Shunta McBride is Counsel in MendenFreiman’s estate planning, trust and estate administration, tax planning, and business law practice areas. She joined the firm in 2022 and has a knack for explaining the unfamiliar and navigating clients through what they often perceive as uncharted territory in the area of wills, probate and real estate — and in particular, heirs’ property. She is skilled at crafting solutions that are well tailored for her clients and shows thoughtful consideration in identifying a clear path forward for new engagements.

Shunta’s experience in estate planning includes drafting wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives that are consistent with clients’ goals. She also has a strong estate administration practice. Her probate experience includes representing fiduciaries in Probate Court on a variety of matters, including estate administration, year’s support, minor conservatorships, orders dispensing with administration, and petitions for leave to sell real estate. Shunta’s work also includes providing fiduciaries with step-by-step guidance on how to properly marshal assets, pay off debts, and distribute property — including real property — to beneficiaries. She also frequently works with personal injury attorneys to open estates in connection with the settlement of personal injury claims.

Following law school, Shunta clerked for the Honorable U.W. Clemon (Ret.) at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama in Birmingham. Prior to joining MendenFreiman, she was the founding attorney of The Law Office of Shunta V. McBride, LLC. Shunta also practiced for 10 years as a commercial real estate attorney with DLA Piper LLP (US) and Morris, Manning & Martin LLP in Atlanta.

Shunta’s pro bono work includes volunteering for Georgia Appleseed alongside other attorneys to help the nonprofit launch the Georgia Heirs Property Law Center in 2016. Shunta previously served on the Board of Directors for The Georgia Heirs Property Law Center, which is the first nonprofit legal center of its kind in Georgia that is exclusively dedicated to addressing the heirs’ property problem for Georgians. Shunta has also volunteered in the Probate Court Information Centers for the Probate Courts of Fulton County and DeKalb County.

Education

• The University of Alabama School of Law, J.D., magna cum laude, 2004
  • Alabama Law Review
• The University of Alabama, B.S. in Accounting, cum laude, 2001

Bar Admissions

• Georgia

Representative Matters

• Routinely represent doctors, lawyers, executives and other professionals on a variety of estate planning matters; crafted both trust-based and will-based estate plans alike to facilitate the transfer of one’s wealth to successive generations; walked clients through the process of funding trusts to complete their estate plans.
• Have represented heirs inheriting new wealth by drafting estate plans to fit their needs, providing guidance and advisory services including providing opportunities to connect them with private wealth bankers to serve their unique investment management, lending, and cash-flow budgeting needs.
• Have represented trustees in the petitioning for trust amendments before Probate Court and have represented trustees in the amendment of testamentary trust provisions where all parties (trustee and beneficiaries) have amicably agreed upon a plan to decant and modify trusts.
• Served as Executor in the administration of an estate in Fulton County, where selected by the non resident sole heir to handle the entire estate administration from beginning to end, inclusive of selling the decedent’s Georgia real property, coordinating tangible personal property estate sales with auctioneers, liquidating stock, and engaging counsel in Mexico to facilitate the distribution of real estate abroad as a charitable gift.
• Have represented Executors in the negotiation and sale of commercial real estate.
• Before transitioning into estate planning and administration full time, represented a major league baseball team in the purchase and development of 80 acres of undeveloped land that has since been developed into a premiere public-private, mixed-use development north of Atlanta, inclusive of entertainment, athletic, office, retail, and residential uses.

Professional Affiliations and Memberships

• State Bar of Georgia, member

Awards and Recognition

• Georgia Appleseed Center for Law & Justice “Good Apple Award”, 2013

Kelley Napier is a partner at Georgia Estate & Elder Law in Atlanta. Kelley holds the Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation from the National Elder Law Foundation (NELF), the only organization approved by the American Bar Association to offer certification in elder law. She is a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, where she currently serves on the board of the Georgia Chapter. Kelley serves on the Parkinson’s Foundation Georgia Chapter Advisory Board and the Friends of Benson board supporting the Dorothy Benson Senior Center. She also participates in the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers, the Stonewall Bar Association, and the Planned Giving Council at Oglethorpe University. She has been selected as a Super Lawyer Rising Star each year since 2020.

Prior to joining Georgia Estate & Elder Law, Kelley worked with another local firm specializing in Medicaid Planning. It was this legal work and Kelley’s experience navigating the long-term care system for her grandmother that prompted her enrollment in law school. Previous to her legal work, Kelley worked in the construction industry for several years.

Education:

• Juris Doctor, Georgia State University (GSU) College of Law, May 2015:  Honors in pro bono service

• Masters in Business Administration (MBA), Piedmont College, May 2009

• Bachelors of Arts in Sociology with Concentration in Social Work, Oglethorpe University, August 2004, cum laude

Personal:

Kelley grew up in Gwinnett County. She currently lives in Atlanta with her family. She is active with her church and enjoys spending time at Lake Lanier.

While growing up as the oldest child of nine, I would often complain to my stepfather about the fact that things around me were not happening fairly. My sister got to pick what we ate for dinner when I did not. We weren’t allowed to have a dog while my friends could. His response was always the same: a “fair” is where you ride carnival rides, and life isn’t fair. But that answer never satisfied me. So, at the age of 16, I made a lifelong commitment to making sure things are done fairly when I decided to become a lawyer. I didn’t have any lawyers in my family, and I didn’t know anyone that was a lawyer. But I liked to read, write, and argue, and more than anything, I wanted to make sure that the things happening around me were fair. That was the beginning.

Hi, I’m Mandy Moyer, and this is the story about how I got started helping people through the legal processes surrounding the death or disability of a loved one. I know that these situations are some of the most difficult times in our lives. If you’re reading this and are feeling overwhelmed, stressed out, and in shock over the responsibility resting on your shoulders, know this: I’ve been there, I’ve helped many other people through it, and I’m here to help you through it, too.

In law school, I chose to dedicate my practice to helping families who have experienced death or disability. Countless hours of study, a couple of degrees and a bar exam later, and so began my law career.

In the beginning, I focused on helping individuals and businesses plan for the future, and life’s inevitable events. But my efforts stopped at the planning stage. After several years doing estate planning, though, I noticed something. Planning, while important, was something people could put off. Other situations, like a death in the family or Mom’s dementia diagnosis, required immediate action. But I wasn’t helping those people. Instead, I was referring those people and their pressing needs to other lawyers. It soon became clear – the “problem solver” in me (a required character trait when you are the oldest of nine!) realized that I wanted to be the one helping those families in their time of need.

So, I took a new job handling cases where a loved one had died, or a parent or grandparent’s illness had progressed to the point that action must be taken. I became a lawyer who helped families deal with these hard, life-changing events. I had a strong desire to help them. I had a ton of ideas about how to best serve my clients, how to advance their cases, and how to achieve their objectives. But I had little practical experience. And unfortunately, I didn’t feel like I could ask a lot of questions because there was not a lot of time for the other attorneys in the firm to teach me. The firm also had the traditional “one-size-fits-all” outlook on law practice, and frankly, “we’ve always done it this way” has never been enough for me. But the final straw was an unexpected event — the death of my grandfather. It was the first time I ever personally experienced the unexpected loss of a family member, and it hit me hard. My grief affected my work, and I felt overwhelmed trying to help my grandmother navigate the mess that’s left behind when a loved one passes away unexpectedly. (My grandfather had handled all of their finances and business affairs, so it was a whole new confusing world for my grandmother.) I now fully understood my clients’ complaints about the seemingly endless paperwork, the many legal complexities, and the burden of estate administration and estate settlement. My time at the firm soon came to a close, and I was so disheartened that I actually left private practice.

I spent the next several years serving as the staff attorney and chief deputy clerk for the Forsyth County Probate Court. Over time, I learned precisely how to navigate the probate process. Processes became clear. The complex procedural and legal issues involved in estate and guardianship cases became became routine to me, and the maze became a path that I now know like the back of my hand. I took all available opportunities to learn about case strategy, litigation tactics, and creative solutions. At some point, though, while reviewing pleading after pleading, petition after petition, to ensure that all the legal requirements had been met, I noticed something. There were a lot of lawyers doing the bare minimum for their clients. This made me mad! For one, the actions of a few lawyers reflected poorly upon all lawyers, and I had worked hard to join what I saw as a “noble profession” as a teenager. And then there was the fact that I saw their clients for what they were — grief-stricken people simply trying to navigate a confusing legal process to do right by their loved ones. I knew I could do better, and I got to work on my vision. The result of that process is Georgia Probate Lawyers Moyer, LLC, a law firm dedicated to providing responsive and compassionate representation to families dealing with the death or disability of a loved one. It’d would be my privilege to assist you and your family through this difficult time. When you’re ready, give me a call.

Jeremy is a partner in the Private Wealth practice. He is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and is a former chair of the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia. He is also licensed to practice in Florida.

Jeremy skillfully guides ultra-high-net worth U.S. and international clients through complex wealth transfer strategies, wealth transfer tax implications, estate administration, and charitable planning. He has handled the estate of a prominent Forbes 400 individual, as well as numerous other multimillion-dollar estate administrations. As a trusted legal professional, he helps clients gift millions of dollars to beneficiaries in tax-efficient ways and accomplish significant charitable gifts.

Jeremy also advises clients on how to best transfer family businesses with the lowest tax cost and how to form successful business succession plans for company founders and the next generation of future leaders.

Jeremy is a frequent lecturer and author on complex wealth transfer and tax strategies, including co-author of the comprehensive publication Georgia Estate Planning, Will Drafting and Estate Administration Forms. 

As the firm’s chair of Professional Development, he oversees compensation, mentoring, and training for all of the firm’s associates.