A native of Little Rock, Arkansas, Anne Kelley operates out of our Charleston office and offers clients throughout South Carolina and Georgia a wide range of estate planning and wealth transfer advice. Primarily, she provides counsel to business owners, individuals and families who want to ensure that their wishes are followed in the event of a serious illness or death. 

With her Master of Tax Laws, Anne Kelley works with business owners, individuals and families to preserve, protect and transfer wealth to the next generation in the most tax efficient manner. 

Anne Kelley has significant experience advising fiduciaries of estates and trusts on the probate and distribution of assets, the preparation and filing of fiduciary income and estate tax returns, and general estate and trust administration. Anne Kelley also represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries in will contests, spousal elective share petitions, breach of fiduciary duty claims, and trust modifications.

Her experience extends to representing private foundations, supporting organizations, public charities and other nonprofit organizations.

Anne Kelley is a Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law in South Carolina and is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.

Professional & Civic Engagement

  • The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
  • American Bar Association Real Property, Trust & Estate Section
    • Vice-Chair, Charitable Organizations Committee
    • Member, CLE Committee
    • Member, Groups & Substantive Committee
  • South Carolina Bar Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Section
    • Former Chair, 2021-2022
    • Council Member, July 2015 – Present
  • Charleston Estate Planning Council, Member
  • Charleston Tax Council, Member
  • The National Society of The Colonial Dames of America

Thought Leadership

Presentations

  • Co-Presenter, South Carolina Bar, 2024 Probate Bench Bar, Strategies for Digital Assets in Estate Planning and Administration, September 2024
  • Co-Presenter, Charleston Estate Planning Council, Estate Planning with Digital Assets, April 2024
  • Co-Presenter, South Carolina Bar, Lunch and Learn Seminar: Digital Estate Assets and Strategies, July 2023
  • Chair, Probate Estate and Trust Section CLE for the 2022 South Carolina Bar Convention
  • Speaker, Charleston Estate Planning Council, Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act: Planning for the End of the Stretch IRA”, February 2020
  • Panelist, American Bar Association (ABA) Real Property, Trust and Estate Law Section e-CLE entitled: The SECURE Act: Planning for the End of the Stretch IRA, February 2020
  • Speaker, 2020 South Carolina Bar Convention, "Effective Use of Transfer on Death (TOD) and Payable on Death (POD)", January 2020

Publications

  • Co-Author, Profiles in Digital Assets: A Primer on Estate Planning for Crypto, NFTs, and Social Media,” South Carolina Lawyer, March 2023
  • “From This Day Forward, The Abolishment of Common-Law Marriage in South Carolina,” South Carolina Lawyer, March 2020

Honors & Awards

  • Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America (BL Rankings) in the field of Trusts and Estates, 2022 - Present
  • Recognized in Charleston Business Magazine's Legal Elite, Tax & Estate Planning, 2021 – Present