When it’s time to strategize for the next generation, Bert Brannon helps clients create a solid foundation, a clear direction, and a plan for keeping their families’ futures secure.

A veteran attorney who has served the Midlands for more than 25 years, Bert focuses his practice on estate planning and business succession planning, areas that often go hand in hand. He is experienced in helping small business owners and families manage assets, utilizing wills, trusts, and family entities to minimize estate taxes. His practice includes probate and trust administration; choice of entity planning; taxation of estates and trusts and business entities; and corporate law.

As a reliable and knowledgeable counsel for families, Bert assists with a range of estate planning matters, from writing wills to creating trusts. He helps with powers of attorney and advance directives. He has represented trustees and personal representatives of estates, has served as a trustee for various trusts, and as a special administrator and personal representative in special situations and contested estates.

For the many small business owners he represents and counsels, he begins by helping them select the proper entity upon formation, whether that’s a publicly or privately held corporation, a general or limited partnership, a closely held corporation, a family-run company, or a sole proprietorship. This builds a strong foundation and sets clients up for success in the years to come.

A graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Law, Bert is a South Carolina Supreme Court certified specialist in estate planning and probate law. He served as an adjunct professor at the University of South Carolina School of Law, teaching estate planning for 20 years.

  • U.S. Tax Court, 1993
  • U.S. District Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1992
  • U.S. District Court for the District of South Carolina, 1992
  • South Carolina
  • South Carolina Supreme Court Certified Specialist in Estate Planning and Probate Law

  • New York University School of Law, Master of Laws in Taxation, 1992
  • University of South Carolina School of Law, Juris Doctor, 1991
  • University of South Carolina Darla Moore School of Business, Master of Business Administration, 1990
  • Furman University, Bachelor of Science, Computer Science/Mathematics, 1987

  • South Carolina Bar
  • Richland County Bar
  • American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel, fellow
  • Columbia Tax Study Group, past chairman
  • Columbia Estate Planning Council, past president
  • Member of South Carolina Bar Estate Planning and Probate Law Advisory Committee

  • Best Lawyers in America, Trusts and Estates, 2008 to present; Litigation – Trusts & Estates, 2018 to present; Tax Law, 2020 to present; Lawyer of the Year, Litigation – Trusts & Estates, 2019, 2022; Lawyer of the Year, Trusts & Estates, 2024
  • South Carolina Super Lawyers, Estate Planning & Probate, Closely Held Businesses, 2010 to present
  • Legal Elite of the Midlands, Tax & Estate Law, 2020
  • AV Preeminent Peer Review Rating, Martindale-Hubbell

  • Co-author, Wills and Testamentary Trusts Chapter, Estate Planning in South Carolina, Volume II
  • Author, South Carolina Probate Practice Manual, 5th Edition
  • University of South Carolina School of Law, adjunct professor, estate planning
  • Frequent lecturer at SC Bar continuing legal education seminars
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