Celebrating Powerhouse Women salutes and recognizes women who are making an impact, whether it’s in business, philanthropy, public service, or elsewhere.
Cherish De la Cruz/The Manely Firm
Cherish De la Cruz is the Managing Attorney of Probate and Estate Planning for The Manely Firm. She 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.
Cherish experienced the importance of planning first hand when she was diagnosed with kidney cancer and experienced what she had preached 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.
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