Barry A. Nelson

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, 8th Edition 2024). 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 co-chairman of The Victory Center for Autism and Behavioral Challenges (a not-for-profit corporation). In 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. The Miami Foundation named Barry as the Activated Professional Impact Honoree at its 2024 Living Legends event.

• 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)

• Estate Planning
• Asset Protection Planning
• Probate Administration
• Tax Law
• Corporate/Partnership/LLC/Business Law
• Special Needs Trusts

• 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
• 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