It's Complicated: Estate Planning for Blended Families

Brooke French/Kessler & Solomiany LLC

Brooke French, Partner with Kessler & Solomiany LLC, represents clients in all aspects of domestic relations litigation, including divorce, separate maintenance, child custody and support modifications, contempt, post-divorce modification and enforcement, family violence, paternity, legitimation, and prenuptial agreements. Brooke understands the stress that couples encounter in divorce and she navigates her clients through this process as efficiently as possible.

She takes a special interest in protecting children and maintaining stability in their lives as the family structure changes. Children’s needs are sometimes inadvertently overshadowed when parents are struggling, and Brooke makes a special effort to educate her clients about the impact their decisions will have on children. The mother of two young children, she has focused on the needs of children in divorce throughout her career. She is trained as a guardian ad litem and is on the list of preferred attorneys for these matters in Fulton and Cobb counties. She writes frequently about custody issues and other family law developments.

Brooke strongly believes mediation is the best option for resolution in the majority of family law cases – particularly those in which children of any age are involved. She completed 100 hours of Civil Mediation and Divorce and Family Mediation training, and is a registered neutral with the Georgia Office of Dispute Resolution.

Henry Bowden, Jr./The Bowden Law Firm, LLC

Henry Bowden, Partner with The Bowden Law Firm LLC, is a native of Atlanta, GA and received his B.A. with Honors from the University of Virginia in 1971 and his J.D. with Distinction from Emory University Law School in 1974. Mr. Bowden earned memberships in Phi Beta Kappa, Omicron Delta Kappa and the Order of the Coif during his college and law school careers; he was also elected Articles Editor of the Emory Law Journal. After law school, he clerked on the United States Court of Appeals, Fifth Circuit, for the Honorable Griffin B. Bell.

Mr.Bowden joined King & Spalding in 1975, making partner there in 1982. His areas of concentration have included estate planning and administration, charitable gift planning, and the representation of tax-exempt organizations. In June of 1995, Mr. Bowden founded The Bowden Law Firm.

Mr. Bowden was elected a Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel in 1986, and served as State Chair of the College in Georgia for five years. He served as chair of the Fiduciary Law Section of the State Bar of Georgia in 1990-91, and as President of the Atlanta Estate Planning Council in 1995-96. From 1982-87, he was an adjunct professor at Emory Law School, teaching estate and gift taxation in the Masters in Taxation program there.

Mr. Bowden has served as President of the Atlanta Council of Younger Lawyers, as Chairman of the Board of the Atlanta Ballet, Inc., as Chairman of the Board of Historic Oakland Foundation, Inc., as a Trustee of the Westminster Schools, and as a member of the Board of Managers of the University of Virginia Alumni Association. He is currently an emeritus member of the Board of Trustees of Emory University, and an active trustee of Wesley Woods Senior Living, Inc. On January 1, 2016, Mr. Bowden was appointed by the Supreme Court of Georgia to serve a six-year term on the State Board of Bar
Examiners, and now chairs that Board. He is a lifelong member of Northside United Methodist Church, where he teaches Sunday school.

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About Gaslowitz Frankel:

Gaslowitz Frankel is an experienced trial practice firm specializing in all aspects of complex fiduciary litigation throughout Georgia and the Southeast. With a focus on representing individuals, companies, banks, and fiduciaries in dispute involving wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, businesses, and securities law, their experienced and highly qualified litigation attorneys have tremendous credentials and a proven history of success.