Introduction to Contested Guardianships in Virginia

Kimberley Ann Murphy, Esq., has been a partner and principal attorney of the law firm of Hale Ball Carlson Baumgartner Murphy, PLC, in Fairfax, Virginia, since 2005. She had been an Associate with the firm since being admitted to the Virginia State Bar in October 2000. Attorney Murphy concentrates her practice in the areas of Administrative Law (professional license compliance), Estates and Trusts (administration and litigation) and Business/Civil litigation). She has appeared on numerous occasions before many circuit courts throughout the Commonwealth, in addition to the Court of Appeals of Virginia and the Supreme Court of Virginia, as well as the Virginia Department of Health Professions and Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control. In 2007, Attorney Murphy was admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Attorney Kimberley Murphy has published an article with the Virginia Bar Association's Wills, Trusts & Estates section as well as presented a seminar for funeral professionals for the International Order of the Golden Rule. She has presented CLE's for the Fairfax Bar Association and National Business Institute. She was named to Best Lawyers in America for 2014 for Trusts and Estates – Litigation, and for 2015 for Trusts and Estates and Trusts and Estates – Litigation. She attained an AV-rated peer review in 2014, and has been named to Super Lawyers since 2007.

Jean Galloway Ball is an honors graduate of the National Law Center, George Washington University.  She did her undergraduate work at the University of California at Berkeley, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a B.A. in history.

Mrs. Ball is certified in Elder Law by the National Elder Law Foundation.  This certification is predicated on demonstrated knowledge and experience in numerous areas of law relevant to senior citizens and disabled persons.  She is a member of the Council of Advanced Practitioners of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys and a member of the Academy of Special Needs Planners.  She has been elected a Fellow of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. She is a past two term President of the Virginia Academy of Elder Law Attorney, a chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (“NAELA”), and Chair of the Steering/Program Committee for the Council of Advance Practitioners of NAELA.

Mrs. Ball is admitted to practice in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia and serves clients in all three jurisdictions.  She has an “AV” peer review rating by Martindale-Hubbell. For the years 2007 through 2019 she has been selected as a SuperLawyer in the field of Elder Law for Virginia and the Washington, D.C. metro area and has been named one of the tope 50 woman attorneys in Virginia for the last few years.

Mrs. Ball’s practice focuses on life-care and estate planning for all ages, elder law, special needs planning for disabled adults, guardianship/conservator proceedings, probate, trust administration and related fiduciary litigation, including contested guardianships, protection of vulnerable adults from financial exploitation, will and trust contests, requests for accountings from agents and trustees, and elective share claims.