Jones Foster Attorneys Accepted Into Florida Fellows Institute of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel

Jones Foster, a commercial and private client law firm in West Palm Beach, Palm Beach, and Jupiter, Florida, is proud to announce that attorneys Alexander M. Parthemer and Melanie R. Skenian have been accepted into Class VII of the prestigious Florida Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC).

The Florida Fellows Institute (FFI) was established by Florida Fellows of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel to cultivate future leaders in trust and estate law through a rigorous educational program. To be considered for selection to the Institute, candidates must be nominated by an ACTEC Fellow, be in good standing with The Florida Bar, and complete a rigorous application process.

Mr. Parthemer and Ms. Skenian will participate in a series of in-depth educational presentations led by outstanding subject matter experts from across Florida in the areas of wills and trusts, estate planning, probate, trust administration, and related practice areas. To earn recognition as a graduate of the Institute, participants must complete all parts of the program.

Trust and Estate Litigation Shareholder Zachary M. Rothman and Private Wealth and Tax Shareholder William G. Smith are previous FFI graduates, and Vice Chair Theodore S. Kypreos, co-chair of the firm’s Trust & Estate Litigation practice group, was elected a Fellow of ACTEC in 2023.

Alex Parthemer, a member of Jones Foster’s Private Wealth, Wills, Trusts & Estates and Corporate & Tax teams, focuses his practice in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration, tax planning, business planning, and transactional corporate law. He works with individual clients and families to develop personalized estate plans for asset protection and distribution while minimizing estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax impact. He also has significant experience in preparing estate and gift tax returns, trust and estate income tax returns, as well as partnership income and individual income tax returns.

Mr. Parthemer is a frequent author, speaker, and panelist on various estate planning and tax planning topics. He is an active member of The Florida Bar Tax Section, serving on the Transfer Tax Subcommittee of the Section’s Washington D.C. Committee, where he co-authored peer-reviewed White Papers—proposals for legislative and regulatory reform—submitted to and presented before federal agencies and congressional delegations. He is also a member of The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law (RPPTL) Section and the American Bar Association’s Estate Planning Committee of the Taxation Section. He holds a Master of Laws degree (LL.M.) in Taxation from the Graduate Tax Program at the University of Florida.

Mel Skenian is a member of Jones Foster’s Trust and Estate Litigation practice group and focuses her practice in the areas of probate litigation and trust litigation. Ms. Skenian is actively involved in The Florida Bar’s Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section, the Palm Beach County Bar Association’s Young Lawyers Section, The Florida Association for Women Lawyers Palm Beach County Chapter, and the Palm Beach Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professionals. She has been recognized on Palm Beach Illustrated’s “Top Lawyers” list for Trusts and Estates.

Ms. Skenian graduated cum laude with a Juris Doctor from the University of Florida Levin College of Law where she received a CALI Award for Federal Income Taxation and was awarded the Fredric G. Levin Ethos of Excellence Scholarship. She gained valuable experience as an intern for Judge Michael G. Williamson of the United States Middle District Bankruptcy Court.