Skip to Main Content
Professional Photo
Professionals

Duane L. Pinnock

Shareholder

Duane Pinnock is the only African American tax and estate attorney in the state of Florida who is Board Certified by the Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts, and Estates, which is that organization's highest level of recognition of the competency and experience of attorneys practicing in these areas.

Professional Biography


Mr. Pinnock has nearly two decades of experience advising clients on complex estate and tax planning and administration, as well as related litigation and tax controversy matters. He handles fiduciary and probate litigation, as well as complex estate and tax planning and administration. He represents beneficiaries, trustees, personal representatives, and heirs. Mr. Pinnock assists clients in developing estate plans and administering complex trusts and estates, and he represents clients in related litigation and tax court controversies.

From 2016 to 2017, Mr. Pinnock was appointed to serve as chair of the Florida Bar's Wills, Trusts & Estates Board Certification Committee. He is the former chair of the Palm Beach County Bar Association Estate and Probate Committee, as well as the former co-chair of the Estate and Probate section of the Bench Bar Committee.

Mr. Pinnock teaches continuing education courses regarding estate planning and asset protection and is a frequent presenter on estate and fiduciary litigation topics.

  • Successfully represented the trust beneficiary in a breach of trust action against her sister as trustee of a trust created by the client/beneficiary's father. Initially secured a court order forcing the trustee to disgorge and repay back to the trust all amounts paid to her attorneys for defense of the action and pay her own litigation fees. Ultimately resolved the matter by settlement, with the trust being terminated and dissolved, and all of the trust funds being paid to the client/beneficiary.

  • Successfully represented the widow and marital children against the non-marital children of the decedent in a dispute over the wrongful death proceeds stemming from the decedent's death. Secured the appointed of our client as the personal representative of the estate, which included control of the wrongful death proceeds, on summary judgment.

  • Successfully defended decedent's last will and testament in a will contest based upon undue influence and lack of capacity brought by decedent's daughter against the estate, as well as her petition to remove two of her siblings as co-personal representatives for breach of fiduciary duty. After significant and extended motion practice and discovery, we secured a summary judgment against the petitioner on the will contest and forced her to dismiss her petition to remove the co-personal representatives.

  • Florida Bar Board Certified Attorney in Wills, Trusts & Estates Law
  • Listed in The Best Lawyers in America® for Trusts and Estates (2023 – 2025)
  • Selected to Florida Super Lawyers (2017 – 2024)
  • Selected to Florida Rising Stars (2012 – 2016)
  • Recognized as a "Top Lawyer" by South Florida Legal Guide (2016)
  • Recognized as a Florida's Legal Elite Up & Comer by Florida Trend (2014)
  • Member – The Florida Bar Association, Tax and Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law Sections
    • At-Large Member – Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Executive Council
    • Chair – Wills, Trusts & Estates Board Certification Committee (2016 – 2017)
    • Vice-Chair – Wills, Trusts & Estates Board Certification Committee (2015 – 2016)
  • Former Chair – Estate and Probate Committee, Palm Beach County Bar Association
  • Former Co-chair – Estate and Probate Section, Bench Bar Committee
  • Member – American and National Bar Associations
  • Member – University of Florida Levin College of Law Alumni Council
  • Fellow – Leadership Council on Legal Diversity (LCLD)
  • Boulé Estate Planning Webinar (February 2023)
  • "Florida Case Law Update: The Recent Rulings that Every Probate Practitioner Needs to Know," Probate Law 2022, The Florida Bar (November 2022)
  • "Probate Jurisdiction over Non-Probate Assets," 2022 Litigation and Trust Law Symposium, The Florida Bar (July 2022)
  • "How to Set up a Successful Estate Planning and Drafting Practice: Introduction to Wills and Trusts Drafting," The Florida Bar (January 2020)
  • "Probate and Trust Law Cross-Training," Palm Beach County Bar Association (2018)
  • "Estate and Probate," Palm Beach County Bench Bar Conference (2018)
  • "Probate Boot Camp," Palm Beach County Bar Association (2017)
  • "Estate Planning: Anticipating Litigation," Palm Beach County Bar Association (2016)
  • "Estate Planning 101: Trusts and Estates from Start to Finish," Pincus Professional Education (2015)
  • "Estate Planning and Probate," National Bar Association 88th Annual Convention (July 2013)
  • "Probate Litigation: Trends and Hot Topics" (2012)
  • "The Use of Limited Liability Entities for Asset Protection," Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants (2010)
  • "Estate Planning and Estate Administration," The Chief Jimmy Brown Radio Show (2009)

Industries

Education

  • University of Miami School of Law, LL.M., 2002
  • University of Florida Levin College of Law, J.D., 2001
  • University of Florida College of Liberal Arts and Science, B.A., 1998

Admissions

  • Florida, 2002
  • U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida
  • U.S. Tax Court

Email Disclaimer

NOTICE: The mailing of this email is not intended to create, and receipt of it does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Anything that you send to anyone at our Firm will not be confidential or privileged unless we have agreed to represent you. If you send this email, you confirm that you have read and understand this notice.
Cancel Accept