Joe is an AV-Rated attorney in our Tax and Business Services Groups. With extensive background in estate and trust planning and tax, he was named (1 of 3 Tennessee Lawyers) in J.K. Lasser’s book, Estate Planning for Baby Boomers and Retirees.
Overview
Joe is an AV-Rated attorney in our Tax and Business Services Groups. With extensive background in estate and trust planning and tax, he was named (1 of 3 Tennessee Lawyers) in J.K. Lasser’s book, Estate Planning for Baby Boomers and Retirees.
Practice Areas
Experience
Wealth Transfer, Trust and Estate Planning and Asset Protection
- Representation of taxpayers of high net worth in consideration, creation and implementation of sophisticated Death Tax and Gift Tax saving mechanisms, including charitable planning.
- Representation of individuals to address complicated family and personal matters, including special needs children, special beneficiary relationships, artificial reproduction babies and business exit planning.
- Representation of individuals with unique assets as to valuations and transfer, from song writers and visual artists, to small business owners and owners of assets in foreign countries.
- Representation of those in need of asset protection during life with special Tennessee Trusts.
Fiduciary Compliance for Trustees and Executors and Probate Controversy
- Representation of institutional and individual executors and trustees and other advisors in the administration of trusts and estates and in controversies and litigation arising from will contests and construction, trust reformation and fiduciaries’ rights and duties.
Federal Tax and State/Local Tax Controversies and Planning Opportunities
- Representation of estates, trusts and individuals in defense of tax reduction techniques and other tax compliance matters.
- Representation of corporations, partnerships, LLC’s and S Corporations in tax challenges from federal, state and local taxing authorities.
- Representation of individual and business taxpayers in structuring upcoming transactions resulting from important life events in order to reduce federal and state income tax impact.
- Representation of individual and corporate taxpayers in planning for or after assessment of state/local taxes: franchise, excise, sales and use, the hall income tax and business taxes.
- Representation of tax exempt organization in dispute with state as to 1 million in state sales/use taxes.
Tax Exempt Organizations
- Representation of corporation owning and operating professional sports franchise in obtaining federal tax exempt status.
- Representation of individuals in obtaining federal tax exempt status for establishing a university, hospital and primary/secondary school system in their homeland, an underdeveloped country.
- Representation of tax-exempt organization in protecting and enhancing executive talent by obtaining private letter ruling for phantom stock plan for executives with for-profit subsidiary.
- Representation of charter school corporations and private schools in obtaining tax-exempt status.
- Representation of quasi-governmental entity in conversion to charitable 501(c)(3) status and provided tax exempt counsel in the merger of two charitable institutions.
- Representation of large tax exempt organizations as they created umbrella holding organizations with charitable and for-profit subsidiaries and separate management companies.
- Representation of organization believed tax exempt for over 10 years, but not exempt, in successful special IRS appeal directly to District Director to obtain retroactive exemption.
Technology and Software Licensing
- Representation of Fortune 500 Company licensor in the global licensing of its proprietary software as it was installed in over 50 countries and the U.S. and in its acquisition as licensee of developmental software and major third-party software and hardware technologies.
- Representation of various licensors and licensees in software, hardware and technology licensing and use transactions, from utility company to health care start-up development companies, from beta site protections to full marketing agreements, from consulting to maintenance agreements and from hosting agreements to shrink wrap to the cloud.
Distinctions
- Martindale-Hubbell®
- AV®- Preeminent™ Peer Review Rated
- American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
- Best Lawyers in America®,
- Trusts and Estates, 1983-2025
- Litigation – Trusts and Estates, 2011-2025
- Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Trusts and Estates, 2014
- Lawyer of the Year, Trusts and Estates, 2011
- Super Lawyers®
- Mid-South Super Lawyers, Estate Planning & Probate, 2006-2015, 2017-2019
- Top 100 Tennessee Super Lawyers, 2006
- Top 50 Memphis Area Super Lawyers, 2006
- Named (1 of 3 Tennessee Lawyers) in J.K. Lasser’s book, Estate Planning for Baby Boomers and Retirees
- Best of the Bar, Memphis Business Journal, 2020
Bar Admissions
- Tennessee, 1973
- U.S. District Courts
- Tennessee: Western
- U.S. Court of Appeals
- 6th Circuit
- U.S. Tax Court
Education
- University of Memphis, J.D., 1973
- University of Mississippi, B.B.A., Accounting, 1969
Associations
- American Bar Association
- Tax Exempt Organizations Committee
- Employee Benefits Committee
- Gift and Estate Tax Committee
- The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
- Asset Protection Committee
- Estate Planning Council of Memphis
- Memphis Bar Association
- Memphis Tax Watch
- Past President
- Tennessee Bar Association
- Probate Study Committee
- Tax Section
- Real Estate, Probate and Trust Section
- Probate Study Committee
- Tennessee Federal Tax Institute
- Past President
Papers, Presentations & Publications
- Presenter, "Tennessee Uniform Trust Code," Tennessee Bar Association, Estate Planning Council of Memphis, CPA and CFP firms.
- Presenter, "Estate Planning Strategies for Qualified Plan Benefits and IRA’s," Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society, CPA and CFP firms.
- Presenter, "Asset Protection Planning," Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society.
- Presenter, "Protecting Your Wealth from Estate Taxes," Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society, Memphis Dental Society, CPA and CFP firms.
- Presenter, "Getting Ready for Retirement," Memphis and Shelby County Medical Society, CPA and CFP firms.
- Presenter, "Using Trusts/Custodianships for Funding Education—or Preventing Baby Boomers’ Babies from Breaking the Bank," ICFP.
- Co-Presenter, "Business Exit Planning for the Business Owner," joint presentation for business owner clients of CPA and Financial Advisory firms.