Walt Helms is a Principal of Winged Keel Group, co-leading the firm’s Atlanta office. He specializes in utilizing life insurance to create customized wealth transfer plans for affluent families and business owners. Typical plans include multiple generations and employ sophisticated techniques such as Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs), split dollar arrangements, Family Limited Partnerships (FLPs), installment sales and discounted assets. Additionally, Walt advises corporate clients on employee benefit plans including Non-Qualified Deferred Compensation (NQDC) plans, Supplemental Executive Retirement Plans (SERPs), and executive bonus plans. Prior to joining Winged Keel Group in 2023, Walt served as Principal of Nease, Lagana, Eden & Culley. Walt regularly speaks at local, regional, and national conferences on topics including life insurance and complex strategies to efficiently transfer assets over multiple generations. Walt is a member of Finseca, the Atlanta Estate Planning Council, and the Product Development Group for M Financial Group. He previously served as a member of the Government Affairs Committee for M Financial Group, where he played a key role in advocating for the industry regarding the appropriate tax and regulatory treatment of life insurance. He is also an active board member of the Georgia Foundation for Public Education. Walt received a Bachelor of Science in Management from the Georgia Institute of Technology. He continued his graduate studies at the Georgia State University earning two degrees—a Master of Taxation and Master of Science in Personal Financial Planning. He is a Certified Financial Planner® and holds FINRA Series 7 and 63 securities registrations.