Practice Areas
- Estate Planning, Wills & Trusts
- Income & Estate Tax Planning
- Trust Administration & Probate Estates
- Guardianships & Conservatorships
- Prenuptial & Postnuptial Agreements
- Asset Protection Planning
- Corporate Law & Business Succession Planning
Experience
- The Counts Law Firm, LLC
Owner/Principal, 2009 – Present
- Vincent Fontg & Hansen LLC
Of Counsel, 2006 – 2009
- Heart of America United Way
Director of Planned Giving, 2005 – 2006
- Spencer Fane Britt & Browne, LLP
Associate, 2000 – 2005
Bar Admissions
Education
- University of Kansas School of Law
Juris Doctor, 2000
- Missouri State University
Bachelor of Science in Accounting, 1996
(formerly Southwest Missouri State University)
- Justus-Liebig Universitaet (Giessen, Germany)
Participant in International Student Exchange Program, 1995
Professional Associations & Activities
- Missouri Bar Association – Member
- Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium
– Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Committee Chair (2021 – Present)
– Board Chair (2014-2015)
– Speakers Committee Chair (2013 – 2014)
– Marketing Committee Co-Chair (2010 – 2013)
– Director (2009 – Present)
- Estate Planning Society of Kansas City
– Member
– Board of Directors (2009 – 2011; 2012 – 2013)
- Missouri Bar Subcommittee on Creditor Protection for Inherited IRAs – a subcommittee of the Missouri Bar Probate and Trust Committee (2011)
Speaking & Teaching
- UMKC School of Law – Adjunct Professor – Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits (2008 – Present); Introduction to Trusts (2019 – Present)
- LGBTQ Inclusive Planning Considerations – Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium – Estate Planning Fundamentals (2021)
- Practice Management Panel – Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium – Estate Planning Fundamentals (2019)
- Considerations when Planning for Same-Sex Couples – Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium – Estate Planning Fundamentals (2017)
- Update on K.S.A. §59-618a – Johnson County Bar Association – Probate Bench Bar CLE (2016)
- Trust Funding and Digital Assets – Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium – Estate Planning Fundamentals (2015)
- IRA Beneficiary Designations and IRAs in Probate – Johnson County Bar Association (2015)
- IRAs and Retirement Benefits – Kansas City Estate Planning Symposium – Estate Planning Fundamentals (2013)
- Ethical Scenarios and Attorney Malpractice – Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education – Annual Estate & Trust Institute (2013)
- How to Proceed Through Probate – Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education – Stepping Up & Stepping Out: The New Lawyer Experience (2011)
- The Honeymoon is Over: Estate Planning Considerations for the Divorcing Client – Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education – Annual Estate & Trust Institute (2011)
- Ethical Issues for the Tax Practitioner – UMKC School of Law Continuing Legal Education – Recent Developments in Federal Taxes (2011 – 2013); 15-Hour Review of the Law (2011 & 2012)
- Advanced Business Planning – UMKC School of Law Continuing Legal Education – Co-Chair of Program (2010)
- Planning for the Seriously Ill – Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education – Annual Estate & Trust Institute (2010)
- Estate & Trust Issues for the LGBT Community – Kansas Bar Association – LGBT Legal Issues (2009)
- Navigating the Law’s Highest Duty: Serving as a Trustee without Becoming a Defendant – Missouri Bar Continuing Legal Education – Annual Estate & Trust Institute (2003)
Community Involvement
- Church of the Resurrection Foundation
– Board of Directors (2021 – Present); Development Committee (2021 – Present)
- Children's Mercy Hospital Donald H. Chisholm Planned Giving Council
– Chair (2017); Executive Committee (2013 – 2022); Member (2007 – Present)
- Ronald McDonald House Charities
– Planned Giving Committee (2009 – 2016); Development Committee (2018 – Present)
- The Women’s Foundation of Greater Kansas City
– Board of Directors (2013 – 2016)
– Investment Committee (2010 – 2016)
- Centurions (Greater KC Chamber of Commerce Leadership Program)
– 2007 Graduate
Distinctions
- Selected as a Missouri & Kansas Super Lawyer (2021 – 2022)
- Named 2015 Best of the Bar – Estate Planning, Estate & Trust Administration – Kansas City Business Journal
- Named to the 40 Under Forty Class of 2012 by Ingram’s – Kansas City’s Business Magazine
- Selected as a Missouri & Kansas Rising Star – Super Lawyers (2011 – 2014)
- Raymond Rice Foundation Scholar at University of Kansas School of Law
- Graduated Summa Cum Laude from Missouri State University
- Presidential Scholar at Missouri State University
Personal
Heather is a native of Salina, Kansas, and has been a resident of the Kansas City area since 2000. She enjoys cooking, travel, and spending time with her family.
Neither the Supreme Courts nor the Bars of Missouri or Kansas review or approve certifying organizations or specialist designations.
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