Overview
Ansley Chapman Cella, a partner in the firm’s Trusts and Estates group, has assisted closely-held business owners and high net worth individuals with estate planning matters for over twenty years. Ansley received her LL.M in Estate Planning and advises on tax and non-tax aspects of lifetime and post-mortem wealth transfers, business succession, asset protection, and charitable planning.
Prior to joining Smith Anderson, Ansley practiced trusts and estates law at a Raleigh law firm.
Areas of Focus
Credentials
Recognition
- Business North Carolina Legal Elite, Tax and Estate Planning (2012, 2018, 2019, 2021-2025)
- Chambers and Partners: High Net Worth, Private Wealth Law (2023-2025)
- The Best Lawyers in America®
- Trusts and Estates (2018-2026)
- Tax Law (2022-2026)
- Closely Held Companies and Family Business Law (2024-2026)
- Super Lawyers
- North Carolina Super Lawyers (2021-2025)
- North Carolina Super Lawyers Rising Star (2009-2013)
- North Carolina Lawyers Weekly “Best Lawyers in Raleigh,” Trusts and Estates (2017)
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer Rated for Highest Level of Professional Excellence
Clerkships
- Law Clerk to the Honorable Paula H. Thomas, Chief Administrative Judge of the Court of Common Pleas, 15th Judicial Circuit
Education
- University of Miami School of Law, LL.M., Estate Planning, 2000
- University of South Carolina School of Law, J.D., 1998
- Dean’s List
- Phi Delta Phi
- Clemson University, B.A., History (Minor in Commerce Communications), 1994
Bar & Court Admissions
- North Carolina
- South Carolina
Certifications
- NC Board Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law
Affiliations
- North Carolina Bar Association (2001 to present)
- Estate Planning, Probate, and Fiduciary Law Section
- Section Council (2019-2022)
- Membership Committee (2015-2018)
- Chair (2016-2018)
- Vice Chair (2015-2016)
- Pro Bono Committee (2001-2006)
- Estate Planning, Probate, and Fiduciary Law Section
- Wake County Estate Planning Council, Secretary (2013-2014)
- White Memorial Presbyterian Church
- Confirmation Mentor
- Church School Council
- Sunday School Teacher
- Chatham Hall Alumnae Council
Experience
- Draft wills, living wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, special needs trusts, financial and health care powers of attorney, and living wills.
- Advise on revocable trust funding and non-probate beneficiary designations.
- Implement advanced estate planning techniques including generation-skipping dynasty trusts, life insurance trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and charitable trusts.
- Transfer assets to family holding companies to centralize management and preserve multi-generational wealth.
- Assisted business owners and corporate executives with planning in advance of transfer or sale of ownership interests.
- Implement family charitable planning through use of private foundations, charitable remainder and lead trusts, and donor-advised funds.
- Prepare federal gift tax returns to report lifetime use of federal gift and generation-transfer tax exemptions.
- Assist fiduciaries with post-mortem estate and trust administration, including probate and non-probate asset transfer, trust funding, and estate tax return preparation.
- Resolve outdated irrevocable trust issues through termination, modification, or decanting.
