Elder Law

Kent B. Alderman is a partner in the LEWIS HANSEN Law Firm. He focuses his practice on elder law issues, state and federal tax issues, and tax planning, including estate planning and probate work. He also has extensive experience with trusts, trust administration, special needs trusts, guardianships and conservatorships. Kent is an active member of the Utah State Bar Elder Law Section, the Estate Planning Section, the American Bar Association, the Real Property, Probate and Trusts Section, and the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He was a member of the Utah State Bar Needs of the Elderly Committee, and was chairman for 1996, 1997 and 1998. Kent is a past chair of the Utah State Bar Estate Planning Section. He has been a lecturer at Continuing Legal Education classes on elder law, taxation, probate, guardianship and conservatorship.

From 1970 to 1972, Kent was group manager of the Stabilization Division of the San Francisco District Internal Revenue Service, and from 1973 to 1974 was chief of the Legal Procedures Unit, Special Procedures Staff of the San Francisco District Internal Revenue Service. He left the Internal Revenue Service and has been in private practice since 1975. He has been a mediator on the Court-Annexed Alternative Dispute Resolution roster for the Third District Court.

Kent served on the Working Interdisciplinary Network of Guardianship Shareholders for the Utah Guardianship Summit with the Administrative Office of the Courts in 2013, and the Court Visitor Steering Committee in 2012. Kent is presently serving on the Utah State Bar Guardianship Signature Program.

Kent earned a B.S. from the Utah State University in 1967. He completed his J.D. from the University of San Francisco School Of Law, San Francisco, California, in 1974.

Kent is admitted to practice law in California (1974) and Utah (1976). He is admitted to practice before the U.S. District Court Northern District of California (1974), the U.S. District Court District of Utah (1976), and the U.S. Tax Court (1987).

SERVICE AREAS

• Elder Law

Related Activities and Skills

• American Bar Association, Taxation Section and Real Property, Probate & Trust Section
• National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
• Utah Bar Association, Elder Law Section, and Estate Planning Section Mediator

Published Works

• Court-Appointed Surrogate Decision Makers, Guardian and Conservators, Utah Bar Journal, August/September, 2001.

Classes/Seminars Taught

• Guardianship and Conservatorship Update, Utah State Bar Spring Convention in St. George, Utah, March 12, 2015.
• The Nuts and Bolts of Estate and Disability Planning, Utah Gerontological Society 16th Annual Conference, September 18, 2007.
• Senate Bill 75 Utah Advance Care Directive Statute, Utah State Bar 2007 Annual Convention, July 19, 2007.
• Special Needs Trusts and Pooled Fund Trusts, Utah State Bar Committee on Law and Aging Program, May 19, 2006.
• Risk Management in the Assisted Living Industry in Utah, Utah Assisted Living Association Annual Conference, May 20, 2005.
• What To Do When Someone Dies – Practical Steps, Weber Davis Estate Planning Council, April 26, 2005.
• Taxation of Supplemental Needs Trusts, Tax Section, Utah State Bar, October 26, 2004.
• Special Needs Trusts, Salt Lake Estate Planning Council, 2003 Fall Institute, October 24, 2003.
• Planning with Special Needs Trusts in Utah, National Business Institute Continuing Legal Education Seminar, July 30, 2003.
• Caring for your Aging Parents, Planning for Yourself, Utah State Bar Annual Convention, 2003, July 18, 2003.
• The Nuts and Bolts of Guardianship and Conservatorship Proceedings, Estate Planning Section of the Utah State Bar, February 11, 2003.
• Participated in a panel discussion, Where Law and Medicine Intersect in Aging and End-of-Life Care.Topic: Informed Consent and Decision-Making Capacity, November 15, 2002.
• The Probate Process from Start to Finish, NBI Seminar, June 25, 2002.
• Durable Powers of Attorney: Advantages, Pitfalls, Abuse and Recent Developments in the Law, Utah State Bar Annual Meeting 2002.
• Guardianship and Conservatorship Proceedings, 2001 District Court Conference, May 3, 2001.
• Guardianship and Conservatorship Law and Proceedings, 2000 District Court Conference, April 27, 2000.
• Handling Will and Trust Contests and Difficult Probate Litigation in Utah, NBI Seminar, September 27, 2000.
• Addressing Clients on End-of-Life Issues, Utah State Bar Needs of the Elderly Committee CLE for Lawyers November 16, 2000.
• Utah Office of Public Guardian, Utah State Bar annual meeting, 1999.
• An Understanding of the Current Guardianship/Conservatorship Law and Procedure in the State of Utah, Utah Gerontological Society’s Seventh Annual Conference, 1999.
• Nuts and Bolts of Guardianship/Conservatorship Law and Procedure, Utah State Bar Needs of the Elderly Committee CLE for Lawyers, 1998.
• Fundamentals of Guardianship and Conservatorship, Utah State Bar Needs of the Elderly Committee – CLE for Lawyers, 1996.
• Guardianships, Conservatorship and the Alternatives in Utah, NBI Seminar, 1996.
• Constitutional Limitations on State Taxation of Non-Resident Corporations, Annual Utah State Bar Meeting, 1995.
• Your Will – A Dynamic and Priceless Possession, Bank One/Classic Center Investment and Trust Seminar, 1995.
• Divorce Taxation in Utah, NBI Seminar, 1994.