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JERRY D. BALENTINE, President and Partner
Jerry has practiced law in central Oklahoma since 1975. His practice has been devoted exclusively to estate planning and elder law. He has been a member of the Oklahoma Bar. Jerry is a founding member of WealthCounsel, LLC. He is a certified Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation. In addition, he is a Fellow in the Esperti Peterson Institute Masters Program, member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, and a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners. In 2000, he became an adjunct instructor of The Academy of Multidisciplinary Practice at Michigan State University. He became an accredited attorney for assisting people in obtaining their VA Benefits in 2008.
In addition to these prestigious professional affiliations, Jerry is a contributing author of two popular estate planning books, Legacy, Plan Protect, and Preserve Your Estate and Generations: Planning Your Legacy. In 2008, he was a contributing author of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants handbook, “The CPA’s Guide to Long-Term Care Planning.”
An often requested speaker on estate planning and elder law, he frequently presents seminars explaining why trusts are often the planning method of choice for protecting your assets from probate and how they can help protect your estate from nursing home costs, income and estate taxes and lawsuits. His expertise in estate planning and elder law has helped him build a successful practice throughout Central Oklahoma.
*Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation as accredited by the American Bar Association. Certification of attorney’s specialty is not recognized by the Oklahoma Supreme Court except for Admiralty Law and Patent-Copyright Law.
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Sara G. Murphy, Associate
Sara brings the values, common sense and strong work ethic she learned growing up in Oklahoma to the practice of law. She is dedicated to getting to know her clients personally, so that she can design plans tailored to their specific goals and needs. In effect, she gives her clients the technical expertise of a large firm with the one-on-one attention only a small firm can provide. As one of Oklahoma’s leading professionals in the areas of estate planning, business planning and elder law, Sara gives frequent seminars throughout the state on estate planning, asset protection and business formation. She is also an adjunct professor and teaches courses in Business Ethics, Legal Environment of Business, Professional Communication and Presentations, and Responsibility for the Future. Yet she continually works to stay abreast of the latest changes in the laws governing the practice areas she focuses on, by attending seminars across the country and actively participating in the leading professional associations.
Sara received her Bachelor of Science degree, with honors, from East Central University, and her Juris Doctor from the University of Oklahoma, where she was a member of the American Indian Law Review. She is licensed to practice in all Oklahoma state courts and the Western, Northern and Eastern District Courts of Oklahoma. She is a member of the Oklahoma and American Bar Associations, as well as WealthCounsel, a nationwide organization of estate planning attorneys. Sara serves as vice-president of DJH Foundation, a multi-million dollar private charitable foundation helping children with diabetes and cancer. She also serves on the Board of the Oklahoma/Arkansas chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and is a founding member of the Alois (Alzheimer) Society. Lastly, Sara volunteers her spare time with local hospices performing needed legal work for patients.
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| ANGELA TRAVIS, Associate
Angela is an associate of the law firm of Jerry D. Balentine, P.C. and Associates. Mrs. Travis obtained her Juris Doctorate degree with distinction from the University of Oklahoma in 2005. The primary focus of Mrs. Travis’s practice is on estate tax, probate and guardianship law.
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