Guardianship & POA Conference 2026

Daniel R. Boose, Esquire, is a partner at the law firm of Smith Kane Holman, LLC, with offices in Malvern and Philadelphia. He limits his practice to fiduciary and commercial litigation, and frequently litigates will contests, trust contests, fiduciary removal actions, surcharge actions against executors, trustees, and agents under power of attorney, and guardianship matters. Mr. Boose also has experience litigating matters involving trust modification, and represents beneficiaries, trustees, and executors in various other cases involving estates and trusts. In addition to practicing in the Orphans’ Court throughout the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Mr. Boose also handles Orphans’ Court appellate litigation matters. Mr. Boose was recognized by Best Lawyers ® for his practice in Litigation – Trusts and Estates in 2025 and 2026, and was previously recognized by Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch ® for his practices in Litigation – Trusts and Estates and in Commercial Litigation in 2024. Mr. Boose was also recognized as a “Pennsylvania Super Lawyers Rising Star” for 2021 through 2026 in the practice area of Estate and Trust Litigation. Mr. Boose received his B.B.A. from The University of Georgia, and his J.D. from Villanova University School of Law. He is a member of the Philadelphia and Montgomery County Bar Associations.

Lindsey M. Zimmerman, Esquire, is an associate at the law firm of Smith Kane Holman, LLC, with offices in Malvern and Philadelphia. She limits her practice to fiduciary and commercial litigation (including will contests, power of attorney financial abuse matters, Executor and Trustee misconduct litigation, will and trust interpretations disputes, and guardianships). She currently serves as a Co-Chair of the Rules and Practice Committee of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. She graduated cum laude from Temple University, where she received her bachelor’s degree in English in 2017. In 2020, Ms. Zimmerman received her J.D. from Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Before transitioning to private practice, Ms. Zimmerman served as a judicial law clerk to both the Honorable Sheila Woods-Skipper, Administrative Judge of the Philadelphia Orphans’ Court and the Honorable Gary S. Glazer, Supervising Judge of the Philadelphia Commerce Court.

Franqui Raffaele is managing partner of The Raffaele Law Firm, P.C., practicing law since 2020 with a focus on estate planning, estate administration, elder law, and guardianship/Orphans’ Court litigation. She is regularly appointed as Court-Appointed Legal Counsel for Alleged Incapacitated and Incapacitated Persons in guardianship matters by the Montgomery County Orphans’ Court. Franqui graduated from Ursinus College with bachelor’s degree in Sociology, doubling majoring in Philosophy, and triple minoring in Ethics, History, and Gender and Women’s Studies. She received her J.D. from Widener University Commonwealth Law School with a Certificate in Trial Advocacy and earned an LL.M. in Tax with an Estate Planning Certificate from Temple University Beasley School of Law. She is also a graduate of the Pennsylvania Bar Association Bar Leadership Institute, Class of 2023-2024, and the Montgomery Bar Association Leadership Institute Academy, Class of 2024. Franqui serves as a Zone 9 Co-Coordinator for the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Wills for Heroes program and a Council Member of the Elder Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. She is active in the Montgomery Bar Association, where she is Past Young Lawyers Section Chair (2025) and Co-Chair of both the Elder Law Committee and the Sidebar Committee.

Brian Scott Dietrich is a shareholder at SAXTON & STUMP, LLC in the Senior Care and Healthcare Litigation groups in the Malvern, Pennsylvania office. Mr. Dietrich practices healthcare and commercial litigation, with emphasis in Medicaid and Guardianship matters. Mr. Dietrich is an experienced litigator with more than 36 years in healthcare and elder law litigation. Mr. Dietrich has appeared in over 60 of the 67 Counties in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania for trial in the Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Dietrich is a member of the Bar of the United States Supreme Court, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, and the courts of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Mr. Dietrich is a member of the Pennsylvania, Delaware County, and Montgomery County Bar Associations. Mr. Dietrich is a graduate of Germantown Academy, Ursinus College, and the University of Richmond – T.C. Williams School of Law.

Timothy J. Holman, Esquire, is a partner at the law firm of Smith Kane Holman, LLC, with offices in Malvern and Philadelphia. He limits his practice to fiduciary and commercial litigation (including will contests, power of attorney financial abuse matters, Executor and Trustee misconduct litigation, will and trust interpretation disputes, and guardianships). He lectures frequently for the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Philadelphia Bar Association and others on fiduciary litigation topics, ethical issues facing lawyers and trial advocacy. He served previously as the Representative of the Executive Committee of the Philadelphia Bar Association’s Probate and Trust Law Section (the “Probate Section”) to the Board of Governors of the Philadelphia Bar Association. He also served a three-year term as an elected member of the Probate Section’s Executive Committee, and for six years served as chair of the Probate Section’s Orphans’ Court Litigation and Alternative Dispute Resolution Committee. Mr. Holman taught a class on “Probate Process and Practice” for several years in the Villanova Law School’s Graduate Tax Division. He has been recognized from 2012 through 2025 by the “Best Lawyers in America” in the field of Litigation – Trusts and Estate, and as a “Super Lawyer” from 2016 through 2025 in Estate and Trust Litigation. Mr. Holman authors the popular blog “Around the Pennsylvania Orphans’ Courts” which can be found at the firm’s website – www.skhlaw.com.

Mr. Higgins is a partner at Mannion Prior, LLP. His practice focuses on litigation involving trusts, estates, guardianships, powers of attorney, and other fiduciary litigation matters before the Orphans’ Court Division of the Court of Common Pleas, Register of Wills, and the Pennsylvania Superior and Commonwealth Courts. He is a member of the Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, and Montgomery Bar Associations, and serves as Chair of the Legislation Committee of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Mr. Higgins has been named a Super Lawyers Rising Star® in estate and trust litigation each year since 2020 and was honored as a Lawyer on the Fast Track by ALM at its Pennsylvania Legal Awards in 2024. Before joining Mannion Prior in 2018, Mr. Higgins clerked for the Honorable Richard M. Hughes, III, of the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas. Mr. Higgins is a graduate of Colgate University (B.A., Classics), the Penn State Dickinson School of Law – Carlisle (J.D.), and King’s College London (LL.M.).

Chloe Mullen-Wilson is an Associate in the Wills, Trusts and Estates Department and focuses her practice on Orphans’ Court litigation, estate and trust administration, guardianships, special needs trusts, real estate and corporate matters. Her Orphans’ Court experience specifically includes will contests, trust disputes, contested and uncontested guardianships, minors’ guardianships, formal accounting preparation and defense, and other related probate matters. Before joining the firm, Chloe worked for a boutique trusts and estates firm, where she gained experience working on matters pertaining to guardianships, special needs trusts, estate and trust planning and administration, and Orphans’ Court litigation. Chloe graduated from Seton Hall University, summa cum laude, where she majored in Spanish and History while minoring in Philosophy and Women’s Studies, and subsequently graduated from Temple University Beasley School of Law, cum laude. During law school, she clerked for the Honorable Petrese B. Tucker of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania and for the Honorable Anne E. Lazarus of the Pennsylvania Superior Court. Chloe served as Chair of the Diversity Committee and Executive Committee member of the Probate and Trust Law Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association from 2022 through 2025. In addition to being a member of the Philadelphia Bar Association, she is also a member of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Pennsylvania Bar Association, the Probate and Tax Section of the Montgomery Bar Association.

Luke M. Edmondson is an Associate at KMS Law Offices, LLC. His practice is focused on estate planning, estate administration, and fiduciary counseling. Luke earned his B.A. in English from Penn State University, his J.D. from the Syracuse University College of Law, and his LL.M. in Taxation from the Temple University Beasley School of Law. Following law school, Luke clerked for the Honorable Catherine Fitzpatrick in the Superior Court of New Jersey in Trenton, New Jersey. Luke is the current Chair of the Technology Committee for the Probate Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association, and he is a graduate of Class IV of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute.

Mr. Jaskowiak is a sole practitioner in Jenkintown, PA, who has been in practice since 1987. He received a Bachelor of Arts from La Salle College (now, University) in 1977, graduating maxima cum laude. After several years working as a licensed real estate broker in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, he received his law degree from Temple University in 1987, graduating cum laude. His work in the area of elder law now focuses principally on litigation involving elder abuse, POA abuse and other financial exploitation issues, filial support, and guardianships. He has previously presented for the Pennsylvania Association of Elder Law Attorneys (“PAELA”), the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the Montgomery County Bar Association, the Elder Roundtable for Justice, and both the Lehigh and Montgomery County Estate Planning Councils. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, the United States District Courts for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, and the Third Circuit.

Gwendolyn Kull is an Assistant District Attorney in Montgomery County where she is currently serving as Captain of the Professional Standards Division, overseeing Open Records Requests and Discovery operations for criminal prosecutions. Prior to that role, she served as Captain of the Economic Crimes Unit in the Trials Division. Her duties include prosecuting criminal cases through trial and supervising attorneys, non-attorney staff, and investigations into financial crimes. She specializes in investigating and prosecuting cases of elder abuse and exploitation, including crimes involving cryptocurrencies. Prior to her supervisory role, she served on the Firearms Unit, Domestic Violence Unit, Economic Crimes Unit, and Norristown Community Justice Unit in the Trials Division prosecuting most types of crimes, ranging from non-violent offenses to murders. Gwendolyn has served as an Assistant District Attorney in Montgomery County since her graduation from University of Pennsylvania Law School in 2017.

Lois Murphy has been a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas in Montgomery County, since 2010, and the Administrative Judge of the Orphans’ Court Division since 2015. In the Orphans’ Court Division, she handles a wide variety of matters including will contests, guardianships, trust and estate matters, termination of parental rights, adoptions and matters related to minors’ estates and non-profit organizations. Judge Lois Murphy serves as Chair of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court’s Advisory Council on Elder Justice in the Courts. She also served as a Co-Chair of the Pennsylvania Supreme Court Working Group on Public Access. Judge Murphy graduated from Harvard College in 1984, magna cum laude and Harvard Law School in 1987, cum laude. She served as a law clerk to Judge George C. Pratt of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, as a trial and appellate attorney for the United States Justice Department and as counsel to a national non-profit organization. She practiced law with Morgan, Lewis and then at Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill and Sager, P.C.

Mr. Boulden is a partner in the Fort Washington firm of Timoney Knox, LLP, where he concentrates on estate litigation he also does estate administration and estate planning. He received his B.A. with honors from West Chester University and his J.D. from the Widener University School of Law, where he served on the Moot Court Executive Honor Board and was named to the Order of Barristers. Mr. Boulden has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for the years 2007 through the present. He has been recognized as a Super Lawyer since 2014. Mr. Boulden served as an officer of the Montgomery County Bar Association Probate and Tax Section. He has served as a co-chairperson of the Montgomery County Orphans’ Court Rules Committee.  Mr. Boulden is a frequent lecturer on estate- and orphans’ court–related topics and has served on the faculties of numerous Pennsylvania Bar Institute programs. Mr. Boulden currently is a co-author of The Law of Wills in Pennsylvania.   He has previously co-authored or assisted with Hunters Orphans’ Court Commonplace Book (second edition), and The Pennsylvania Probate, Estates and Fiduciaries Code Annotated. 

Rick Holzworth is a partner at Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, P.C. His practice focuses on fiduciary litigation in administrative proceedings, trial courts, and appellate courts. His clients include individuals, corporate fiduciaries, non-profit entities, and closely-held businesses throughout Pennsylvania and across the country. He has significant experience in a variety of matters involving estates, trusts, guardianships, powers of attorney, and charitable interests. Rick frequently speaks and writes on fiduciary litigation and estate and trust topics, including will contests, attorney-client privilege and the fiduciary exception, and issues involving medical marijuana. He currently serves on the Executive Committee for the Philadelphia Probate and Trust Law Section and is the chair of the Orphans’ Court Litigation Committee.

Merideth E. Ketterer is an attorney at Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania. Merideth focuses her practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, and estate and gift taxation. She graduated cum laude from Temple University with a bachelor’s degree in strategic communication and a minor in business studies. Merideth received her J.D. from Temple University Beasley School of Law and was the recipient of the Nancy J. Knauer & Eleanor W. Myers Integrated Transactional Program Award. She is a Past President of the Temple University Young Alumni Association. After law school, Merideth completed a judicial clerkship with the Honorable John J. Matheussen, Superior Court of New Jersey, Gloucester County. Prior to joining Heckscher, Teillon, Terrill & Sager, Merideth was an associate attorney at a boutique trusts and estates law firm in Princeton, New Jersey. Merideth was nominated for and is participating in the Mid-Atlantic Fellows Institute sponsored by the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). She is also a member of the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Bar Leadership Institute Class of 2024-2025. Merideth is currently serving as the Young Lawyers Division Liaison for the Probate and Trust Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Merideth is admitted to practice law in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Florida.

As Inspire Trust’s Business Development Director, Nora educates individuals who have experienced a life altering injury, loss, or medical event in selecting Inspire Trust Company’s uniquely tailored fiduciary services to comprehensively identify, meet, and address their needs. Nora guides individuals, their loved ones, and their professional advisory teams — including litigation counsel, settlement consultants, case managers, estate and trust planners, and financial advisors — in understanding Inspire Trust’s fiduciary offerings. Prior to joining Inspire Trust, Nora represented corporate fiduciary banks and trust companies, families, special needs loved ones, and professional teams in private practice for nearly 20 years, across all areas of estate, trust, public benefits, capacity, guardianship, and settlement planning and administration, both in and out of court. Nora is a Fellow of the esteemed American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC) and a Certified Elder Law Attorney through the National Elder Law Foundation. She received her B.A., summa cum laude, and J.D., with a community service award, from the University of Pittsburgh. Her deep understanding of unique planning needs, combined with her knowledge of fiduciary duties and processes and her prior experience as legal counsel for one of the largest state Medicaid agencies — the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services (formerly Public Welfare) — uniquely equip her in her role at Inspire Trust. Nora serves on the council for the Allegheny County Bar Association Probate and Trust Section and is a research assistant for Pennsylvania’s Joint State Government Commission on Decedents’ Estates and Trusts. She is a frequent volunteer and speaker for various local community, advocacy, nonprofit, and professional groups, including the Pennsylvania Bankers’ Association, the Fiduciary Education Foundation, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, the National Business Institute, the Trust Education Foundation’s Trust Advisors Forum, and the Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh. In her personal time, Nora enjoys her family, traveling, the outdoors, and a regular yoga practice.