Samantha Leigh Shepherd

Samantha Shepherd is the founder and Managing Attorney of Shepherd Elder Law Group, LLC where her practice concentrates on Medicaid planning, asset & income protection, special needs trusts, and estate planning. Utilizing her legal expertise and compassionate heart, Samantha has successfully helped over 8,000 individuals and families in Kansas City as aging and disability have left them vulnerable to ensuring self-care.

Samantha is also the founder and CEO of Assured Trust Company (ATC). As an expert in the field of Special Needs Planning, ATC, under the guidance of Ms. Shepherd, provides trust administration and care management services to the most vulnerable.
Samantha received her B.A. from Tulane University and her J.D. from Boston College School of Law. She has also earned an LL.M. from the University of Missouri – Kansas City. She has been admitted to practice in Massachusetts, Maine, Kansas, & Missouri.
Samantha is a member of the Kansas and Missouri chapters of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and has been awarded NAELA’s Council of Advanced Practitioners. She has served on the National Board of NAELA, a peer-elected position. She is a Past-Chair of the Missouri Bar Elder Law Committee and Past-President of the Missouri Chapter of NAELA. She is a member of the Estate Planning Society of Kansas City, the Kansas and Missouri Bar Associations, Johnson County Bar Association, and the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA) where she served as Chair of the Trust & Estates Committee. She also served on the board of Kansas Advocates for Better Care, volunteers on the board of directors of Down Syndrome Innovations and is the Founder of the charity, Heartland Special Needs Foundation, formerly known as Special Needs Assured, whose mission is support, education, funding, and advocacy for those with special needs and other developmental disabilities.

Samantha is a frequent lecturer on the topics of Elder Law, Special Needs Planning, and Trust Administration, advising and educating other attorneys and community organizations. She has spoken at state (Kansas, Missouri, and Oklahoma) and national conferences hosted by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. Samantha has also presented to the Kansas City Metropolitan Bar Association (KCMBA), Kansas Bar Association, Missouri Trust Institute, National Business Institute (NBI), the Missouri Bar Estate, Trust, & Elder Law Institute, the Oklahoma Bar, Elder Counsel, Wealth Counsel, UMKC School of Law, Mid-Continent Public Library, Raytown School District, & the Northland Community Service Coalition.