As an Estate Settlement Officer and corporate trustee with Bank of America, Derek was responsible for the full administration of estates and trusts from the moment of death through final distribution. This was not a supervisory role — it was hands-on fiduciary work at the institutional level, handling estates of all sizes and complexity across the United States.

In that capacity, Derek:

• Administered both taxable and non-taxable estates, including multi-million dollar estates with complex asset structures
• Coordinated directly with the IRS on estate and income tax matters, including estate tax audits and closing letters
• Managed complex asset classes including real estate portfolios, business interests, oil and gas leases, mineral rights, and investment portfolios
• Worked with financial institutions, brokerage firms, insurance companies, and government agencies to collect and transfer assets
• Supervised distributions to beneficiaries, including minor beneficiaries, special needs beneficiaries, and discretionary trust beneficiaries
• Resolved creditor claims, contested matters, and family disputes in the context of ongoing estate administration

This experience gave Derek a detailed, practical understanding of how estate plans perform under real-world conditions — which documents work, which ones create problems, and what the most common and costly failures look like from the inside.

Since entering private practice, Derek has represented Missouri families and fiduciaries across the full spectrum of estate planning and administration matters — from straightforward young family plans to complex multi-generational trust structures, contested probate proceedings, and business succession planning for closely-held companies.

His private practice experience spans:

• Estate planning — revocable living trusts, wills, powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary designation coordination for individuals and families at all asset levels
• Trust administration — guiding successor trustees through the full administration process, from trustee notices through final accounting and distribution
• Probate administration — representing Personal Representatives in Missouri probate courts, from petition through Letters Testamentary, creditor management, and final closing
• Business succession planning — integrating business ownership into estate plans for closely-held LLCs, corporations, and partnerships, including buy-sell agreements, ownership transfer structures, and succession provisions
• Fiduciary representation — advising executors and trustees on their duties, liability exposure, and proper procedure throughout the administration process

Before law school, Derek built and scaled technology businesses — giving him direct experience as a founder, employer, and owner navigating the challenges of growing a company in a fast-moving environment. That background is not incidental to his legal practice. It fundamentally shapes how he approaches estate planning for clients who own businesses.

For many Missouri families, the business is not just an asset — it is the livelihood, the identity, and the intended legacy. An estate plan that treats a closely-held business as just another line item on an asset list will fail those families. Derek approaches business succession planning with a founder’s understanding of what is actually at stake:

• What happens to the business if the owner dies suddenly — who has authority, who can sign, who can access accounts
• How buy-sell agreements interact with estate plans and life insurance to create a workable succession structure
• How LLC membership interests, S-corporation shares, and partnership interests are properly assigned to trusts without triggering unintended consequences
• How to structure ownership transitions for family members or co-owners in a way that is fair, tax-efficient, and legally sound