TAMPA, Fla. — An attorney in Tampa is using her knowledge of estate planning to help people throughout June in honor of Juneteenth by waiving consulting fees for people looking to create a plan.

What You Need To Know

  • LaTerria Sherer, a Tampa attorney, is waiving consulting fees for estate planning for the rest of the month in honor of Juneteenth

  • According to a recent survey from Consumer Reports in 2022, over 75% of African Americans have not created a will for their families

  • A percentage of that group haven’t done it because they don’t want to talk about death

  • Sherer says the consultation is available to anyone who needs it, not just members of the Black community

It was around fourth grade when LaTerria Sherer knew what she wanted to do in life.

“A teacher told me I talk too much, and I should be a lawyer and then my dad said I always had a rebuttal and I just stuck with it,” she said.

Growing up, she never thought it would be attainable, but now she’s the managing partner of the Sherer Law Firm in Tampa working to help people in family law, personal injury or estate planning.

“It was more so, ‘I might not make a lot of money off of this,’ I don’t know, but I think I need to help people become knowledgeable,” Sherer said.

When it comes to estate planning, Sherer says it’s something everyone should do.

“Knowledge is power,” Sherer said. “But we don’t know. We just don’t know. People don’t know how important it is.”

According to a recent survey from Consumer Reports in 2022, over 75% of African Americans have not created a will for their families.

A percentage of that group haven’t done it because they don’t want to talk about death.

“People think planning is hard,” Sherer said. “It’s just hard because it’s hard to talk about because it’s sad, right? We don’t want to die, but how you leave your family in such despair when you’re done. They’re sad that you’re gone. But they also have all these things that you left no direction for.”

Sherer says giving your loved ones that direction makes a huge difference.

So far, she’s had a handful of people sign up with more, she anticipates, on the way.

“I’m just overjoyed that I’m able to help people actually make a difference in their own lives, and in return, in their family lives,” said Sherer.

To make those difficult conversations meaningful and helpful.

Sherer plans to waive consultations for the rest of the month and says the consultation is available to anyone who needs it, not just members of the Black community.

A typical consultation, according to Sherer, costs clients about 175 dollars.