Michelle Simpson ’16 worked in banking and capital markets for 20 years, excelling in her career but dreaming all the while about a different one. “I had always wanted to attend law school,” she said, and in 2013, she left her job to pursue that dream. She enrolled in law school in Atlanta, Georgia, but after one semester, her husband, John, an aerospace engineer, discovered his job was moving to Texas.
Michelle '16 and John Simpson updated their estate plan to support the Texas A&M School of Law after their lifetimes.
Without missing a beat, Simpson looked for a program she could transfer into in the Lone Star State. She met with the dean of Texas Wesleyan School of Law in Fort Worth, which was soon to become a branch of Texas A&M University. She was impressed with the program and the people and was tremendously thankful to join an academic cohort already in process. “I quickly learned what it means to be an Aggie,” she said. The Aggie Core Values and the Aggie Code of Honor especially resonated with her, as practicing law with a high degree of service and integrity was exactly what she wanted to do.
Today, she is a lawyer specializing in probate, estate planning and LLC formation. “I help people take care of their families,” she said. “I love being a lawyer. I love my clients. I love what I do.”
Simpson is a believer in the importance of estate planning. “Everyone should have a will and a plan for incapacity,” she said. “With good planning, you can often avoid probate.” Probate is the court process to pay debts and transfer assets when someone passes away. “It is extra time, effort and expense that can often be avoided when people are grieving.”
As she and John were updating their estate plan, they discussed what they wanted to do with their assets after their lifetimes. “We talked about what we believed in and where we would like to have an impact,” Simpson said, “and decided we wanted to create an endowed scholarship for second-career students at the Texas A&M School of Law. Planned giving allowed us to accomplish this.”
“We hope our gift will inspire and enable second-career law students to pursue their dreams by showing them that someone believes in them,” she added. “Aggies always support other Aggies.” It doesn’t matter where you are or who you are, you have an immediate bond.”
Interesting in supporting the Texas A&M School of Law with a meaningful gift? Please contact Brian Harrison '91 by completing the form below.
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