Carol Ann Cantrell was born in Montmartre, Saskatchewan, Canada on May 13, 1952 while her father was temporarily located there in search of oil. The family moved back to the United States in 1958 where Carol attended high school and graduated cum laude from the University of Texas in Austin with a Bachelor of Arts in mathematics. She began her career in public accounting in 1974 with Ernst & Young (formerly Arthur Young & Co.), and left there after becoming a CPA to form her own accounting firm in 1976. She has been self-employed since that time with her husband as her partner. Self-employment allowed her the flexibility to work full time while raising her three children.

Carol and her husband merged their practice with Briggs & Veselka Co. in 2000 to become the eleventh largest CPA firm in the Houston area. At the firm, Carol concentrates on financial planning for corporate executives, families, retirees, and the elder population. She specializes in stock options, trusts, partnerships, and estate taxes. She is also a frequent speaker for Texas legal and accounting organizations, national societies, and financial planning groups.

Carol has published numerous articles including:

• "Compensation, Distributions, Withdrawals, and Other Income Tax Problems of the Mature FLP," 2003 State Bar of Texas Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Course;
• "Income Taxation of Estates & Trusts Including the Impact of the New Texas Uniform Principal and Income Act," 2002 Houston Bar Probate, Trusts & Wills Section;
• "Stock Options--Planning in a New Tax & Economic Climate," 2001 FPA Annual Financial Planning Symposium;
• "Stock Options--A New Challenge for Estate Planners," 2000 State Bar of Texas Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Course and 1999 National Association of Stock Plan Professionals Annual Conference;
• "Practical Income Tax Guidance On Forming, Operating, and Liquidating Your Family Limited Partnership," 1998 State Bar of Texas Advanced Estate Planning & Probate Course;
• "Income Tax Considerations in Administering Estates & Trusts," 1998 University of Texas 46th Annual Taxation Conference;
• "Financial Planning, The Industry, The Process, and a Special Focus on Retirement Planning," 1995 Disability and Elder Law Attorney's Association;
• "Living and Dying with the Complex Rules of Incentive Stock Options," Journal of Taxation, August 1997.

At the age of 48, Carol fulfilled a life long goal and began law school at the University of Houston Law Center. It was during her years in law school that she wrote this book. She graduated cum laude in 2003, passed the Texas bar in 2004 and is admitted to practice law in Texas, the United States Tax Court, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. She looks forward to the next phase of her career as she applies her legal skills to enhance her financial planning practice at Briggs & Veselka Co.