Kristen Bennett is passionate about the law and enjoys helping her clients navigate potentially confusing areas of estate planning, as well as estate and trust administration, with care, understanding and compassion. She keeps abreast of the ever-changing laws that affect her clients so that she can give them the most up-to-date information possible. Practicing in the firm’s Greater Wilmington, Delaware office, Kristen also provides counsel on taxation and tax planning for individuals and businesses.

Kristen’s work encompasses all aspects of wills and trusts, including the probate of wills, the marshaling and inventory of assets, and the administration of living and testamentary trusts. In addition, Kristen provides counsel on estate and trust administration, including probate, estate tax returns, income tax returns, post-mortem tax planning, and other administration issues. From time to time, she represents clients in guardianship proceedings and petitions related to probate or trust administration in the Delaware Court of Chancery. She also advises clients on special needs planning and supplemental/special needs trusts.

Kristen is a frequent speaker on such topics as estate planning, estate tax and special needs planning. Speaking engagements include:

• Bridge the Gap, the Annual Supreme Court of Delaware Pre-Admission Conference, Meeting the Expectations of the Client – Wills and Estates (2009-2017)
• Delaware Trust Conference – Estate Planning Drafting Workshop (2012), The Matching Game: a discussion about emerging Uniform Laws compared to Delaware law (2017)
• Delaware State Bar Association – Basics of Special Needs Trusts (2011), Fundamentals of Estate Planning (2014), Understanding Delaware’s Fiduciary Access to Digital Assets (2015), Fundamentals of Will Drafting and Estate Administration (2017)
• National Business Institute – Legal Ethics in Estate Planning (2016), Frequently Used Trusts for Estate and Financial Planning (2017)

Kristen is a member of the Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), a national organization of trust and estate counselors elected to membership by demonstrating the highest level of integrity, commitment to the profession, competence and experience .

Kristen is also a member of the Delaware Bar Association’s Estates and Trusts Section and Tax Section, as well as the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Sections of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is a member of the Sussex County Bar Association and the American Bar Association, and is on the Estate Planning Council of Delaware, Inc. Kristen also serves as a board member for Delaware CarePlan, Inc., a nonprofit nongovernmental organization, which serves as trustee of special and supplemental trusts created for the benefit of Delaware residents.