Basic Fiduciary Law 201

Ms. Leslie Lyon Cadle Related Seminars and Products

Smith, Hawkins, Hollingsworth & Reeves, LLP

Leslie L. Cadle is an attorney with the law firm of Smith, Hawkins, Hollingsworth & Reeves, LLP in Macon. Leslie focuses her practice in the areas of estate planning and probate administration. She received her B.A. in journalism from the University of Georgia and her law degree from Mercer University School of Law.

Leslie is currently a member of the Macon Bar Association, the William A. Bootle American Inn of Court. She is a member-at-large on the Executive Committee of the Fiduciary Law Section and serves as Chair of Communications Committee of the State Bar of Georgia. She is a Past President of the Middle Georgia Chapter of the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers and previously served as a board member of the Hay House and Georgia Legal Services Program. 

Ms. Stacy Williams Hanley Related Seminars and Products

Lefkoff Duncan Grimes McSwain & Hass PC

Stacy W. Hanley is a Principal of Lefkoff, Duncan, Grimes, McSwain, Hass & Hanley, P.C.  Ms. Hanley practices primarily in the areas of tax and estate planning, probate, estate administration, real estate and closely held business matters. She was admitted to practice in Georgia in 1999.

A native of Atlanta, Georgia, Stacy graduated from The Lovett School. Stacy then graduated magna cum laude from Washington & Lee University in 1996 with a B.A. degree in Classics and Economics. At Washington &Lee. She played on the first women’s basketball team, was a member of Kappa, Kappa, Gamma sorority and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa, Phi Eta Sigma and Omicron Delta Epsilon honor societies.

Stacy graduated magna cum laude from the University of Georgia School of Law in 1999. Stacy was elected to of The Order of the Coif, served as Senior Notes Editor for the International Journal of Comparative and International Law, was awarded The Real Property Law Section Award, and the Welborn B. Cody Scholarship. 

Stacy began her legal career at Long, Aldridge & Norman, LLP in the commercial real estate group. Stacy then became General Counsel for Homes by Williamscraft, Inc., the homebuilding and real estate development company started by her father, Wilmont Williams. When Stacy’s father unexpectedly died in 2015, Stacy experienced firsthand the complexities of the estate administration process for family businesses. Stacy then decided to join Lefkoff, Duncan, Grimes McSwain,  Hass & Hanley, P.C. so that she could utilize her practical and legal experience to help individuals and families navigate the estate planning and estate administration process.

Stacy has been a speaker for several estate planning and fiduciary law seminars at the State Bar of Georgia. She has also presented to the Atlanta Chapter of the “FSP” (Financial Service Professionals”), the GSCPA (Georgia Society of CPA’s) and to other individual groups on the topic of engaging women in the financial and estate planning process.

Serving her local community has always been important to Stacy. Stacy was a member of the Leadership Cobb Class of 2002. She has served on the Wellstar Health Systems Regional Advisory Board of Directors for Kennestone Hospital, the Board of Directors for the Dekalb County Development Authority, the Northside Youth Organization’s Executive Board, and served as Co-President of the Sarah Smith Elementary PTA.  

Stacy is a member of the State Bar of Georgia, the Atlanta Bar Association, and the Atlanta Estate Planning Council.   

Ms. Cherish Anne Dela Cruz Related Seminars and Products

MANELY FIRM PC

Cherish De la Cruz loves getting to know her clients and learning about their families, their businesses, and their lives. She designed her practice to include both estate planning, probate and small business law because she understands how much overlap there is in these areas —especially for first- and second-generation American families.

Cherish was born and raised in the culturally diverse city of Toronto. Her parents had immigrated to Canada from the Philippines, and growing up, Cherish saw firsthand how difficult it was for them to establish themselves in their new country. She was frustrated by how her parents were treated and realized that they could have avoided much of the hardships they faced if they’d only had good information and proper legal structures in place. That’s what got her interested in becoming a lawyer and ultimately focusing her mission of helping other families.

After earning her law degree, Cherish began her career as Public Defender in Florida. These formative years shaped her ability to proactively navigate the probate system. It also taught her that she’d much rather help clients prevent problems and avoid the expense and stress of going to court over routine estate matters. In 2006, she moved to Atlanta and took the position of Senior Counsel and Anti-Money Laundering Officer for Primerica, a publicly traded investment and insurance company. During her seven years there, she gained an expertise in supporting both small businesses and individuals and working collaboratively with financial advisors and cpas for the benefit of her clients.

In 2010, Cherish’s Aunt Luzbella was diagnosed with a rare form of Appendix cancer. Since she had no children of her own, she asked Cherish to help her in handling her affairs. At that time, Cherish specialized in Securities and Compliance law. She knew her Tita Luzbella needed a will, but she didn’t understand the full value of having a comprehensive custom tailored estate plan. A friend referred her to a general practitioner who drew up a will in less than half an hour. Unfortunately, Tita Luzbella’s quick and inexpensive will ended up costing everyone quite a lot in both money and heartache. Because the document wasn’t well thought out, it didn’t include many important details. This left the door open for family conflicts; assets going to creditors when they shouldn’t have; and a lengthy, complicated, and expensive probate process. It was a horrible experience—especially coming on top of the loss of her beloved aunt—but it motivated Cherish to leave her job in corporate law.

She experienced the importance of planning first hand when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer and experienced what she had preached (need another) to her clients all these years.  The reality and the  importance of “planning” in practice as a business owner, mother of three young children and daughter of aging parents. Through her extensive and wonderful network, she was able to see Dr. Viraj Masters at Emory Winship who helped her through her cancer journey.

 As a cancer survivor, and because of her own personal experiences, she can understand the emotional challenges and difficulties that each client faces when planning for death and the possibility of disability. She takes her own personal experiences and legal expertise to carefully and thoughtfully plan for the “what if’s” in life with all of her clients. Cherish came to the Manely Firm P.C. because their mission and values matched her own and she knew each of  her clients would be cared for.   

Ms. Catherine Land Wiegand Related Seminars and Products

Duncan Spratt, P.A.

Cathy specializes in multigenerational estate planning, trust administration, and charitable giving.  In her practice, Cathy believes that estate plans must be carefully tailored to reach a family’s goals and that such goals may reach beyond tax efficiency.  

Cathy joined Duncan Spratt, P.A. in May of 2025. Prior to joining Duncan Spratt, Cathy brings over 10 years of experience as a Wealth Strategist at a Family Office and Trust Company, where she worked with multi-generational families to build greater understanding of their estate planning structures and to continue their estate planning objectives.  In 2024, Cathy’s contributions were recognized by the Family Wealth Report Awards when the Family Office won the Wealth Planning category.  In addition, the Family Wealth Alliance recognized Cathy as an outstanding young professional in 2022 and 2024.

Cathy is a member of the Fiduciary Section of the State Bar of Georgia, has spoken at the Fiduciary Section’s continuing legal education seminars, is published by the Georgia Bar Journal, and has volunteered with various nonprofits hosting financial literacy and estate or charitable planning seminars. Cathy earned her B.B.A in Finance, summa cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2011 and her J.D., cum laude, from the University of Georgia in 2014, where she received the Verner F. Chaffin award for the study of Fiduciary Law.