Terry Franklin Champions ACTEC Funded Grant to Support Training & Supervising Newly-Minted Black Attorney to Provide Estate Planning Services for Underserved Communities

As Chair of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Diversity, Equity & Inclusivity Committee, partner Terry Franklin worked with fellow Committee members to request that The ACTEC Foundation approve an emergency request for a grant from The Commons Law Center in North/Northeast Portland, Oregon proposed by University of Oregon Law Professor, Susan Gary. The grant will fund a Black 2020 law school graduate to work in trusts and estates part-time over eight months to allow for the expansion of the Commons’ Homeownership Asset Preservation Program, which helps low income communities and communities of color to obtain essential estate planning services. The hope is that the position will also create a pipeline for other lawyers of color who will serve the African American community and the Oregon Bar in general as practicing estate planning attorneys.

ACTEC is a national, nonprofit association of approximately 2,500 lawyers and law professors from throughout the United States and abroad. ACTEC members (Fellows) are peer-elected on the basis of professional reputation and expertise in the preparation of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration and related practice areas. The College’s mission includes the improvement and reform of probate, trust and tax laws, procedures and professional practice standards.