Meet Stephanie P. Graham | Estate Planning & Probate Attorney

We had the good fortune of connecting with Stephanie P. Graham and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Stephanie P., can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
I attended law school to study estate planning but once I was exposed to the law as a first generation attorney, I wanted to do and try everything. Then in November 2015, around two weeks before Thanksgiving my grandmother died. I wasn’t as close to her as everyone else because I did not grow up with her like my cousins did but I knew she was worshipped and loved dearly. Nothing started without Maybelle Richardson. My family, my mother’s four sisters and one or two of her three brothers along with their children, my cousins, always celebrated Thanksgiving together, under one roof with my grandmother at an aunt’s house or my mother’s house in South Carolina. There would be cake for my birthday which falls right around Thanksgiving and they would sing happy birthday to me and we would tell silly stories about each other from our childhood. After my grandmother passed away, everyone sat together one more time but it seems instead of remembering her life, we only remembered her loss which was traumatizing for a large part of the family. One aunt handled her bank accounts, another handled her health care, bedturning and cooking every single day, a third helped when she could because she lived 90 minutes away and the fourth, my mother, was running two businesses. Therefore she sent a nurse’s aide and could not be there as often as the others. And, though they do not talk about it, it changed us. It changed everyone.

When my grandmother died, I was employed in a job that wasn’t serving me and, no matter what I did, I was unable to serve them in the way they felt I should. When my grandmother died, my supervisor told me I did not have enough PTO to attend her funeral. What kind of management says that to their staff?! I attended the funeral anyway and, after that, it seems I couldn’t do anything right at work. I was reprimanded for asking someone other than my supervisor for help on the software app. I was accused of dropping files on desks and not communicating. It was nuts. Eventually, we agreed I should leave and they escorted me out with gunned security like a thief in the night. After that, I had resolved to apply for a job in Target because practicing law in Atlanta for the past 8 years after leaving Alston and Bird was exhaustiing and not worth the trouble. Not long after that unfortunate episode, someone asked me why did I attend law school and it was as though a light flashed in front of me. Four months later, I started Graham Estate Planning.

Alright, so for those in our community who might not be familiar with your business, can you tell us more?
My business, Graham Estate Planning, has a mission to educate everyone about the perils of probate when you do not plan ahead and that failing to plan affects the living, not the dead and not just the rich. We tell you more than you want to know because we want you to get it. We want you to know how it hurts your loved ones. How lost they are and that they may lose the house. What sets me apart from others in my business is there is no pretense; what you see is what you get. I am open, honest, direct and hysterical. We have no secrets. Your family could easily be my family and we all have a little bit of dysfunction and this is the reason why you need a plan. I am most proud of our growth and our reach. Attorneys from all over refers my lil old practice. Practicing law in no way prepares you to run and operate a law firm. It isn’t easy and it never will be if you are growing or want to grow. The lessons I learned quickly was to ask for help. What I didn’t learn so quickly is to follow my gut instinct or why certain steps were necessary in building a business. I still struggle with certain challenges because as you grow the challenges change. They come out of the blue. When you tackle one, another pops up. I learned never to stray too far from God whom I talk to regularly like a BFF. I am known to always have a christian journal or bible in my office.. I learned you can’t share with everyone because they want you to fail but I wish the world knew that I am lot more laid back and funnier than they know but I take my work and my clients seriously. We still make mistakes but we always fix them because with growth comes new challenges but our brand is here to stay.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I would take my BFF to feast on brunch at the Four Seasons. This can easily be an all day affair believe it or not. Then we’d rent a studio room with a terrace at the Waldorf for the weekend and indulge in spa treatments the entire weekend where they spoil you rotten. If we got bored at the Waldorf bar we’d go to the Garden Room for drinks or Matcha Cafe or Sharetea for our favorite tea drink with butter cake for dessert at Maggiano’s or California Pizza. If my knee is up to it, we might find a golf course and hit some balls in the pond because I haven’t figured out how to hit the ball across the bond yet. Then back to the spa to relax the golf muscles. If she is up to it, we might go rollerskating or bowling if we can find a quite location but it’s the weekend and that’s not likely. LOL!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I’d like to shoutout Ms. Lavelle, my high school calculus teacher, and Professor McClendon, my law school professor. They gave me the courage and support I needed when I was young and impressionable. I’d like to shoutout Jerome Hurt, Tom Messina and Gina Cantone, my managers and colleagues from the bank I worked with in New York prior to law school who allowed me to thrive and grow beyond measures. I’d like to shoutout my colleagues from the Bronx District Attorneys Office who taught me what a trial team looks like in action in court and out and lastly, my business and life coaches and my four closest friends who know the real me.

Website: https://grahamestateplanning.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trustattorneyatlanta/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/stephaniepgraham/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/grahamestateplanning

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jrii9ABu3Vk&t=274s

Other: TikTok @spgrahamlaw

Image Credits
Kim Taylor, Kimazing Photography LLC for all photos except the Green Blouse. https://www.kimazingphotos.com/ Green Blouse photo EWP LLC https://ewpphotos.com/