This presentation explores the legal, practical, and interpretive tensions between what a Grantor intends and how the Fiduciary Trustee interprets the language and the discretion of the document. This important discussion will provide meaningful guidance for Professional Fiduciaries when serving as a Trustee.
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Friday - January 30, 2026
9:00 a.m. - 10:00 a.m. - VIRTUAL
$50.00 - Non-Members
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Applied for CEU, CLE, CTFA AND PARALEGAL CREDIT!!!
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About Erica K. Smith Roodhouse, Esq.
Erica Roodhouse is a Senior Attorney at Legacy Protection Lawyers, LLP, a boutique St. Petersburg trust and estate firm. She concentrates her practice in estate planning, tax planning, probate and trust administration, and guardianships, as well as writing and speaking on those subjects. Erica is a Past President of the St. Petersburg Bar Association, Past President of the Suncoast Estate Planning Council, Past Chair of a Sixth Judicial Circuit Grievance Committee, and a Graduate of the American College of Trust and Estate Florida Fellows Institute. Erica has a passion for the Tampa Bay community and volunteer work. She currently serves as Chair of the Pinellas Community Foundation and a Board Member for the Community Law Program. She recently completed her term as an Executive Board Member of the St. Petersburg Free Clinic. She has been awarded the Florida Bar President’s Pro Bono Award for the Sixth Judicial Circuit and the 2025 St. Petersburg Bar Foundation Heroes Among Us Award, and she has been a Finalist in the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce’s Iconic Women of Vision Award. Erica earned her law degree, with honors, from Stetson University College of Law and is a Phi Beta Kappa graduate of The College of William and Mary.
About Gentry B. Byrnes, Esq.
Gentry is the Co-Founder and Chief Fiduciary Officer of Adelphi Trust Company. She has a 30+ year legal and fiduciary career. Gentry served as the Chief Fiduciary Officer of Raymond James Trust, N.A. managing a team of fiduciary professionals nationwide with 8 billion in assets. Prior to that, Gentry was the Senior Regional Trust Manager for the Tampa Bay, Sarasota, Naples and Central Florida markets for Wells Fargo, previously Wachovia, and a senior trust officer and team leader at Bank of America. Gentry started her career with the law firm of Fisher and Sauls, P.A. where her practice included estate and trust administration, estate planning and guardianship. She frequently speaks on fiduciary issues and is involved in the state and local bar associations. She is a past president of both the St. Petersburg Bar Association and Suncoast Estate Planning Council and remains active in both organizations. Gentry is currently the treasurer of the St. Petersburg Bar Foundation, chair of the Will for Warriors program at Stetson College of Law, a founding member of the Professional Fiduciary Council of Florida, a board member for St Pete Free Clinic and a member of the Stetson Elder Law Advisory Board.
About Darby Jones, JD
Darby Jones is an attorney and member of the Florida Bar and Maryland Bar. Darby served as a trust officer for financial institutions in Maryland for over 15 years before establishing Professional Fiduciary Services, LLC in 2011 and served as a professional fiduciary in a variety of capacities including as Trustee, Agent under Power of Attorney, Health Care Surrogate, Personal Representative, and Professional Guardian. Now, Darby focuses on fiduciary consulting services for those individuals, professional fiduciaries, or families needing guidance and practical solutions for the smooth implementation of their estate plan or goals but are unsure where to start, or what to do next!
Darby is also host of Aging Academy; Navigating Decisions, a monthly webcast in collaboration with AARP Florida, delivering monthly presentations about the challenges, decisions, and problem solving that we all face as we age including preparation for medical events, caregiving challenges, family dynamics, financial/legal challenges, and life’s aging concerns.
Darby is a Founding Member and President of the Executive Board of the Professional Fiduciary Council of Florida. Darby is a member of the Executive Council of the Real Property Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar serving as Liaison for the Professional Fiduciary Council of Florida and the Office of Public and Professional Guardians. Darby graduated from American University, Washington College of Law in Washington D.C. after completing her first year at Stetson College of Law, in St. Petersburg.
Darby has been an active member and presenter for Bar Associations, Estate Planning Councils, charitable boards, the AARP Aging Academy, and various organizations throughout her career speaking on a variety of fiduciary and aging related topics.
