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Barry A. Nelson

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Barry A. Nelson, a Florida Bar Board Certified Tax and Wills, Trusts and Estates Attorney and author of Estate Planning and Asset Protection in Florida: A Plan to Survive Unexpected Financial Threats is a shareholder in the law firm of Nelson & Nelson, P.A. in North Miami Beach, Florida. He practices in the areas of tax, estate planning, asset protection planning, probate, partnerships and business law. He provides counsel to high net worth individuals and families focusing on income, estate and gift tax planning, and assists business owners to most effectively pass their ownership interests from one generation to the next. As the father of a child with autism, Barry combines his legal skills with compassion and understanding in the preparation of Special Needs Trusts for children with disabilities.

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Barry received the Distinguished Planner Award 2021 presented by the Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and served as Chairman of its Asset Protection Committee from 2009 to 2012. Mr. Nelson has been named in Chambers USA High Net Worth Guide as a Tier 1 leading estate planning attorney in Florida since the inaugural edition in 2016. He has been listed in Best Lawyers in America® since 1995 in the practice areas of Trusts and Estates and Tax Law; and has been a Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent® Rated Lawyer for over 25 years. Mr. Nelson was named by Best Lawyers in America® as the 2015 Trusts and Estates “Lawyer of the Year” in Miami.


As the founding chairman of the Asset Preservation Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of the Florida Bar from 2004- 2007, Barry introduced and coordinated a project to write a treatise authored by committee members entitled Asset Protection in Florida (Florida Bar CLE 2008, 7th Edition 2022). Barry wrote Chapter 5 of Asset Protection in Florida, entitled “Homestead: Creditor Issues” which is now co-authored by Barry Nelson and Cassandra Nelson.

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Barry Nelson is a co-founder and serves as board co-chairman of The Victory Center for Autism and Behavioral Challenges (a not-for-profit corporation). In May 2024 Binghamton University Alumni Association recognized Barry's exemplary contributions through his work at The Victory Center by awarding him the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs along with his wife, Judi Nelson.

Practice Areas
  • Estate Planning

  • Asset Protection Planning

  • Probate Administration

  • Tax Law

  • Corporate/Partnership/LLC/Business Law

  • Special Needs Trusts

Bar Admissions
  • Florida Bar Board Certified Tax Law, 1987

  • Florida Bar Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates, 1993

Education
  • University of Miami (J.D., Cum Laude, 1981, LL.M., Taxation, 1987)

  • State University of New York at Binghamton (B.S., Magna Cum Laude, 1974, M.S., Accounting, 1975)

Honors & Distinctions

For news regarding honors and distinctions visit News.

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  • Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public Affairs (2024)

  • Chambers USA High Net Worth Guide, Private Wealth Law (Ranked "Band 1" since 2016)

  • Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business, Florida Estate Planning (2010-2015)

  • The Best Lawyers in America© (Trusts and Estates & Tax Law since 1995)

  • Miami Trusts and Estates "Lawyer of the Year" by Best Lawyers in America® (2015)

  • Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated (since 1995)

  • Distinguished Planner Award 2021 presented by Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami 

  • Florida Super Lawyers (since 2006)

  • Top 100 Miami Florida Super Lawyers (2012-13)

  • South Florida's Top Rated Lawyers (2013)

  • South Florida Legal Guide (2003-18)

  • Florida Trend's Legal Elite (2004-08, 2011)

Memberships & Community Associations
  • Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

  • Chairman ACTEC Asset Protection Committee, 2009-2012

  • Adjunct Professor 1998-2009, University of Miami School of Law LL.M. in Taxation

  • Adjunct Professor 1978-1995, University of Miami, Graduate Dept. of Accounting

  • Founding Chairman 2004-2007 and current Committee Member Asset Preservation Committee of the Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section of The Florida Bar

  • Past President Greater Miami Tax Institute

  • American Bar Association Tax Section

  • Florida Bar Tax Section

  • American Institute of Certified Public Accountants

  • Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants

  • Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami

  • Co-Founder, Chairman Emeritus and current Board Member The Victory Center for Autism and Behavioral Challenges

  • Co-Founder & Previous Chairman National Ambassadors American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science

  • Past Chair Professional Advisory Committee Foundation of Jewish Philanthropies of the Greater Miami Jewish Federation

  • Mayor Town of Golden Beach, 1993-1995

Presentations & Lectures

For a list of current events, presentations and lectures visit Events / Presentations.

ACTEC Trust and Estate Talk, Podcast Episode 109
Presenting: Estate Transfer Planning for the Moderate Estate
June 9, 2020
LISTEN TO PODCAST

Barry Nelson has presented estate planning and asset protection topics to the following institutions:

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  • ​Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys (AFELA)

  • ACTEC, Florida Fellows Institute

  • American Bar Association

  • American Bar Association, International Legal Symposium on the World of Music, Film, Television, and Sports

  • American Bar Association, Section of Real Property, Trust and Estate Law

  • American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

  • BNY Mellon Wealth Management

  • Boys Town Jerusalem

  • East Coast Estate Planning Council (ECEPC)

  • Estate Planning Council of Greater Miami

  • FBA Trust and Private Banking Conference

  • FICPA Florida Institute on Federal Taxation (FIFT)

  • Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (FICPA)

  • Florida Tax Institute

  • Fort Lauderdale Tax Council

  • FPA of Greater Fort Lauderdale

  • Greater Boca Raton Estate Planning Council

  • Greater Miami Jewish Federation

  • Greater Miami Tax Institute (GMTI)

  • Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning

  • Morgan Stanley Smith Barney

  • North American Entertainment, Sports & Intellectual Property Law Conference

  • Northern Trust

  • Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute

  • Palm Beach & Boca Raton Tax Institutes

  • South Dade Estate Planning Council

  • Southern Federal Tax Institute (SFTI)

  • The Florida Bar

  • The Florida Bar Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section (RPPTL)

  • The Florida Bar Workers' Compensation Section

  • The Gulf Coast Estate Planning Conference

  • The Mobile Chapter of the Estate Planning Council presents

  • UM-NSU CARD (University of Miami-Nova Southeastern University Center for Autism & Related Disabilities)

Publications

For a list of legal publications authored by the attorneys of Nelson & Nelson PA visit Publications.

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Events / Presentations

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Publications

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News

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Links

Book
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Estate Planning and Asset Protection in Florida: A Plan to Survive Unexpected Financial Threats

by Barry A. Nelson

 

Barry Nelson is an industry-respected, board-certified attorney with decades of experience counselling high-net-worth clients. In this useful resource for both professionals and clients alike, he reveals the serious implications of ignoring the potential liabilities that can threaten a client's assets.

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Use code BAN10 for a 10% discount!

Estate Planning and Asset Protection Book

Full book available in hard cover or PDF. Individual chapters available in PDF.

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