Biography
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo joined Collins Family & Estate Law Group in August 2021 as Senior Counsel to the Collins Estate Law practice division. She primarily serves in an advisory and consulting role for our associate estate law attorneys who work directly with and represent clients. Kathryn is a Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) certified by NELF* and has devoted more than 35 years to practicing estate law. When client matters handled by our associate estate law attorneys involve unique or extraordinary issues, Kathryn is available to consult and collaborate with the associate estate law attorneys. Kathryn also helps educate junior and associate estate law attorneys about estate law topics. Most law firms do not maintain Senior Counsel to assist and consult with their associate lawyers. Collins Family & Estate Law Group does this so its associate estate law attorneys can best serve our estate law clients.
*The National Elder Law Foundation (NELF) is the only national organization accredited by the American Bar Association (ABA) to certify practitioners of elder and special needs law. NELF’s Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA) designation represents confirmation of a lawyer’s exceptional expertise in the practice of elder and special needs law. There are over 500 CELAs across the country, and our numbers are growing continually.
Kathryn Cook DeAngelo graduated from Marshall University, Huntington, WV, in 1968 with a B.A. in Business Education. She also has an M.Ed. in Remedial Reading from the University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Prior to attending law school, Kathryn was a public school teacher and taught business/secretarial studies for twelve (12) years at DuVal High School in Prince George’s County, MD. In 1984 Kathryn graduated magna cum laude from North Carolina Central University Law School (NCCU Law), Durham, NC, a HBCU. After graduation from NCCU Law, she had the distinct honor to be selected by the distinguished Henry E. Frye, former Justice and Chief Justice of the North Carolina Supreme Court (first African-American Justice and Chief Justice to sit on the Court), to serve as his Law Clerk 1984-1985. At the conclusion of her clerkship, she moved to Myrtle Beach, SC, and became an associate attorney with the law firm Nettles, Floyd, Turbeville, and Reddick, later becoming a partner in the firm Floyd, Prevatte, and DeAngelo. In 1990 she established her solo law firm in Surfside Beach, SC.
Kathryn is licensed in both North Carolina and South Carolina. Since 1991 Kathryn has been a member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys [NAELA]. In April 1995, she was the first attorney in South Carolina to become Certified as an Elder Law Attorney by the National Elder Law Foundation [NELF] after successfully passing the first examination administered in November 1994 and completing ABA-approved requirements for the specialty certification. In November 2009, Kathryn was among twelve (12) North Carolina attorneys to become the first to be certified by the North Carolina State Board of Legal Specialization as a specialist in elder law by NELF.
After 34 years of law practice in Surfside/Myrtle Beach, SC, Kathryn closed her law offices in 2019 to move to Charlotte, NC, where she would be closer to her son, Danny, other family members, and friends. Since her move to Charlotte, Kathryn has stayed connected with her friends, colleagues, and legal community in both N.C. and S.C. In August 2021, Kathryn joined Collins Estate Law Group as Senior Counsel.
One of many from my mother ~ You have to plant your own flowers, cultivate your soul, and leave the world a better place, with hope . . . Shalom
Some of Kathryn’s current memberships, notables, and affiliations include:
- South Carolina Bar Senior Lawyers Division Executive Council Member 2024
- Senior Lawyers Division Out-of-State Representative, South Carolina Bar
- North Carolina Bar
- North Carolina Bar Association
- North Carolina Bar Association Communities: Elder & Special Needs Law, Estate Planning & Fiduciary Law, Senior Lawyers Division
- North Carolina Bar Association – Legislative Committee
- North Carolina Bar Association – CLE Committee
- Mecklenburg County Bar
- South Carolina Bar
- South Carolina Bar – Probate, Estate Planning & Trust Section
- South Carolina Bar – Ethics Advisory Committee
- South Carolina Bar – CLE Committee
- South Carolina Bar – Elder Law Committee
- Admitted to U.S. Supreme Court
- NAELA
- NC Chapter of NAELA
- SC Chapter of NAELA
- AV® Peer Review Rating Martindale-Hubbell
- North Carolina Bar, Board of Legal Specialization – Elder Law (Initial Term 2018-2020; Second Term 2021-2023)
- Certified Elder Law Attorney (CELA), Certified by NELF
- Corporate Compliance Certificate, 2016 Charlotte School of Law
- A frequent presenter and lecturer on estate law issues at countless Continuing Legal Education (CLE) courses sponsored or hosted by sponsors, such as the SC Bar, NC Bar, NCBA, NAELA, SC, and NC NAELA Chapters, Mecklenburg County Bar, NBI, and various state, local, and community groups
Some of Kathryn’s past memberships, notables, and affiliations include:
- Probate Estate Planning and Trust Section Legislative Committee, South Carolina – 2024-present
- NC Bar Association CLE Committee
- North Carolina Bar Association – Minorities in the Profession Committee
- Floyd, Prevatte & DeAngelo Law Firm, Surfside Beach, SC (Partner)
- District of Columbia Bar
- U.S. Court of Appeals for Federal Circuit, Washington, DC
- U.S. District Court, District of South Carolina
- NAELA Council of Advanced Practitioners [CAP] (2008 – 2017)
- SC Lawyers Weekly – South Carolina Leadership in Law Award
- South Carolina Bar Board of Governors for the Third Judicial Region (2011-2014)
- South Carolina Bar Foundation (2011-2014)
- South Carolina Bar Representative House of Delegates for the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, Horry County, SC (July 2006 – July 2010 and July 2011-July 2014)
- South Carolina Chapter NAELA, Board of Directors (2011-2013), past President (2001-2003), Chairperson of the Public Policy Committee (2011-2012), Legislative Committee, and CLE presenter
- National College of Probate Judges (2006-2017)
- South Carolina Bar Probate, Estate Planning and Trust Section, Member (1999-2002), Secretary (2002-2003), Vice-Chairperson (2003-04), Chairperson-Elect (2004-2005), Chairperson (2005-2006), Immediate Past-Chairperson (2006-2007), Section Delegate (2007-2008), and Ex Officio (2008-2010)
- South Carolina Bar Elder Law Committee, a founding member, current member, Chairperson (2008-2010), Chairperson, Legislative Subcommittee (2010-2011) and served as Chair of the subcommittee for Fabian bills (2016-2017), and CLE presenter
- South Carolina Bar Professional Responsibility Committee & Professional Liability Committee
- North Carolina Bar Association Elder Law Section (2010-2013; 2020-current)
- Mecklenburg County Bar – CLE Committee
- Mecklenburg County Bar – Linking Lawyers Committee (Lawyers Mentoring)
- North Carolina Chapter NAELA, current member and Board of Directors (2011-2016)
- North Carolina Central University School of Law Board of Visitors (2006-2010)
- South Carolina Super Lawyers 2011-2016
- North Carolina Super Lawyers 2012-2015, 2023-2025
- Horry County, SC, Probate Court Advisory Committee (2002-2015)
- Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC – Legacy Advisory Council (2011-2015)
- Best of the Beach Elder Law, Myrtle Beach Herald, for several years, including 2018
- AVVO rating 10
- South Carolina Super Lawyer
- Guest Lecturer, Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Technical College
- Myrtle Beach City Council, Senior Advisory Board
- Horry-Georgetown Technical Institute, Senior Summit Board
- Coastal Carolina University, Conway, SC, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) – Enrichment program for adult learners 50+
- Instructor and lecturer in Estate Law topics
