Briani Bennett Mellen

Briani Bennett Mellen is an associate in the firm's Tax group and practices in the Columbia office.  Her law practice is primarily focused is in the areas of federal and state income taxation and estate planning.

Mrs. Bennett Mellen's experience also includes:

• Gift tax planning
• Generation-skipping transfer tax
• Trust and estate administration 
• Closely-held business succession

While attending the New York University School of Law for an LL.M. in Taxation, Mrs. Bennett Mellen served as a graduate editor on the Tax Law Review.  As a student at the University of South Carolina School of Law, she served on the editorial staff of the South Carolina Law Review and received honorary society membership admission to the Order of the Coif and Order of the Wig and Robe.

After law school, Mrs. Bennett Mellen completed a federal clerkship with the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr. of the United States District Court for the District of South Carolina.  During her practice of law, she has written extensively on matters involving trust administration and trust decanting - the ability to distribute property from one trust to another.

Mrs. Bennett Mellen is a native of Lexington, SC and enjoys spending time with her husband and two dogs.

• Recipient of the Tax Law Review Scholarship from New York University School of Law
• Federal district court clerkship with the Honorable Joseph F. Anderson, Jr.

• Client Alert - IRS Special Relief Program for Small Charities that Have Not Filed the Form 990-N (e-Postcard)
  The Internal Revenue Service is now offering a one-time special relief program for small charities that are at risk of losing tax-exempt status.
• Nexsen Pruet Expands Tax Practice Group; Briani Bennett Mellen Joins Firm as Associate
  Nexsen Pruet is pleased to announce that Briani Bennett Mellen has joined the firm.

• Client Alert: 2010 Tax Act Provides Portability to Reduce the Estate Taxes Paid by Couples
  The IRS is offering a new way for surviving spouses to reduce their estate tax bill if their spouse passed away after December 31, 2010.
• Client Alert: The Taxation Treatment of Employer-Provided Cell Phones
  The Internal Revenue Service has issued long-awaited guidance that clarifies the taxation treatment of employer-provided cell phones or other similar telecommunications equipment.
• Client Alert: A Low Cost Option to Voluntarily Reclassify Workers
  In September, The IRS announced the Voluntary Classification Settlement Program (VCSP), a voluntary initiative allowing taxpayers the opportunity to change the prospective classification of their workers at a low cost. Taxpayers seeking to apply to the VCSP for the fourth quarter of 2011 must act quickly to meet the initial deadlines set by the IRS.
• Use of Trust Decanting to Extend the Term of Irrevocable Trusts
• Trust Decanting: An Overview and Introduction to Creative Planning Opportunities
• Closely Held Business Interests and the Trustee's Duty to Diversify

Panelist on trust decanting at the 9th Annual North Carolina/South Carolina Tax Section Workshops, May 28th-30, 2010, at Kiawah Island, SC 

• Modifying Irrevocable Trusts