Atty. Mark O. Costley
With more than 30 years’ experience in private practice, Mark Costley has helped hundreds of North Carolinians with estate planning, living trusts, financial law, probate, and trust administration. Mark’s work involves elements of teaching, strategic analysis and planning, documentation, and assisting clients in implementing their plans.
Profile Summary
About Mark O. Costley at a glance
Mark O. Costley is a Partner based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, practicing at Clarity Legal Group. They have 41+ years of legal experience, licensed to practice since 1985. Their practice focuses on trusts, estate planning, business, tax, and estate litigation. Admitted to practice in Oklahoma U.S. District Court, Eastern District of North Carolina U.S. District Court, Northern and W (1985) and North Carolina (1990). Educated at Duke University School of Law (J.D., 1985) and Duke University (A.B., 1982). Recognitions include AV Preeminent. Active member of North Carolina State Bar North Carolina Bar Association Oklahoma Bar Association American Bar Association 14th Judicial District Bar, Durham-Orange Estate Planning Council, National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, Estate and Trust Legislative Committee. Serands clients in Chapel Hill, NC and the surrounding metropolitan area.
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About
- With more than 30 years’ experience in private practice, Mark Costley has helped hundreds of North Carolinians with estate planning, living trusts, financial law, probate, and trust administration
- Mark’s work involves elements of teaching, strategic analysis and planning, documentation, and assisting clients in implementing their plans
- He is devoted to providing the best in planning, efficiency, administration, and asset protection.Mark was drawn to estate planning and trust law by a passion for helping clients and their families avoid problems and helping them have the necessary tools to preserve their wealth, avoid disputes, prepare for the future, and deal with problems when they do arise
- Mark’s practice is built around the needs of clients to deal with their family business matters and personal affairs
- He has organized Clarity Legal Group to focus on giving you not only effective legal assistance, but peace of mind that you have taken care of some of the most important risks that you and your family might face
- Mark and his team strive to have strong relationships not only with clients, but also with their families and other professional advisors, to be of the greatest assistance possible when legal counsel is needed.Mark’s areas of practice include estate planning, trust and estate administration, elder law, planning for children and adults with special needs, business succession planning and estate related business transactions, counseling regarding social entrepreneurship, representation of non-profit organizations, family charitable and philanthropic counseling, and counselling and support regarding fiduciary liability.EducationMark received an AB, Magna Cum Laude, from Duke University in 1982, and was awarded his Juris Doctorate in 1985 by the Duke University School of Law
- He was an editor of the Duke University Legal Research Program, a member of the law school’s National Moot Court Team, and was selected by his peers to serve as commencement speaker for his law school class
- Mr. Costley completes in excess of 36 hours of continuing education in estate planning, taxation and related areas each year
- He has served as an instructor of business law at Greensboro College, has been a guest lecturer on business ethics at Texas A & M University, and has presented continuing education papers and presentations to lawyers, CPAs, and financial professionals on subjects including estate planning, trust administration, charitable planning, trust drafting, covenants not to compete, incapacity planning, asset protection, debt collection, and business formation
- Mark has given scores of presentations to the public on the subjects of estate, financial planning, asset protection, health care planning, retirement planning, and related topics.ExperienceMark has been engaged in the private practice of law since 1985
- After law school, he practiced in his native state of Oklahoma with Crowe & Dunlevy, a large firm in Oklahoma City
- He returned to North Carolina, forming his own firm in 1992, before joining Walker, Lambe, Rhudy & Costley, PLLC in 2002, where he served as Managing Partner of the Estate Planning practice for a decade as well as Managing Partner of the firm
- In 2017 he put together the team forming the client-centered core of Clarity Legal Group.Community ServiceIn addition to his law practice, Mark has served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Duke University, as Chairman of the Board of the Servant Center, Inc., a non-profit corporation providing health care services for veterans and the homeless, and as Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the North Carolina Humanities Council
- He is a member of the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association Estate and Trust Legislative Committee, and is a past president and current member of the Durham-Orange Estate Planning Council
- He is a graduate of Leadership Greensboro, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a Member of the Duke University School of Law, Alumni Association Board of Directors.Clarity Legal GroupLife is full of wonder, joy, love — and challenges
- Our quality of life is often defined by how well we meet these challenges
- Mark formed Clarity Legal Group with the idea to focus on helping people prepare to meet two challenges which are easier to ignore: incapacity and death
- Mark and his team help people prepare for these difficult aspects of life, putting into place the planning, tools and support necessary to protect them and their loved ones from what might go wrong and to help them realize their hopes for what might go well
- In so doing, we hope to give our clients peace of mind, and contribute to their legacy of a life well lived.Everything about the culture at Clarity Legal Group is geared toward providing clients extraordinary clarity in the face of the unfamiliar details and challenges of preparing for incapacity or death
- Our approach takes the uncertainty out of decisions about estate planning and elder law
- Before a client engages our services, we will provide clarity about what is needed, what the options are for preparing more fully, how and when the plan will be delivered and implemented, what will be expected of the client during the process, and what clients will pay us
- We prepare prospective clients through education in multiple forms, calculated to make the time clients invest with our lawyers productiv,e and the decision to use our services clear and easy.PersonalMark is married to Margaret Costley, and has two daughters
- He is a member of University Presbyterian Church, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, is an avid sports fan, and enjoys reading, travel, tennis, politics, gardening, and music
- Mark and Margaret love visiting the North Carolina mountains and never pass up a good hike
Practice Areas Explained
Mark O. Costley's Areas of Practice
Each practice area below reflects the types of cases Mark O. Costley handles, with a brief overview of what that area of law covers.
Mark O. Costley is one of 104,172 trusts attorneys indexed nationally. Browse trusts attorneys in North Carolina →
An estate planning attorney prepares wills, trusts, powers of attorney, and healthcare directives to protect your family and pass on your assets.
Mark O. Costley is one of 226,537 estate planning attorneys indexed nationally. Browse estate planning attorneys in North Carolina →
Business attorneys advise founders and growing companies on entity formation, contracts, financing, M&A, and dispute resolution.
Mark O. Costley is one of 501,317 business attorneys indexed nationally. Browse business attorneys in North Carolina →
Tax attorneys handle IRS audits, tax debt, international tax, estate planning, and tax court litigation.
Mark O. Costley is one of 85,302 tax attorneys indexed nationally. Browse tax attorneys in North Carolina →
Mark O. Costley is one of 20,023 estate litigation attorneys indexed nationally. Browse estate litigation attorneys in North Carolina →
Jurisdictional Context
Why local counsel matters in North Carolina
Practicing law in North Carolina. Legal matters in North Carolina are governed by state-specific rules of civil and criminal procedure, statutes of limitations, and substantive law. Cases originating in Chapel Hill are typically filed in the local municipal court or the appropriate North Carolina state district court, depending on subject matter and amount in controversy. An attorney licensed in North Carolina brings working knowledge of local procedural deadlines, judicial practices in this andnue, and the substantive law that applies to cases brought here. Out-of-state attorneys generally cannot represent clients in North Carolina courts without local counsel or pro hac vice admission.
Looking for additional North Carolina attorneys? Browse all attorneys in Chapel Hill or all attorneys in North Carolina.
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