<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Best Lawyers in America 2015 :</span></strong><br />Kevin B. Rack has been recognized, once again by his peers as one of <em>The Best Lawyers in America</em> in Trusts and Estates, and Trusts and Estates Litigation.&nbsp;  The    selection process comprised of  more than 2.5 million confidential     evaluations by top attorneys in the  country. Mr. Rack was first named     to this elite category in 2009.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">The Best Law Firms 2015 :</span></strong><br />Rack &amp; Olansen, P.C. is pleased to announce a Tier 2 ranking in <em>U.S. News - Best Lawyers</em> "Best Law Firms" for Trust and Estates Litigation and a Tier 3 ranking   in Trust and Estates for the fourth consecutive year.&nbsp; The selection   process is based on a rigorous evaluation process that includes            the collection of client and lawyer evaluations, peer reviews from   leading attorneys in their field, and review          of additional   information provided by the law firm as part of the formal submission   process.</p>
<p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">New Associate joins firm:</span></strong><br />Rack  &amp; Olansen, P.C. is pleased to announce the association of Rachel E. Zuraw with the Firm.&nbsp; Ms. Zuraw, a Fulbright-Hays Scholorship recipient, joins the Firm after two years as a staff attorney for the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.&nbsp; She will  concentrate her practice in the administration of trusts and estates,  and representation of executors, trustees and conservators.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Virginia's Legal Elite 2014:</span></strong><br />We are proud to announce that Kevin B. Rack and Jennifer L. Moccia of <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">Rack &amp; Olansen, P.C.</span>, have been named as one of Virginia's  "Legal Elite" in <span style="text-decoration: underline;">Virginia Business</span> magazine.&nbsp; Mr. Rack has been recognized for nine  of the past twelve years.&nbsp; Mr. Rack and Ms. Moccia were named by their peers in the category of attorneys specializing in  taxation, trusts and estates, and elder law.&nbsp; Virginia's  "Legal Elite" is a listing of the best lawyers in the Commonwealth.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">Virginia Super Lawyers 2014:</span></span></strong><br />Rack  &amp; Olansen are pleased to announce that Kevin B. Rack, Nathan R.  Olansen, and Jennifer L. Moccia were named in Virginia Super Lawyers Magazine for 2014.&nbsp; Kevin  B. Rack is recognized for the eigth consecutive year in Estate Planning  and Probate.&nbsp; Nathan R. Olansen is recognized for the third consecutive year in Virginia Rising Stars  2014 for Taxation.&nbsp; Associate, Jennifer L. Moccia, was also recognized in Virginia Risng Stars 2014 for Estate Planning and Probate.&nbsp; Virginia Super Lawyers is an exclusive listing of  the top 5% of  attorneys in Virginia and West Virginia. The selection  process involves  peer nominations from more than 18,000 Virginia  lawyers and a blue  ribbon panel review.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">Associate Chairs Successful Professional Development Conference CLE in Richmond</span></span></strong><br />The Professional Development Conference (PDC), organized by Rack &amp; Olansen Associate, Jennifer L. Moccia, as Chair of the event, is a full-day CLE program established by the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference.  This year, the sold-out PDC was held in Richmond on September 23rd, and hosted notable speakers who offered practical advice on timely issues, including client opportunities in a changing legal market and the evolution of social media in litigation.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">As Chair, Jennifer assembled a committee who worked with her to develop the theme and lecture topics for the event, select presenters, reserve the venue, prepare the agenda, attain CLE approval, coordinate logistics, market the event, and host and introduce the speakers on the day of the event.  The affordable program was approved for 6 CLE credits, 2 of which were ethics credits presented by ReelTime CLE, who displayed Hollywood movie clips to present vignettes and provoke discussion and debate.  This stimulating and thought-provoking event has received excellent feedback from registrants, and was attended by the Executive Editor of Virginia Lawyers Weekly, who plans to author an article on the PDC to be featured in the publication.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">Associate elected to Virginia Bar Association Young Lawyers Conference Board of Governors</span></span></strong><br /> Please join us in congratulating our estate planning associate, Jennifer L. Moccia, for being elected to serve for a two year term on the Board of Governors of the Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference.  Jennifer is known for her incredible attention to detail and strong work ethic, as well as growing expertise in the estate planning and elder law fields of practice.  In her role as the 2nd District Representative for the Board of Governors, Ms. Moccia will lead the Young Lawyers Conference by serving as a state bar liaison to program committee chairs, coordinating programs and projects for the bar, initiating and voting on policy decisions and participating in state-wide board meetings.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The Young Lawyers Conference (YLC) focuses its efforts on the special interests and concerns of young and new lawyers.  Through a diverse group of projects, the YLC is a vehicle through which young lawyers can participate in the governance of the Virginia State Bar, serve the profession and the public, and enhance the public awareness of the legal profession.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">National Healthcare Decisions Day- April 16th</span></span></strong><br />Rack &amp; Olansen, P.C. served as a State Liaison for National Healthcare Decisions Day, held on April 16th.&nbsp; National Healthcare Decisions Day highlights the importance of establishing an Advance Medical Directive in order to ensure that your wishes regarding healthcare decisions are reduced to a legally enforceable writing so that they will be carried out, whether for medical treatment or for the withholding of life-prolonging procedures, in the event you cannot speak for yourself.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Advance medical directives are now widely considered to be a standard document in even the most basic of estate plans.&nbsp; These instruments, executed in advance of incapacity, allow for the designation of an agent to make health care decisions and authorize medical treatment on your behalf.&nbsp; In a section of the advance medical directive often entitled, “Health Care Power of Attorney,” the appointed health care agent is given authority to provide direction to health care providers and other parties regarding the type and extent of medical treatment you would, or would not, want to be given to you, including residential arrangements for long term care.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The instructions you give pertaining to the withholding of life-prolonging procedures in the event of a terminal illness or persistent vegetative state are typically set forth in the portion of your advance medical directive commonly referred to as the “Living Will.”</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">In the absence of an advance medical directive, family members are often required to apply to the courts for appointment as a guardian or conservator in order to address your health care decisions or financial matters, respectively.&nbsp; Sadly, these proceedings sometimes become family battlegrounds for control, leading to costly and divisive litigation.&nbsp; Since our law practice focuses on both estate planning and the appointment of guardians and conservators, our experience motivates us to encourage every adult to implement an Advance Medical Directive naming at least two health care agents and clarifying the values and choices to be applied in the making of health care decisions.&nbsp; &nbsp;And we specifically urge you not to wait until next National Healthcare Decisions Day, just in case.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">45th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning:</span></span></strong><br />As a graduate of the Master of Laws program in Estate Planning at the University of Miami Law School, our associate Jennifer L. Moccia, has a particular interest in the Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning.&nbsp; Sponsored by Miami Law School, Heckerling is the nation’s leading conference for estate and tax planning professionals, and is attended by attorneys, accountants, trust officers, insurance advisors and wealth management professionals.&nbsp; Jennifer attended Miami Law School as a graduate student, and decided it was time for her traditional mid-winter Florida homecoming visit.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">The 45th Annual Heckerling Institute, now held in Orlando due to the popularity of the program, featured numerous specialized presentations highlighting estate planning and tax strategies such as: grantor retained annuity trusts, sales to grantor trusts, valuation discounts, post-mortem estate planning, special needs trusts and retirement planning.&nbsp; The Institute also offered in-depth panel discussions featuring the country’s leading estate and tax planning experts on recently enacted estate and gift tax laws.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;">Upon her return from Florida, Jennifer has helped prepare our recent correspondence addressing estate and tax planning considerations arising from the Tax Relief Act of 2010, contributed to the Estate Steward Program Seminar presentation summarizing the Tax Act, and has authored various Featured Posts on our recently updated website.</p>
<p style="margin-top: 0pt; text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Rack Elected to Board of Directors for Beach CBDA</span></strong><br /><em>Kevin Rack</em> was elected to serve a 3-year term on the Board of Directors for the Central Business District Association of Virginia Beach. Kevin has been a leader in many community organizations and activities, and he will be contributing his knowledge and experience to support the goals of the businesses and professions which make up the Association.</p>
<p style="text-align: justify;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Bringing Breast Cancer to Light</span></strong><br />Kevin B. Rack served as Master of Ceremonies for the <em>Bringing Breast Cancer to Light</em> event held September 25, 2010 at the First Baptist Church of Norfolk. The event included presentations by Jennifer Reed, M.D., FACS, Michael Danso, M.D., and Lauries Jesz, RN, CBNC and included a fashion show in which the models were beautiful breast cancer survivors. The events aimed to provide essential information about early detection, treatment and prevention of breast cancer Girl Scouts from local troop 164 were able to use this event to achieve their Gold Award which compares in recognition to the Boy Scouts award of Eagle Scout</p>
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<div style="text-align: justify; float: left; width: 360px;"><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><span class="event">Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc.: </span></span></strong><br />Congratulations to Kevin on being presented the Distinguished Service Award in recognition and appreciation of Kevin's valuable contributions and dedicated service as a Director.</div>
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<p style="text-align: justify;">Rack &amp; Olansen, P.C. is proud to be a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Inc. (NAELA)</p>