Jason Edward Havens

Jason E. Havens is a Partner of the law firm of Holland & Knight LLP. He practices primarily in the firm's Jacksonville (also serving Ponte Vedra Beach and Fernandina Beach) office, and also is assigned to its Tallahassee (also serving Destin and Rosemary Beach) office. Because Mr. Havens served as Vice Chair and Chair of the firm's Nonprofit & Tax-Exempt Organizations Team for more than a decade, he regularly is involved in matters throughout the firm's 20+ offices.

Mr. Havens is admitted to practice law in Florida and Tennessee. He specializes in complex estate and charitable gift planning (domestic and international), probate/trust administration, wills and trusts, and probate/trust litigation for affluent individuals and families and on behalf of charitable organizations.

Since 2009, The Florida Bar has certified Mr. Havens as a Board Certified Specialist (B.C.S.) in Wills, Trusts and Estates Law. Since 2010, the Estate Law Specialist Board has certified him as an Estate Planning Law Specialist (EPLS) in Tennessee. As a result, he is listed on the Roll of Certified Legal Specialists of the Tennessee Commission on Continuing Legal Education.

Mr. Havens also is a Fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is a member of ACTEC's Charitable Planning & Exempt Organizations Committee. He serves as a member of ACTEC's Tax Policy Study Committee as well.

For more than a decade, Mr. Havens served in leadership roles in the Charitable Planning and Organizations Group of the Section of Real Property, Trust & Estate Law (RPTE) of the American Bar Association (ABA). He regularly publishes articles and commentary in national and local publications including Probate & Property (ABA), Family Foundation Advisor, and the Journal of Accountancy. Mr. Havens has lectured at various programs, including the 37th annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning and ABA programs sponsored by its RPTE Section and its Section of Taxation.

Mr. Havens received his LL.M. in International Taxation from Regent University, his LL.M. in Estate Planning from the University of Miami, his J.D. from the University of Tennessee, and his B.A., magna cum laude, from Lipscomb University.  While in law school in 1997, he created Legal Research for Estate Planners (LREP), a personal website that was recognized as one of the premier Internet sites on estate planning.

In 2005 Mr. Havens was appointed by Florida Governor John Ellis (“Jeb”) Bush to the board of directors of The Able Trust, a unique public/private charitable organization created in 1990 by the Florida Legislature to assist disabled Floridians in obtaining employment.  He became Treasurer of The Able Trust in 2008.  He completed his service to The Able Trust in 2013 and received a letter of commendation from Florida Governor Richard Lynn (“Rick”) Scott.

Mr. Havens married Daphne Kay Havens in Nashville, Tennessee in 1996.  They have three children and have lived in Florida since 1999.