About the Firm

Michael Anderson, Managing Partner, Betzalel Law

I am a dedicated estate planning, estate administration/probate, and business attorney living in Charlotte, NC. I assist clients in planning by designing will-based and trust-based estate plans to protect their assets, as well as business succession planning. When an individual passes away, I assist families with the administration of the estate, including the probate process, trust funding, and business transitions.

Experience

I have been practicing law for a long time. I started my practice in Washington, DC, and New York City, working for AMLAW 50 law firms. My wife and I moved our family to Charlotte in 2017 and we have been extremely grateful to live in the Carolinas ever since. I discovered the field of Estate Planning law after having already practiced law many years in various fields. Sometimes it takes a while to find the right fit – but when I discovered Estate Planning it was love at first sight. I love meeting new people, talking to them about their lives and families, and strategizing how to protect everything they have worked so hard for. My varied background (including time practicing as a tax accountant at Ernst & Young, a tax attorney, and a business consultant at McKinsey & Co.) help me spot issues and provide well-rounded guidance and solutions to my clients.

Education

I earned my undergraduate degree in accounting in 2004 from the University of Washington in Seattle. I then completed a Master’s Degree in Public Accounting (Taxation) from the same institution in 2005. I spent a year and a half as a Fulbright Fellow under the auspices of the U.S. Department of State, conducting research, working, and teaching at a local university in the Middle East (Qatar) from 2008-2010. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania Law School (an Ivy League institution) in 2010, as well. More importantly, I take copious amounts of Continuing Legal Education every year and am constantly peppering other estate planning colleagues, tax accountants, and financial advisors with questions about best practices and strategies.

Beyond the Law

I live with my beautiful wife, Rebekah, and our seven children who we homeschool. Having so many children means I’m well practiced in dealing with all types of personalities! We are actively involved in our church (a Calvary Chapel) and various activities such as Trail Life and American Heritage Girls. We love reading books out loud (we’ve read such greats as The Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit, Fahrenheit 451, Lord of the Flies, and Animal Farm), going on long road trips (our longest was 90 days), hiking, and visiting National Parks and Historical Sites (we’ve been to 64 – my favorites were White Sands and Glacier National Park).

Meaning Of Betzalel

Betzalel (be-tsahl-el) means “in the shadow (or protection) of God.” When God commanded Moses to build the Tabernacle (which was an earthly representation of the Heavenly sanctuary) and its vessels He told Moses: “See, I have called by name Betzalel the son of Uri, son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah: and I have filled him with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in understanding, and in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship. To devise cunning works, to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in cutting of stones, to set them, and in carving of timber, to work in all manner of workmanship.” (Exodus 31:2 in the Torah/Bible; mentioned in commentaries such as Josephus, the Talmud, etc.)
Betzalel was a man hand-picked by God to be the master craftsman of the Tabernacle. The detailed instructions God gave for the construction of the Tabernacle required elite ability in numerous trades – gold, silver bronze, woods, fabrics, etc. To master any one of these crafts would take a craftsman a lifetime, but all were needed to complete the commission and the calling. So God endowed Betzalel with divine creativity, skill, knowledge, and craftsmanship in all these distinct arts and the ability to teach skills to those working under him.
At Betzalel Law, I see the legal profession as a craft and the calling as divine. Every matter that comes across my desk is not simply a revenue-generating client, but an opportunity from the Lord, to practice a craft for a greater purpose – strengthening, providing for, and protecting families for generations.