Throughout her legal career, Jeanna Shelton's passion has been to provide comprehensive and compassionate legal services to her clients. Having experienced loss of a close family member while in high school, she personally witnessed the importance of having estate plan documents in place. She also experienced some of the challenges the estate administration process can present, especially during a time of grief. From that experience, and in witnessing her family's attorney act on their behalf in a way that allowed them to focus on moving forward without the burden of legal worries, Jeanna was inspired to pursue a legal education and career. That same passion drives her to approach every client situation with the care she would expect her own family to receive.
Prior to attending Wake Forest University School of Law, Jeanna served as a paralegal for a law firm in Clermont, Florida where she worked extensively in the estate planning and estate administration practice areas. During her time at Wake Forest, she specifically tailored her legal education to prepare her to provide the best possible service for clients seeking assistance for their estate plan, estate administration, and elder law needs. This included participating in the Wake Forest Elder Law Clinic and Litigation Externship as well as several legal internships, including the North Carolina Legal Aid MLK Internship within the estate planning division.
Since becoming licensed as a North Carolina attorney, Jeanna has continued to focus her legal career on providing client focused services driven by open communication and solutions tailored to her clients' legal goals and needs. This has included both complex and simple estate plans, comprehensive probate and trust administration guidance, elder law services, business formation and consulting, and merger and acquisition counseling. Jeanna has also been invited to speak at local seminars and a community college enrichment course related to some of these practice areas.
Outside of the office, Jeanna enjoys hiking and traveling with her husband, children, and dog, Ted. Originally from Florida, Jeanna is enjoying North Carolina's changing seasons, mountains, and culture. Jeanna and her husband, a North Carolina native, can often be found at Panthers, Hornets, Knights, and Wake Forest games. Jeanna is also an active member of her church where she enjoys volunteering with the Sunday coffee services and taking part in hospitality activities.
You can read more about Jeanna in our blog post here.
Bar Admissions:
- North Carolina (NC Bar #50952)
Affiliations:
- North Carolina Bar Association
- Mecklenburg County Bar Association
Education:
- Wake Forest University School of Law, 2016
- Juris Doctor
- University of South Florida, 2011
- Bachelor of Arts, Psychology
Recent Blog Posts
Estate Planning for Spouses - Considerations Regarding Joint Trusts in the Carolinas
Revocable Trusts versus Irrevocable Trusts - A High-Level Comparison of Trust Characteristics
Estate Planning Meets Family Planning: When and How to Plan for Minor Beneficiaries
Key Terms Explained - Per Stirpes
Key Terms Explained - Power of Appointment
Recommendations
- My wife and I were referred to the Erin Patterson Law firm and we were pleased to work with Jeanna Shelton. She prepared a Revocable Trust and New Wills for us at a very reasonable fee. Ms. Shelton was very professional and extremely knowledgeable. But most of all she had empathy for us by wantin...
- Jeanna took the time to get to know us and our family dynamics before we began to discuss our new will. This made it so much easier for us to make our wishes known. She would guide us and help us make the best decisions for our family. She made sure we understood all our options. I would highly r...
- As a new arrival to North Carolina and a new client to Erin Patterson, we were very impressed with the professionalism and helpful attitude of all the people we worked with in the office. Highly recommend Erin PattersonLaw, PLC for all estate planning needs.
- Jeanna made the process easily understandable. She is a joy to work with.