Caroline is in the Hendersonville office of Van Winkle, Buck, Wall, Starnes and Davis, P.A., where she has worked since receiving her J.D. from Wake Forest University School of Law in 2000. While at Wake Forest, she was Notes & Comments Editor of the Wake Forest Law Review. She received her B.A. degree in Philosophy from the College of William and Mary in 1992. Her primary practice areas are estate planning, estate administration and elder law.
Caroline's practice centers on traditional estate and trust planning and administration, with an emphasis on special needs trusts and other planning tools for clients with disabilities or with children with special needs. She also does guardianship work and Medicaid and other public benefits planning.
Practice Highlights
- Caroline routinely creates special needs trusts for Medicaid/SSI recipients who would otherwise be disqualified from public assistance because of inherited assets. Inherited assets are sheltered for use in supplementing care provided by Medicaid/SSI.
- She has also assisted clients in “spending down” excess assets in order to enable a spouse in a nursing home to qualify for benefits, thus preserving assets for surviving spouse and ultimately inheritance for next generation.
Professional Affiliations
- North Carolina Bar Association
- Council of Elder Law Section, 2002-2006
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, 2001-present
