Christina S. Dawson is an Of Counsel in Nutter’s Private Client Department. She focuses her practice on estate planning for a variety of clients, ranging from relatively simple estate plans for families and individuals to more complex plans, utilizing sophisticated strategies to minimize estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxes. Christina advises personal representatives and trustees on all aspects of probate, estate, and trust administration; including estate tax return preparation, and the appointment of guardians and conservators for minors and incapacitated individuals. She also counsels public charities and private foundations on a variety of matters, including operation, grantmaking, and tax compliance matters.
Christina is dedicated to Nutter’s pro bono efforts. She has assisted pro bono clients with estate planning, trust administration matters, and nonprofit development matters through Nutter’s pro bono collaboration with various legal aid organizations.
She has been a member of Nutter’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee and served as co-chair of Nutter’s Speaker Series for Diversity and Inclusion, collaborating with affinity groups from local law schools to present innovative and thought-provoking events for the community. Christina has also served as a mentor to law students.
Christina is working with a team of individuals to form 826 Dallas, which will be a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a community of support to ensure that Dallas-area youth are able to access the power and the joy of writing. Christina also previously served as the chair of the Governance Committee for Wondermore, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to cultivate children’s curiosity, creativity, and academic achievement by bringing children’s authors and illustrators into underserved Boston Public Schools for visits and writing workshops that align with the curriculum.
Christina has previously served as an Associate in the Private Client Department at Nutter and as an Associate in the Wealth Management Group of another mid-size Boston law firm. She has also worked as an advanced planner for a large financial institution where she educated both clients and the broader organization regarding family wealth planning strategies, including estate, trust, gift, and charitable planning techniques. Earlier in her career, she was a Summer Associate at a mid-size Oklahoma law firm and a data analyst at the Liberty Mutual Group.
During law school, Christina served on the Journal of Science and Technology Law and as the internal vice president of the Black Law Students Association. In addition, she was a research assistant to a Boston University School of Law Intellectual Property professor.
PRACTICES
- Counsel for Caregivers
- Estate Administration
- Estate Planning for Individuals and Families
- Private Client
- Trust Services
INDUSTRIES
IN THE COMMUNITY
Christina is working with a team of individuals to form 826 Dallas, which will be a nonprofit organization whose mission is to build a community of support to ensure that Dallas-area youth are able to access the power and the joy of writing.
Christina also previously served as the chair of the Governance Committee for Wondermore, Inc., a nonprofit organization whose mission is to cultivate children’s curiosity, creativity, and academic achievement by bringing children’s authors and illustrators into underserved Boston Public Schools for visits and writing workshops that align with the curriculum.
NOTEWORTHY
- The Best Lawyers in America “Ones to Watch”, 2021
- The National Black Lawyers, “Top 40 Under 40”, 2020 (Massachusetts)
Steph is an associate in the firm’s Private Client Services practice.
Stephanie (Steph) Turcios focuses on tax-efficient estate planning, including wills, powers of attorney, and revocable living trusts. Steph also devotes time to pro bono cases tailored to estate planning and helping veterans.
Steph earned her J.D. from the University of Washington, where she served as a media editor of The Washington Journal of Law, Technology & Arts, and served as a legal extern at the Washington Supreme Court for the Honorable Justice Mary Yu. Steph is also pursuing her Tax LL.M. at the University of Washington.
Steph mentors law students interested in estate planning and speaks annually at the Loren Miller Bar Association Bar Prep program.
Shawndrica N. Simmons is a solo practitioner, mediator and guardian ad litem at LawChic.com. Her Michigan civil litigation practice focuses on Labor & Employment, Family & Contractual Law, Probate and Real Estate. She has been in the legal field for over twenty-five years. A former union advocate and former union president of the American Federation of State County & Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Local 3309/3rd Circuit Court; she now engages in litigation against employers, unions, school districts and municipalities for civil rights violations while handling high-risk divorces involving allegations of abuse. She is everything contracts from sports, death to real estate. She is a serial entrepreneur with her latest venture being opening two supervised parenting time facilities in Oakland County, MI and Wayne County, MI while also offering mediation services based on income levels in family law disputes and civil litigation. She is founder and chief operator of the nonprofit What About the Children? She is married to a master barber/postal worker and co-owns their salon Bundles on the Boulevard. She is a mother and an advocate for those that can’t advocate for themselves. She is the voice of the voiceless. She is raw and uncut while still being respected in the legal community.
Practice Areas:
- Mediation
- Employment/Labor
- Family Law
- Civil Litigation
- Real Estate
Social Media: @lawchicdotcom on all platforms
Instagram
TikTok
Stacey Prince-Troutman works with individuals and families in probate, trusts and estates, and transfer tax controversy matters and has significant experience working with business owners and professional athletes.
Stacey focuses her practice on administering estates and trusts; planning for wealth transfer and transfer tax minimization; preparing gift and estate tax returns; drafting sophisticated estate plan documents; drafting documents related to the formation, management, and succession of closely held entities; asset protection planning; and forming and obtaining tax exempt-status for 501(c)(3) charitable organizations, as well as addressing issues related to the governance and management of the entity. She frequently advises clients on fundraising, tax compliance, and crafting meaningful charitable giving strategies.
Active in the community and profession, Stacey frequently speaks on asset protection topics as well as conducting seminars on estate planning issues. She is a past member of the board of directors for the Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida.
Honors and Distinctions
- Best Lawyers, 2021-2026, Listed in Florida for Trusts and Estates Law
- Best Lawyers, 2026, Named a “Lawyer of the Year” in Florida for Trusts and Estates
- Florida Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Graduate of Class II
- Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, 2023-2024, Notable Women Leaders in Law, Honoree
- Florida Trend’s Legal Elite, 2016, 2020-2022, Listed for Wills, Trusts & Estates
- Super Lawyers Magazine, 2010-2012, Listed in Florida as a “Rising Star”
- Lorman Education Services, Distinguished Faculty
Affiliations
- The Florida Bar
- Florida Probate Rules Committee, Member
- Real Property, Probate and Trust Law, and Tax Law Sections, Member
- Coalition for the Homeless of Central Florida, Board of Directors
Published Work and Lectures
- National Business Institute, Speaker, “Trusts and Taxes in Florida From A to Z,” May 31, 2023
- National Trust Real Estate Association (NTREA), 2022 Educational Development Forum, Speaker, “Trust/Trustee Ownership of Real Estate,” June 14, 2022
- National Business Institute, Speaker, “Income Taxation of Trusts, Estates, and Individuals,” May 9, 2022
- Orlando Business Journal, Author, “What to Do —and Not Do — If You Want a Smooth Business Succession Plan,” November 5, 2021
- Probate and Pumpernickel, Palm Beach Atlantic University, Speaker, “2020 Tax Update,” March 10, 2020
- Financial Planning Association of Central Florida, Speaker, “SECURE Act and Recent Developments,” January 28, 2020
- Florida Bar, Speaker, “Ethics in Estate Administration,” November 15, 2019
- Lorman Education Services Webinar, Speaker, “Opportunities and Drawbacks of Directed Trusts,” November 7, 2019
- Central Florida Estate Planning Council, Speaker, “International Tax Planning: An Overview,” October 8, 2019
- Collier County Bar Association, Speaker, “Planning for the 99%,” May 2, 2019
- Lorman Education Services Webinar, Speaker, “Tax and Estate Planning for Clients Relocating to Florida,” March 12, 2019
- Strafford CLE Webinar, Speaker, “Section 199A for Trusts and Estates: Planning Techniques for Counsel, Optimizing QBI Deductions, Multiple Trusts,” March 12, 2019
- Financial Planning Association of Central Florida, Speaker, “Planning for the Ninety-Nine Percent,” January 29, 2019
- Florida Bar CLE Presentation, Speaker, “Love and Marriage in the Sunshine State: Entitlements of Surviving Spouse under Florida Law,” November 2, 2018
- BNY Mellon Wealth Management, Probate & Pumpernickel, Speaker, “Estate Planning After the 2017 Tax Act,” October 9, 2018
- Lorman Education Services, Speaker, “Tax and Estate Planning for Clients Relocating to Florida,” June 27, 2018
- Financial Planning Association of Central Florida’s 28th Annual Symposium, “Estate Planning and Income Tax Consequences,” March 2018
- The National Business Institute, “Probate Process from Start to Finish,” November 13, 2017
- Orange County Bar Association, “Rights of Surviving Spouse,” October 31, 2017
- ActionLine: A Publication of The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, “Tax Apportionment Issues When Drafting For Blended Families,” October 30, 2017
- The National Business Institute, “Probate Bootcamp,” September 15, 2016
- The National Business Institute, “Probate Process from Start to Finish,” December 4, 2015
- The National Business Institute, “Probate Bootcamp,” September 15, 2012
- The National Business Institute, “Surviving Spouse’s Elective Share and Homestead Rights”
- The National Business Institute, “Top 9 Estate Planning Techniques,” October 27, 2009
- The National Business Institute, “Probate Process from Start to Finish,” December 8, 2006
- The National Business Institute, “Drafting of Wills and Trusts,” May 13, 2005
- The Metropolitan Orlando Urban League’s Young Professionals Financial Empowerment Series, “Estate
- Planning/Setting up a Will & Trust – It’s Never too Early to Think About Your Legacy”
I have practiced law successfully for over thirty years. I am a graduate of the University of Miami's Schools of Business and Law. In the last twenty years of my practice, I became involved in probate administration and litigation, as well as estate planning, including preparing wills and trusts. I enjoy this work because it is personal, and I can see the impact of my work more clearly. Helping my clients through their legal issues and making a difference in people's lives is what keeps me interested in the practice of law.
I gained valuable experience in my banking career before becoming an attorney. I had the great fortune of beginning my business career with one of the largest banks in the State of Florida. There, I earned the opportunity to work my way up. I was trained as an installment and residential loan officer, a commercial credit analyst, and ultimately a commercial lending officer. In the early phase of my legal practice, I was involved as a business litigator in significant work representing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) in banking matters. Subsequently, I focused on commercial and business litigation in a variety of areas. In addition to practicing in the state courts of Florida, I am admitted to practice in United States District Courts for the Southern and Middle Districts of Florida.