and Madison Counties. One of Attorney Hatley’s oldest friends, Meg has helped our law firm expand all the way to the beautiful Blue Ridge Parkway. Prior to joining iTicket.law, Meg worked in a small Asheville-based firm where her practice focused on estate and trust planning and administration. Advising fiduciaries and neutralizing conflict in matters of administration has afforded her a no-nonsense approach to technical problem solving. Meg is also involved with the Pisgah Legal Services Mountain Area Volunteer Lawyer program, for which she assists low-income...

Attorney Justin Nichols practices family, personal injury, and criminal law in Chatham, Orange, Durham, and Wake Counties. He joined Averett Family Law in 2012, after practicing in the fields of personal injury defense, workers’ compensation, and complex construction litigation.

Justin has extensive experience in the courtroom litigating cases, as well as helping clients negotiate out-of-court settlements. He has handled cases before state administrative agencies, the state superior and district courts, the North Carolina Justin Nichols Associate Attorney Pittsboro Siler City Court of Appeals, and the federal district court.

Justin graduated cum laude from Campbell University School of Law in Raleigh, North Carolina,...

Elizabeth W. Murphy, Attorney at Law, received her Juris Doctor degree from Campbell University School of Law where she received an award for being first in her Workers' Compensation class. She performed her undergraduate studies at Campbell also, where she graduated magna cum laude in 2003 with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Trust and Investment Management and a minor in Financial Planning. Her studies in Trust and Investment Management have given her a fuller understanding of the laws and requirements of Estate Planning, Wills, Trusts, and the Estate Administration. Her professional memberships include the North Carolina...

Whitney Hosey focuses her practice on commercial and residential real estate, estate and trust planning, and communication and privacy law. At Wake Forest, Whitney served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Business and Intellectual Property Law, and has published numerous articles with the Journal.

Whitney earned her B.A. in History and Government from the University of Virginia. After graduating, she worked as an advertising executive in New York City where she managed advertising campaigns for Lowes Home Improvement and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. Whitney is a devoted UVA fan and enjoys reading.

As a trial lawyer, I have considerable experience representing persons in both the criminal and civil courts.

My practice focuses on litigation, including personal injury, family law, and general civil litigation matters. We represent business owners, consumers, and injured persons.

My practice also includes business formations, contract drafting and review, and estate planning.

Courtney Roller is a licensed North Carolina attorney and counselor at law. She earned her law degree from Elon University School of Law. Prior to law school, Courtney attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and earned a B.A. in journalism and mass communication. She is a certified legal observer with the National Lawyers Guild and a volunteer with Habitat for Humanity and Red4NC. In 2013 Courtney was recognized by the National Association of Women Lawyers for her achievements, motivation and drive. in 2015, Courtney was elected secretary of the District 22b Bar Association. She is a member...

Keith Stroud is a 25+ year veteran of the practice of law. Keith supports businesses in the Triad, spouses going through a separation and divorce, individuals and couples through estate planning, executors and administrators handling the estate of a loved one, and seniors and their family members in long term care and asset protection matters. He provides a straightforward and comprehensive approach to legal representation, and offers unique solutions designed to meet the goals of his clients.

While Keith’s practice is structured to help his clients avoid litigation, he is first and foremost a trial lawyer. His civil and past criminal...

Kirk Sanders & Hendrick Bryant Nerhood Sanders & Otis handle condemnation cases (Eminent Domain Lawyers). The firm represents clients challenging the N.C. Map Act as an inverse condemnation by the NCDOT. The case is currently in the N.C. Supreme Court. See Kirby v. NC Department of Transportation. Kirk Sanders is a practicing attorney who handles litigation cases, contract drafting and negotiations, commercial real estate. Kirk Sanders has successfully litigated Will Contests cases (will caveats) for both the caveators (challengers of the will) and propounders (defenders of the wills). He has successfully recovered millions in Power of Attorney Abuse litigation...

Our firm helps families who want to make sure they have the right documents in place should they become sick or pass away. We also help families who have an ill family member make sure they are protected and receive the best care and benefits available; while also making sure their life savings are preserved. We also help families who have lost a family member negotiate the complex rules, regulations, and courts as quickly and efficiently as possible.

Eleanor Panetti is a Winston-Salem lawyer who has been practicing family law for nearly three decades. Eleanor provides comprehensive legal counsel to men and women involved in family law disputes, to spouses creating and expanding families through adoption, and to those protecting and caring for children of family members. She is skilled and experienced in all matters related to divorce, custody and paternity, property settlement and support, the legal issues unique to the LGBT community, and those specific to senior populations.

Eleanor is passionate in her representation of people involved in family disputes, whether through divorce, supporting parents through child custody...

Mr. Payne is an experienced lawyer who comes to Apple Payne Law, PLLC after owning his own firm Payne Law, PLLC. Mr. Payne started Payne Law, PLLC when he graduated from the Wake Forest University School of Law in 2011.

Before attending Wake Forest University School of Law, Mr. Payne attended Florida Coastal School of Law, where he was nominated for the Law Review and ranked in the top 20 of his 1L law school class. After transferring to Wake Law, Mr. Payne served as a research assistant to former Dean Blake Morant, and professors Coughlin and Lentz. He also completed...

Justin R. Ervin, III is a partner in the law firm of Johnson, Peddrick, and McDonald, PLLC in Greensboro NC, where he focuses his practice on estate planning, estate administration, and adult guardianships. Justin enjoys working with all sorts of clients and has a particular affinity for serving LGBTQIA individuals and non-traditional families, as well as immigrant clients, which often gives him a chance to use this Spanish skills.

Justin is open and active in the local LGBTQIA community, having served on the Board of Directors of Guilford Green Foundation and the Greensboro LGBTQIA Center, Benevolence Farm, the Greensboro Estate...

My areas of private practice include Commercial and Residential Real Estate, Corporate Law, Wills and Estates, Foreclosures, and Family Law.
1994 Graduate Wake Forest University School of Law

I am a native of Pitt County, North Carolina. After completing college I was commissioned in the US Navy and served as an Assistant Supply Officer during three deployments aboard the USS Independence (CV-62). I have an interest in politics, the law, history, the Episcopal Church and in Eastern North Carolina.

James B. Wilson, Jr. is a Winston-Salem native and graduated from R.J. Reynolds High School in 1981. He then went on to attend North Carolina State University where he received a B.A. in Criminal Justice in 1987. After Wilson graduated from N.C. State, he received his Juris Doctorate in 1991 from the University of Tennessee where he was a founding member of the Sports Lawyers Association and, an editor for the Tennessee Law Review.

Wilson worked for Blue Chips Sports management of Boston and helped to develop the Minor League Football System in the late 1980’s. In the...

I have been practicing family law since 2002, and I have handled cases in over a dozen jurisdictions in North Carolina.