Posted: July 30, 2010

A principal with the law firm of Midgett & Preti PC in Virginia Beach, John T. Midgett was elected president of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council for 2010-11.

Note: He is also president of the Mariner's Mark Condominium Association, a past president of both the Hampton Roads Gift Planning Council and the Financial Planning Association, and a past chair of the Trusts & Estates Section of the Virginia State Bar. The interview:

Solving puzzles

Our firm is concentrated in estate planning, administration and taxation, estate and fiduciary litigation, and family business planning. We choose to concentrate in that because there is a lot going on in that area. I think it's a good field to go into because I always say that it's better to have a deeper knowledge of a little bit of something than a broad knowledge of everything. We deal with helping people transfer the things they own to the people they love at the lowest possible tax cost. Plus in this line of business we are faced with different puzzle pieces. We're putting the pieces together to make a unique picture for everybody. See, everyone comes in here with different desires and goals. We may use the same tools to solve the puzzle but the outcome is different. I personally enjoy the work I do. I like rolling out of bed every morning knowing that I can help a family out there.

On the law career path

I chose it as a career because I was tired of getting beaten up. As a 12-year-old I was getting beat up all the time and losing the fights. To avoid getting beat up, I would try to persuade my assailant from beating me up and going after another guy. I started to get good at persuading people to listen to my argument. So at age 13, I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. Our entire country was founded on the rule of law. Some of our founding fathers, like Madison, Monroe and Jefferson, were trained as lawyers. Law was an area that appealed to me. I'm in a position where I can help somebody. Law is like playing a board game. You play the game better if you understand the rules. I like understanding the rules.

Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council

The council was designed to be a forum for law, accounting, insurance, trust officer, financial planners and nonprofit professionals. Our goal was to get together and assist these clients and form comprehensive estate plans and understand what role these professionals play in this process. I have been a member of the board for the last eight years and a member of the council since the early 80s. The council is approaching its 40th anniversary. As president of the council, my job is to oversee the process. We have five meetings a year. We are constantly looking for dynamic speakers, exciting topics that will bring a lot of value to the table and to each professional. Coordinating the topic and speakers has been the biggest challenge for the last few years. We have upgraded the quality of our speakers and attendance has skyrocketed. I would consider joining our council if you are looking for people who can help you make good decisions for your clients. It allows you to rub elbows with the top practitioners in the area of law, accounting, and insurance. It's much easier to communicate with someone you know and get to the true position where you are helping your client.

Roles as president/chairman of four other organizations

One of the biggest things about being president of any association is being able to deal with diverse opinions and to be able to moderate adversarial positions into cooperative positions. You want to make sure the person is heard and their ideas are considered and not rejected in any way that prevents their participation in the future. Everyone wants to be heard and contribute to the cause. If you can help them feel as though they have made a contribution to the organization, then you have made a difference. If not, you're standing in the middle and everyone is taking pot shots.

The $12 million will

I'm currently involved in a suit to construe which of four separate wills is the last will and testament of a controversial person in the community. Usually when you make a new one you revoke the prior will. In this case, there are challenges to each of the wills based on competency, fraud, duress and undo influence. Right now, there is no modern medical test like MRIs or CAT scans done to test for competency. We look at whether the person knows their heirs, what they own and if they realize that they are going through the process of making a will. They can sign off on their will today and then be declared incompetent the next. As long as they are competent when they sign, the will is valid. Capacity only has to exist for a brief moment when you sign a will. There are approximately 15 different beneficiaries that appear on each will and there are five law firms involved with the $12 million will.

Downtime

I'm terrible at golf because I don't play enough. I'm attempting to learn the acoustic guitar. I do watch some movies. I also dabble in photography and calligraphy. I tend to do more things that challenge me creatively.