Estate Planning Current Developments and Observations From 2017 Heckerling Estate Planning Institute
Steve R. Akers, JD, is a Managing Director with Bessemer Trust Company, N.A., in Dallas, Texas, where he is Senior Fiduciary Counsel and chairs the Estate Planning Committee.
Mr. Akers is a member of the Advisory Committee to the University of Miami Philip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and is a frequent speaker at that Institute, as well as other estate planning seminars across the country.
He is a past Chair of the American Bar Association’s Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law.
He serves as an officer (currently Secretary) of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. He has previously served in a variety of roles with ACTEC including as an at-large member of the Executive Committee, Regent, Long Range Planning Committee, Chair of the Business Planning Committee, and Editor of the ACTEC Law Journal.
Mr. Akers is a past Chair of the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section and of the Dallas Bar Probate, Trusts and Estates Section.
Mr. Akers has received the Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner Award from the National Association of Estate Planning Councils, the Distinguished Probate Lawyer Lifetime Achievement Award from the State Bar of Texas Real Estate, Probate and Trust Law Section, and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Dallas Bar Association Probate, Trusts & Estates Section.
Mr. Akers received his B.S. degree in Chemical Engineering from Oklahoma State University (1974) and his J.D. degree from the University of Texas School of Law (1977).
