Jen Andrew:
Welcome to Amplify Together NC, a podcast by Disability Rights North Carolina. I'm your host, Jen Andrew, communications coordinator here at DRNC. Each episode will bring you conversations with disability advocates, experts, and everyday people making a difference. Together we'll dive deep into disability rights, current issues, and the power of community one conversation at a time. Let's get started. In today's episode, I sit down with attorney Erin Baker Edgar. Erin is dedicated to helping families in Raleigh and the surrounding areas, and share a secure future for their loved ones. Growing up totally blind, Erin faced unique challenges as a special need child within the educational system. Her journey instilled a profound empathy for those with disabilities and the families who support them.
As an attorney, she's dedicated herself to protecting the most vulnerable members of our community, especially children. Erin believes every child deserves the opportunity to thrive and is committed to helping families create the secure and nurturing environments necessary for their children to succeed. So thank you so much, Erin, for sitting down with me and chatting. I really appreciate you taking some time out of your busy, busy schedule. If you could just give our listeners a little bit of information about you, your background, tell us about your business and who you serve.

Erin Edgar:
Hi, Jen. And so, thank you for having me on. I really do appreciate that. My name is Erin Edgar. I am an estate planning attorney. Taking that apart, I'm an attorney, a lawyer, and my business, the law office of Erin Baker Edgar helps people plan for illness and end of life by creating legal documents to help them provide for their loved ones and also provide for themselves and the support that they will need in those trying times. I especially enjoy working with families, and an added bonus is if they've got special needs children. I can help them plan for the future of their children when they're no longer able to be here to care for them.

Jen Andrew:
Thank you. That's really important work that you're doing. Could you tell me a little bit about your background and what brought you to your work?

Erin Edgar:
Absolutely. To start with at the most basic level, I happen to be totally blind, so I grew up as one of those special needs children. And was very fortunate to have parents who were profound advocates for me and helped me work with the schools and work with all the educational systems to ensure that I got the best education, the best technology help that was possible. And as a result, I am one of those special needs adults who is very fortunate to be able to be employed and care for myself and do all the things that socially we need to do to live a full and fulfilling life.
And while I was growing up, I rode the mini bus to school, the short bus, some people call it the special bus. And on that bus going to school, I came in very close contact with a lot of children who had severe intellectual developmental delays, really severe cases of cerebral palsy, down syndrome, all kinds of things. And I became aware, in my young life, that they would never be able to live a fulfilling life. And in my young brain, it was all about, wow, what are these kids going to do? I had that in my head. And so, when I became a lawyer, I did a lot of different things as a lawyer and ended up having a death in my family. That brought another thing into my head, which was, I am very interested, as a result of the things that happened before and after that death, in making sure that people have all of their planning up to date. Because there are really terrible things that can happen, both to them and in their families, if that is not done. And honestly, it's something that people don't think about.
And so, those two things together, the experiences as a child and also the non updated planning that happened in my family really galvanized me to create a business around helping people start the planning process, make sure it's updated, and also plan for the future of their children, regardless of what stage their children are in life, and also if their children have special needs, the extra knowledge that I have of ensuring that those plans are created.
One thing I'll also say that impacted my background is the job that I held the longest before starting my own firm was in a nonprofit where we came into contact with special needs adults, or disabled adults, who had been... Their parents had planned for them, but not appropriately for their government benefits. So, they ended up losing some of the inheritance because they received it and it was a big lump sum of money, so their government benefits thought, well, you can take care of yourself now, basically. You don't need us anymore, or you don't need us now. Here are your options. You can spend this $150,000, or whatever it is, down in 30 days so that you qualify again, or we put a hold on your benefits so that you don't have them until you qualify again. And that created a lot of heartache and a lot of stress for a few of my clients, which is definitely not what their families wanted. So, I'm here to ensure that what people actually want for their loved ones actually happens.

Jen Andrew:
Wow. That sounds like such a complex system to navigate. I'm sure people really appreciate having your assistance. And I can definitely hear, both from your lived experience and watching others, your passion for making sure that folks with disabilities can lead fulfilling, full happy lives in part by having the right kind of support set up. So, thank you for that. Could you tell us maybe a little bit about what a typical day looks like for you?

Erin Edgar:
Whoo. Typical day.

Jen Andrew:
If there's such a thing.

Erin Edgar:
Sure. Well, part of it is there is another part of the answer to that question. And when you sent me the questions, I wondered how I was going to answer this because a lot of my day is structured around being a business owner and having a lot of responsibilities that maybe some lawyers that work in firms, larger firms don't have. As a solo practitioner attorney, there are several things that I do in a typical day. Some of my day is designated for really boring lawyer stuff. At least a lot of people would think it boring. Drafting client documents that they're asking for to make sure that they say what my clients want them to say, going over them to make sure that what I wrote is actually what's going to appear in the signed document. That's very important. Also, as a solo practitioner, I have, as I said, some responsibilities that some lawyers don't.
One of them is to educate the community about what I do. So I use various channels, not quite as consistently as I would want, but we're working on that. Social media, giving presentations at events, doing all those things that educate people about what I do so that I can kind of plant the seeds that this planning is really important and people learn about it, because often people don't know. And another part of my typical day is networking with other professionals who may be interested in collaborating. Part of working as a business is to go out and talk to other professionals who may be in the same sphere that I'm in, such as financial advisors or other people who have folks come to them to help them plan for their future, financial advisors, insurance agents, health and life, and others in those professions so that people can come to them, they're planning for their future.
And these people also say, well, you need a will or you need some other support, legal supports, to make our work also happen the way you would want. And so then, we all give clients to each other as a result of those collaborations. And the best part of my day, I saved it for last, for me, I am one of those lawyers that loves talking to clients. It's my favorite thing, really. And I love to... So, I spend a lot of my time doing it. I love to get to know people on various levels, get to know their stories, why they are coming to me, what is it that is motivating them to get this process completed. It's not fun, sometimes. It's not fun to think about for people, thinking about death and I'm not going to be here for my kids anymore at some point in my life. I don't want to think about that.
And so, there's got to be a really powerful motivation for them to come to me. If they're coming to me because their accountant or financial advisor said so, then we have a really deep discussion about why their financial advisor's saying so, and why it's important. And sometimes I have to guide them in that because they don't know. But really, that's my favorite part of my day, talking to people, going over their options with them. There are a lot of possibilities for helping them plan for their future that people just don't know about. So, we go over what will happen if they do nothing, which is the really uncomfortable part. And then, we start talking about, well, we can do a lot of different things. What would be the one that you would want? Let's go over them. And then, taking them through the process, talking with them about it, and then actually having the meetings with them to sign the documents.
I do them myself, which a lot of attorneys don't do. And one of the reasons I do them is because I am very hands-on, and I love... This is not all about me, but it's about them too. I love to witness them in that space of signing those documents and the relief that they feel when the process is done. It's one of the things that I ask at the end of our work together at that point, how do you feel now? And I had a client yesterday giving this small story who said, "I am so relieved. I am almost in tears." And this is her talking. "You took something that was very tedious and very scary and made it understandable, made it accessible to me in terms of understanding the process. And helped me through it and guided me, which now that it's done, I feel so relieved. And I know that, for other people, the process can be easier too if they have that guidance."
And so, witnessing people going from that sort of, "Oh, my God. This is going to be so hard" to, "I'm so amazed at now that it's done and I can hardly believe that something hanging over my head for four years is done now." Is a process that... It's my favorite part of the process because that's why I'm here. So a typical day, networking with other professionals, speaking at events happens, doing the client work is also part of my day, and talking with the clients and guiding them through that process is the best part of my day.

Jen Andrew:
I know that they appreciate you because it does just sound like such a complex process, not to mention all the emotions involved. You spoke a little bit, but could you talk about maybe what are some barriers or challenges to folks really learning about your work or understanding that this is a process they need to get started on? And what progress, or have you seen progress, or positive impacts in terms of people starting to learn more about this process?

Erin Edgar:
Okay. Challenges to people learning about the process, I'll take it in two parts. That's the first part. The challenge to people learning about it basically is there is a gap in our understanding, socially, of the importance of this process. And I think the gap, the main challenge, is people really don't want to think about it. Death is one of the biggest fears that people have. And so, I love... Napoleon Hill talks about the six ghosts of fear, makes it sound so terrible. And one of them is death. That's the first one, I think. And so, we don't want to think about the fact that we're not going to be here for our families anymore. And especially parents who have children who have special needs, they're so involved in their child's care, even when that child becomes an adult, that it's like, I'm just always going to be there for them. And if I'm not there for some reason, then their sister or their aunt or somebody take care of them.
And so, we don't want to think about it, number one. And we just assume that our families will step in and either care for us or care for the people that are important to us. And legally, that's going to happen. And we also just assume that when we die, our kids will get whatever we have, and legally that's going to happen. And in some cases it does. But what people don't think about or don't understand is that it doesn't always happen the way we would want. For instance, if you go into a hospital and you are not able to make your own decisions, you're unconscious or something, the hospital will probably work with your family to tell them what they're doing. But if there is something that they're doing that is contrary to what you would want, if they're going to keep you on life support and you would not want that, they're going to keep you on life support.
And your family can say, "Well, she wouldn't want it", but a lot of times they're going to keep you on it, and they do it because they're not supposed to terminate someone's life. They're supposed to fix what's wrong with people and not harm people. And so, they have policies about that. And your family can say what they would want, but it's no guarantee the hospital's going to do it. And so, often, people end up in court litigating these things when you could very easily make a decision and have a legal document that says what you do and don't want regarding treatment. People don't understand that these things go on. And also, people with special needs, children and adult children, don't understand that.
And especially with adult children, if they're grown up now and they're getting public benefits, and their parents are... That no one has been appointed a legal guardian for this adult person, who's not able to make their own decisions, but I mean the parents are caring for them, and it hasn't really become an issue. If the parent dies, that adult person is in a limbo space where really no one is now caring for them and no one's able to enforce care for them. So in other words, if the sister for the adult child comes in and wants to step in and make those legal decisions for that child, their social security benefits, where are they going, their healthcare decisions, who's making them? Because they can't. That will require some court involvement.
And because there's no will for the parents, no guardians have been appointed, it takes longer to resolve all of these things than it would if people had gone through and done the necessary paperwork ahead of time to dictate what happens to that child's inheritance, like putting it in a trust arrangement. A special trust arrangement, I might add, so that the government cannot stop their benefits or tell them they all of a sudden have an overpayment of benefits, which no one understands, by the way. If you get these letters from the Social Security Administration, nobody understands them, which is just the way they are. I mean, very few people are going to understand what it all means.
And so, in order to avoid that, this planning is so important to avoid these legal hurdles that come up later that people aren't thinking about and don't know about. It takes some expertise to know all the ins and outs of the process and what might happen. And so, oftentimes people just don't know. So, they don't think about it and they don't know about it. And they don't want to think about it. And I think those are the main challenges for people not understanding, not knowing about the process. I will say people with special needs children are not alone in this, less than 35% of people. So, I'll put it another way. 67% of people in this country don't have any planning at all. They don't have wills. And even more of them don't have any healthcare documents for themselves or financial documents to support themselves when they're not able to make their own decisions.

Jen Andrew:
Yes. Thank you for mentioning that. I absolutely agree. I think in our culture currently, there's such a reluctance to talk about death and grief. It's a natural part of life, but it does seem to me as well that the less we talk about it, the more surprises and some very unfortunate surprises happen after we do lose a loved one. I know, after I had a death in my family, I was shocked at all of the paperwork and everything required afterwards. And I very much felt like, I wish I'd known this earlier. So, folks are tuning in and want to get better prepared. How can they learn more about your work?

Erin Edgar:
I have a website where I have my own story there, the things that I do to help people, the areas that I... For people that I plan for. And you can find that at erinedgarlegal.com. Edgar is like Edgar Allan Poe, and Erin is like the female Erin. And I also have somewhat of a presence on Facebook and LinkedIn that I maintain and I post things there, educational videos or some newsletters that have a little bit of information in them, a little bit of education in them.
And additionally, I will post, on those two platforms, the links to workshops and other things that I do, sometimes in collaboration with others, dedicated to giving people information about why this process is important. And contacting me is also a really good way for people to get started. My website has information on how you can do that.

Jen Andrew:
Thank you so much, and I will definitely include all those links in our show notes. It sounds like you get a lot of joy out of helping folks, but I know that this also can be a heavy topic. And I'm curious, how do you find joy and what are some ways you like to spend free time?

Erin Edgar:
Free time? When I have it? There are a few ways in which I really find joy outside of work. And one of those is that I sing and perform vocally. I perform with the North Carolina Master Chorale, and we sing, occasionally, with the North Carolina Symphony. But we also have our own concerts during our season. And so, at least one night a week, between August and June, I am singing in rehearsals there and I have concerts with them. We have a wonderful Christmas concert every year. It's so fun. Also, I love to read, which is one of those solitary activities, but I read for entertainment, as well as reading for work.
And additionally, I love to go... They call it birding now. I still call it birdwatching, because I'm a little old-fashioned, but doing it for a long time. Love to go birdwatching and hearing all the different birds that are in my local area. Raleigh has a lot of wonderful, little sanctuaries that people don't really know about for that kind of activity, especially the research agricultural and forest stations that are owned by NC State University, that people can go to and walk around and have fun in. So, those are three of the things that I really do enjoy doing.

Jen Andrew:
Those all sound great. Thank you so much for sharing. Really appreciate you taking the time to talk to me today. As a reminder to our listeners, all of Erin's information will be in our show notes. And thank you so much for tuning in today. And thanks, again, Erin.

Erin Edgar:
Thank you so much, Jen. It's been a pleasure to be here today.

Jen Andrew:
That's it for today's episode of Amplify Together NC. Thank you so much for joining us. If you enjoyed today's conversation, be sure to subscribe, leave a review and share. You can find us on Instagram, Facebook, Bluesky, LinkedIn, and YouTube. Let's keep the discussion going. Until next time, stay strong, stay connected, and keep advocating.