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PRACTICE AREAS

​Location:         1515 Ringling Blvd., Ste. 885
                            Sarasota, Florida  34236

Phone:              (941) 840-1991

Email:               email me

eFax:                (941) 366-8991

BARRY SPIVEY has been Board Certified in the area of Wills, Trusts and Estates by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization since that area of specialization was established in 1986.  His practice has evolved over 40 years from exclusively estate planning and administration to today's predominate focus on estate and trust litigation. He is a Fellow of the American College of Estate and Trust Counsel (ACTEC) and serves on its Fiduciary Litigation Committee. His litigation practice includes representation of personal representatives, trustees, and beneficiaries in will and trust contests, fiduciary surcharge and removal proceedings, guardianship litigation, the modification and termination of irrevocable trusts, and appellate proceedings, among others.
Barry is a Florida native and received his high school, university and law school education in the State of Florida. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, including service in Vietnam, he has practiced law in Sarasota, Florida, since 1972. He is married to the incomparable Tami Foley Conetta and has a son, age 32, and a stepdaughter, age 21. Aside from the practice of law, he is an avid reader and cyclist.
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Areas of Practice

• Trust & Probate Litigation and Appeals
• Estate Planning
• Estate and Trust Administration

Litigation Percentage

• 80% of Practice Devoted to Litigation

Certified Legal Specialties

• Wills, Trusts & Estates by the Florida Bar Board of Legal Specialization and Education, 1986
• Fellow of the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel (ACTEC)

Bar Admissions

• Florida, 1970

Education

• Stetson University College of Law, St. Petersburg, Florida
  • J.D. cum laude - 1970
  • Law Review: Stetson Law Review, Executive Editor
• Steton University, DeLand, Florida
  • B.A. - 1967
  • Major: English

Published Works

• "Completed Transactions, Qualified Reformations and Bosch: When Does the IRS Care About State Law of Trust Reformation", 26 ACTEC Notes 289, Spring, 2001
• "Post-Death Confidentiality of Estate Planning Communications Between Attorney and Client", The Florida Bar Journal, April, 2003
• "Resignation, Removal, and Appointment of Successor Trustees", Chapter 3 of Fla. BarCLE manual, Administration of Trusts in Florida (first published 1998 and revised in 1999, 2000, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2009 and 2011), 6th Ed.,

Representative Cases

• Hayes Leasing Systems Inc. v. Ice House, Inc., 506 So.2d 1073 (Fla. 2d DCA 1987)
• Southeast Bank, N.A., v. David A. Steves, P.A., 552 So.2d 292 (Fla. 2d DCA 1989)
• Bissmeyer v. Southeast Bank, N.A., 596 So.2d 678 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
• In Re Estate of Gilbert, 585 So.2d 970 (Fla. 2d DCA 1991)
• Mills v. Barker, 664 So.2d 1054 (Fla. 2d DCA 1995)
• Greensburg Public Library v. Alzheimer's Lifeliners Assoc. Inc., 787 So.2d 947 (Fla. 2d DCA 2001)
• Merrill Lynch Trust Co. v. Alzheimer's Lifeliners Assoc, Inc., 832 So.2d 948 (Fla. 2d DCA 2002)
• Cuevas v. Kelly, 873 So.2d 367 (Fla. 2d DCA 2004)
• In Re Estate of Kelly, 951 So.2d 543 (Miss. 2007)
• Doe v. Doe, 20 So.3d 892 (Fla. 2d DCA 2009)
• Searle v. Bent, 137 So.3d 1028 (Fla. 2d DCA 2013)
• Kelly v. Lindenau, 223 So.3d 1074 (Fla. 2d DCA 2017)

Classes/Seminars

• "Reformation of Trusts in Florida", Florida ACTEC, 2000
• "Trust Reformation-The Last Resort (Or Just a Re-Sort')", Florida Bar, 2001 - Present
• "Post-Mortem Rescue of the Tax-Defective Charitable Split-Interest Trust", All Children's Hospital Foundation, 2003
• "Handling Deceased Clients' Confidential Information - Ethical Considerations", The Florida Bar, 2003
• "Rewriting or Terminating the Irrevocable Trust", The Florida Bar, 2004
• "Factoring HIPAA into Estate Planning, or Estate Planners Confront the HIPAA Privacy Rule", The Florida Bar, 2005
• "Fiduciary Accountings from the Litigation Perspective", The Florida Bar, 2005
• "Trust Litigation and the Proposed New Trust Code", The Florida Bar, 2006
• "Florida's New Trust Code", The Florida Bar, 2006
• "Drafting Under the Florida Trust Code", The Florida Bar, 2007
• "Tax Consequences of Nonjudicial Settlement or Trust Modification Under the Florida Trust Code", The Florida Bar, 2008
• "Legislative Update Seminar", The Florida Bar, 2008 - 2010
• "Ethical Duties to Deceased Clients", Fla. Legal Education Association, 2011
• "Basics of the Florida Trust Code", The Florida Bar, 2011

Honors and Awards

• Florida Super Lawyers
• Best Lawyers in America
• Florida's Legal Elite (Florida Trend Magazine)
• William S. Belcher Lifetime Professionalism Award (RPPTL Section, The Florida Bar)

Professional Associations and Memberships

• The Florida Bar, Executive Council, Real Property Probate & Trust Law (RPPTL) Section , 1993 - Present
• The Florida Bar, Chair, the Legislation Committee of the RPPTL Section , 2011 - 2013
• The Florida Bar, Chair, Trust Law Committee of the RPPTL Section, 2006 - 2010
• The Florida Bar, Chair, Wills, Trusts and Estates Certification Committee of the Florida Bar , 2000 - 2001
• The Florida Bar, Chair, Ad Hoc Jurisdiction & Service of Process Committee of the RPPTL Section , 2010 - Present
• The Florida Bar, Probate and Guardianship Rules Committee of the Florida Bar, 1992 - 1998
• The Florida Bar, Vice-chair of the Estate and Gift Tax Planning Committee of the RPPTL Section , 1997 - 1999
• The Florida Bar, Ad Hoc Trust Code Revision Committee of the RPPTL Section , 2003 - 2007
• The Florida Bar, Ad Hoc Rule Against Perpetuities Committee of the RPPTL Section , 2000 - Present
• The Florida Bar, Probate and Trust Litigation Committee of the RPPTL Section
• The Florida Bar, Appellate Practice Section
• The American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, Fiduciary Litigation Committee
• The American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, Past Chair, Trust Situs & Conflicts of Law Subcommittee
• Sarasota County Bar Association, Two terms as a Director
• Sarasota County Bar Association, Chair, Estate Planning & Probate Section , 1992 - 1993
• Southwest Florida Estate Planning Council , President, 1992 - 1993
• Community Foundation of Sarasota County, Director
• The Paddock Foundation , Director, 1988 - 2010

Languages

• English