About Us

Cecil Smith & Carol Gonnella
Founders & Shareholders of TETON AGENTS, INC.
Lawyers training and supporting lawyers

Cecil Smith, JD
Chief Financial Officer

Carol Gonnella, JD
President

Biographical Sketches

Cecil Smith is the founder, owner and President of CECIL SMITH & ASSOCIATES, PC, a law firm with offices in Memphis and Nashville. Cecil, a former IRS Estate Tax Attorney, has practiced law since 1968. Cecil has written over 10,000 wills and trusts and has dedicated his career to assisting clients with their estate and business planning needs. Cecil and his law firm have the highest rating given by Martindale Hubbell, a company which evaluates and rates attorneys nationally.

Education
	Undergraduate and law degrees from the University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee.
	Eighteen hours of graduate accounting courses after law school at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee.
	Fellow of the EP Institute. Graduate of Masters I.
Licensed
	Licensed to practice law in Tennessee.
	Licensed to practice law in Wyoming.
Professional Memberships and Affiliations
	Co-founder of the TETON INSTITUTE.
	Memphis Estate Planning Council.
	Nashville Estate Planning Council.
	Memphis Planned Giving Council.
	Nashville Planned Giving Council.
	Founding member of e.Planners Educational Alliance, a national non-profit organization of estate planning attorneys.
	Founding member of the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys.
	Member of the UBS Attorney Network since 1990.
	Tennessee Bar Association.
	Wyoming Bar Association.
	Memphis Bar Association.
	Nashville Bar Association.
	Martindale-Hubbell “AV” Rating. This is the highest rating awarded by this national rating company.
	Member, Portrait Society of America.
	Member, Wyoming Watercolor Society.
Teaching Positions
	Adjunct Professor, Michigan State University, Academy of Multidisciplinary Practice.
	Instructor for Wealth Council, LLC
	Instructor for the TETON INSTITUTE, teaching advanced estate planning strategies to CPAs, financial advisors and other estate planning attorneys.
	Instructor for Advanced Wealth Studies Institute, LLC, teaching sophisticated estate planning strategies to attorneys.
	Instructor for Wealth Council, LLC, teaching two-day & three-day specialty estate planning workshops.
	Former Instructor for the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys.
	Former instructor in estate planning for the University of Memphis Continuing Education Program, Memphis, Tennessee.
	Former instructor for Christian Brothers University, Memphis, Tennessee, training paralegals in estate planning and probate administration.
Published Works
	A Comparison of the Wyoming LLC and the Arizona LLC, coauthored with Carol Gonnella, Arizona Bar Journal.
	Love, Money, Control. Reinventing Estate Planning (contributing author).
	Giving. Philanthropy for Everyone (contributing author).
	Living and Learning: Planning for Retirement and Education (contributing author).
	The Wyoming Close LLC KIT, Co-authored with Carol Gonnella.
Publications Authored
	Cecil & Carol's Big Book of Business Entities.
	How to Fund Your Estate Plan.
	BERT! The Wonder Trust™
	Why Wyoming?
	Asset Protection for Physicians.
Directorships
	Director, e.Planners Educational Alliance.
	Director, Co-owner and CEO of TETON AGENTS, Inc.
	Director and Co-owner of TETON PUBLISHERS, LLC.
	Director and Co-owner of the TETON INSTITUTE, LLC.
	Director, Secretary and Shareholder, National Security and Trust Company.
	Director, Secretary and Shareholder, Vital Records Control, Inc.
	Director, Secretary and Shareholder, Information Vaulting Services, Inc.

Cecil speaks often to CPAs, financial advisors, physicians, business owners and other estate planning attorneys about estate planning, asset protection planning and charitable planning.

Carol Gonnella is founder, co-owner and President of GONNELLA & ASSOCIATES, PC, a law firm in Jackson, Wyoming, dedicated to assisting clients with their estate and business planning needs. Carol has practiced law since 1976 and has emphasized estate and business planning in her practice since 1990. Carol Gonnella and the firm of GONNELLA & ASSOCIATES, PC have the highest rating given by Martindale Hubbell, a company which evaluates and rates attorneys nationally.

Education
	Undergraduate degree from the University of Puget Sound, Tacoma, Washington.
	Law degree from Seattle University, Seattle, Washington.
	Fellow of the EP Institute. Graduate of Masters I.
Professional Memberships
	Member of TETON INSTITUTE, LLC.
	Member of the Wyoming Estate Planning Advisory Council.
	Founding member of e.Planners Educational Alliance, a national nonprofit organization of estate planning attorneys.
	Member of the EP Institute, Masters Continuum.
	Member of the Wyoming State Bar Association.
	Member of the Washington State Bar Association.
	Member of the Teton County Bar Association.
	Member of Wealth Council.
	Founding member of the National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys.
	Martindale-Hubbell “AV” Rating.
	Governor’s Appointee to the Wyoming Excellence in Education Committee.
Teaching Positions
	Adjunct Professor, Michigan State University, Academy of Multidisciplinary Practice.
	Instructor for the EP Institute, Advanced Studies Program, teaching sophisticated estate planning strategies to attorneys.
	Instructor for WealthCouncil, an Educational Company for Estate Planning Attorneys.
Published Works
	A Comparison of the Wyoming LLC and the Arizona LLC, coauthored with Cecil Smith, Arizona Bar Journal.
	Living and Learning: Planning for Retirement and Education, (contributing author).
	Love, Money and Control, Reinventing Estate Planning (contributing author).
	Legacy, How to Plan Your Estate (contributing author).
	Generations, Planning Your Legacy (contributing author).
	Estate Planning for the Overfunded Retirement Plan, Orthopedics Today.
	Review in Conspectus Current, Uses and Benefits of Conservation Easements After the 2002 Tax Act.
	The Wyoming Close LLC KIT, Co-authored with Cecil Smith.
Publications Authored
	Cecil & Carol's Big Book of Business Entities.
	The Dynasty Trust.
	The Family Limited Partnership.
	The Bert and Ernie Trust.
	The Importance of Funding Your Trust.
	The Wyoming LLC.
Directorships of Non-Charitable Organizations
	Director, e.Planners Educational Alliance.
	Director, TETON AGENTS, Inc.
	Director, TETON INSTITUTE, LLC.
Directorships of Charitable Organizations
	Director of the Community Foundation of Jackson Hole.
Past Directorships of Charitable Organizations
	Director of Rotary Club of Jackson Hole.
	Director of Teton Science School.
	Director of Dancers Workshop.
	Director of Delta Society, a national nonprofit with offices in Seattle, Washington.
	Director, Off Broadway Grill, Inc.