BCF’s Professional Advisor Recognition Society (PARS) honors the financial and legal professionals who prioritize philanthropy in their service to clients. We proudly welcome our newest PARS member, Cheri Dorsey of Sessa & Dorsey. Get to know her better in this Q&A with Marie Lilly, BCF’s Director of Philanthropic Services.
Marie: Cheri, it has been such a pleasure getting to work with you over the past year. I’ve learned more about your work and appreciated your client referrals. Can you tell us about Sessa & Dorsey and how it came to be?
Cheri: My professional career really started with an interest in helping people. I was a sociology and psychology major, so more on the emotional side of dealing with people. But I wanted a law degree. I just wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to mix the two of them.
When I started out in the litigation practice, I quickly realized that did not match my goals of helping people through the personal psychological issues we have in life. A suggestion from another attorney led me to estates and trusts – which I quickly realized was the perfect mix between psychology and law. The client relationships and the way we get to work with clients for the long term has provided a great, fulfilling career.
Eleven years ago, after working downtown for many years, most recently at Gordon Feinblatt, my partner Tom and I left to start a practice out in the county a little closer to home. The goal was to have more flexibility with different types of clients. And we just liked the idea of having a boutique practice rather than being part of a large law firm.
Marie: When you say “boutique practice,” does that change what you do for clients?
Cheri: We like to be the one-stop shop for everything that’s estate related. And that means we really get to know our clients and their family members. So, when we need to refer them to specialists, we can still support them.
Marie: Let’s talk a little bit about charitable giving and what brought you to BCF. When did you realize that philanthropy needed to be an important part of the practice?
Cheri: Thankfully, we have a lot of really nice clients, and so I find that really nice people look at their assets as something that they have a duty to give back, that they have been lucky to acquire.
Pretty early on in my career, I had clients asking questions about how to structure different charitable planning ideas. It’s cool to help clients bring that to fruition and see their goals come to completion.
I’ve been able to support donations of artwork, create endowments, and name classrooms. Sometimes it’s memorializing a loved one, which can be a part of helping families through the grief process.
Marie: Absolutely, it is such an honor when people reach out for our assistance in memorializing a family member, or for administering a charitable wish of their loved one.
What connected you to BCF and made you start referring clients to us?
Cheri: BCF has such a great reputation in the Baltimore community for doing amazing work and connecting donors to awesome organizations that are making a difference. I find that the Investment Committee does a great job of keeping people informed on how the investments are doing as well.
The other members of the team at BCF work well with clients and help the clients determine where and how they want to use their funds. Every experience I’ve had with BCF has been outstanding. And I find that a lot of people really do want to give back to the City of Baltimore.
Marie: What’s one trend or piece of information related to your practice and to charitable giving that you think everyone should know about or be thinking about?
Cheri: I think there is a lot more education that could be done on Qualified Charitable Deductions (QCDs) and how to use your retirement accounts.
Just this afternoon, I was talking to a client that had been making small charitable contributions from his retirement account but realized he could have also been doing them from his wife’s IRA. We not only talked about increasing those QCDs to minimize his Required Minimum Distributions but also talked about a charitable remainder trust as an option for his IRA.
Marie: This is a topic that I always bring up with clients. Giving from their IRA using a QCD is the single most effective way to give from a tax standpoint.
Learn more how to partner with BCF on those donations in this article.
Cheri: I want to make sure we distinguish between QCDs and the beneficiary of your IRA after you pass. Especially with the Secure Act 2.0 passed and the stretch rules, someone who inherits an IRA may owe income tax plus estate tax. If you name a charity as the beneficiary, it does not become a part of your estate.
Marie: Thanks for that reminder! Before we end our conversation, can you share what causes you’re passionate about and what organizations you like to support?
Cheri: I’m on the board of Genesee Valley Outdoor Learning Center. I’m a big fan of education and children and the environment and outdoor education is the perfect combination. It also happens to be in my community because I live in the Hereford area.
I also love First Fruits Farm. Our firm regularly volunteers there and donates to them as well.
Marie: We love First Fruits Farm at BCF too!
Cheri: I also feel strongly about using my legal experience to help others. I recently created a new foundation with a friend who lost her son to epilepsy in December. And ten years ago, our family opened a donor-advised fund, and we got into the habit at the end of the year of sitting down with our children—and we’re still doing that now when they’re 20 and 21 years old. Every year we sit down with them and ask what they want to support. It is wonderful to see them develop their own interests and to be able to support them. I always encourage my clients to start these conversations early.
Marie: Thank you so much Cheri – all of us at BCF appreciate partnering with you and the team at Sessa & Dorsey.
