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Michelle Hood Milner
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Michelle Hood Milner

Associate

Washington, DC
 
 
 

How Michelle Helps Clients

Michelle concentrates her practice on estate planning and trust administration matters, with a focus on counseling high net worth families on sophisticated estate plans to transfer wealth and legacy, often in connection with closely held businesses or other valued assets. She prepares basic to complex estate planning documents, including revocable trusts and wills, durable powers of attorney and healthcare directives, irrevocable dynasty trusts, spousal lifetime access trusts (SLATs), irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs), intentionally defective grantor trusts (IDGTs), notices of resignation or replacement of trust fiduciaries, and non-judicial settlement agreements. She also helps clients navigate the administration and potential modification of trusts, as well as the estate administration process and probate court proceedings. 

Prior to joining Buchanan, Michelle was a litigator at a nationally-recognized litigation firm in Washington, D.C. where she represented clients in a broad range of complex civil and commercial litigation matters, with emphasis in the areas of high-stakes multidistrict product liability cases, trade secret matters, and employment disputes in the energy industry. Her trial experience includes the successful representation of both defendants and plaintiffs in federal and state court jury trials.

Michelle’s roots in litigation shape her estate planning and can be credited for her distinctive wholistic approach to drafting that includes identifying and mitigating potential disconnects, ambiguities, and other pitfalls that may run the risk of discord if not clarified or corrected. Michelle also contributes to trust and probate litigation spearheaded by litigators at Buchanan, assisting in the firm’s representation of clients in will and trust contests, disputes concerning the obligations of fiduciaries such as trustees and executors, and the interpretation of testamentary instruments.

What Clients Can Expect

Michelle comes from a family of estate planning attorneys (and farmers) in Texas. After litigating for a number of years, Michelle came back home to the practice she has always felt connected to and passionate about. Her approach to estate planning is marked by that passion, a warm demeanor, a sincere interest in her clients and dedication to achieving their planning objectives, and a unique perspective identifying issues that may risk litigation or other discontent down the road. 

Planning for wealth transfer and succession can be a strategically complex and deeply personal endeavor. I know not everyone enjoys estate planning and tax code topics as much as I do, so my goal is to make the planning process for clients enjoyable, distilled, authentic to their family needs, and most of all something they feel confident about.

Outside the Office

Michelle lives in rural Virginia with her husband, Matt, and their young son. In her spare time, she enjoys spending time outside with her family, and when she can, playing tennis or taking a ski trip. Both Michelle and Matt are third generation private pilots and look forward to one day sharing their love for flying with their son.

Proof Points

  • Advised high net worth families regarding administration and modification of legacy dynasty trusts and tax implications.
  • Developed estate plan for successful entrepreneur that included dynasty trusts for spouse and issue structured to mitigate estate taxes, maximize nontaxable transfers of wealth, and maintain the appropriate level of flexibility to provide for successful trust administration in future generations.
  • Advised clients regarding estate and tax planning and related issues surrounding the gift tax, estate tax and generation-skipping transfer tax.
  • Structured multi-variable estate plans providing clients an efficient vehicle to transfer wealth to future generations and execute their wealth preservation and business succession aims.
  • Advised fiduciaries in estate administration, including probate proceedings and tax compliance matters.
  • Named to the Washington, D.C. Super Lawyers Rising Stars® list since 2022.

Pro Bono

In addition to estate planning, Michelle is very passionate about asylum work. She has successfully represented a number of women in asylum proceedings before the Asylum Office and Immigration Courts. Through that work, her cases established new law in the Immigration Courts, making clearer the standards to qualify for asylum and limiting application of certain bars to asylum where the persecution endured would function as the bar to asylum.