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also known as Stephen L. Carpenter, Steve Carpenter
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I help families and businesses protect their assets to pass a legacy to the next generation.
I am active in my church and community and I enjoy snorkeling, hiking, reading and window shopping.
STEPHEN L. CARPENTER is an attorney in Knoxville, Tennessee, where his practice is concentrated in the areas of Wills, Trusts, Probate, Tax Law and Small Business transactional matters. Mr. Carpenter studied Business Management and Accounting at Asbury College (earning the Bachelor of Arts degree in liberal arts, cum laude) and then continued his studies at the Marshall-Wythe School of Law of the College of William and Mary in Virginia, where he earned both the Master of Laws (LL.M.) degree in Taxation and the Doctor of Jurisprudence (J.D.) degree. Stephen is licensed to practice law in Virginia and Tennessee – and he is the managing member of the law firm he founded in 1989, now known as Carpenter & Lewis PLLC, which is a very different type of law firm because its attorneys take a more client-oriented approach to practicing law.
Mr. Carpenter is a member of the Tennessee Bar Association, Knoxville Bar Association, and the Knoxville Estate Planning Council. Mr. Carpenter has spoken to groups on several topics in the past, including “Small Business Startup Strategies” and “Tennessee Wills and Trusts.” He has trained other attorneys by presenting continuing education seminars on topics such as “Helping your Client Select the Best Entity Option” and “Considerations in Buying or Selling a Business in Tennessee.” He serves in his local church and is a member of the Board of Directors of several religious and civic organizations, including Past President of the Fountain City Business and Professional Association, Inc.
Over the years, Stephen has helped thousands of individuals and families by drafting wills and trusts to transfer wealth to the next generation – while effectively minimizing taxes and implementing values-based estate plans. Stephen is equally adept at assisting families after the death of a loved one, as they walk through the legal process of estate and trust administration. Stephen also regularly works with small businesses and nonprofit organizations to help those entities with tax compliance and asset protection planning.
Mr. Carpenter has extensive experience and capability in: (a) counseling affluent clients regarding their personal estate and business planning; (b) drafting wills, trust instruments, durable powers of attorney, pre-nuptial agreements and other estate planning documents; (c) pre-and post-death tax planning for individuals, trusts and estates; (d) preparing and filing estate tax returns, gift tax returns and fiduciary income tax returns; (e) representing individual and corporate fiduciaries and (f) litigating disputes in the Probate Division and other equity divisions of the Chancery Court.
Stephen has worked on estates involving assets valued at several million dollars and has successfully handled numerous estate tax, income tax, and business tax matters, will and trust construction cases, will contests, modification of trust agreements and various types of court cases involving estates and trusts. He enjoys aiding forward-thinking clients by properly structuring their assets to reduce the risk of unnecessary loss due to taxation and litigation.
5
Practice Areas
36 years | 450 cases
36 years | 2,200 cases
36 years | 820 cases
36 years | 2,050 cases
Free Consultation
$0 first 20 minutes
$ 275-275 per hour
State: Tennessee
Acquired: 1996
No misconduct found
State: Virginia
Acquired: 1989
No misconduct found
Unknown
10413 Kingston Pk Ste 200, Knoxville, TN, 37922
carpenterlewis.com/Other places you can find Stephen online.
Showing 1 - 5 of 7 client reviews from Avvo
Posted by Jim | May 6, 2018 | Hired Attorney
I needed an estate attorney for my 90+ year old parents to update Wills, prepare a Living Trust, and prepare Powers of Attorney, Healthcare POA's, Living Wills and Deed changes for the Trust. After interviewing 7 Knoxville attorneys/law firms, I settled on Stephen Carpenter at Carpenter & Lewis. He ...
Posted by Bob | April 25, 2016 | Hired Attorney
5-Star rating. As long as I have know Stephen Carpenter and worked with him in a client-attorney relationship, he has consistently been helpful, caring, friendly, sincere, honest, fair and (generous) when it comes to charging for services, thorough in researching issues, and willing to refer out to o...
Posted by Corrie | April 22, 2016 | Hired Attorney
We use Carpenter and Lewis for our small business. Over the years our business has grown and changed, Stephen Carpenter has helped us through these changes with sound advice and quick responses. Stephen has experience in the CPA world as well so is able to give a perspective that contributes in man...
Posted by anonymous | April 22, 2016 | Hired Attorney
Very professional. Answered all of our questions.
Posted by Thomas | December 18, 2015 | Hired Attorney
Mr. Carpenter drafted excellent last will and testament, family trust, living will, and power of attorney documents for my wife and me. (I also happen to be an attorney.) Mr. Carpenter was referred to us by our retirement investment planning expert. We are very glad that we engaged Mr. Carpenter to t...
"Stephen Carpenter is a very competent attorney. He has extensive knowledge of the laws relating to estate planning, including Wills, Trusts, Powers of Attorney, and taxation. He is also familiar with the laws relating to business transactions. I endorse him without reservation."
Adoption lawyer
2018
BV Rated, Martindale-Hubbell
2014
Client Rating, Martindale-Hubbell
2000
National Registry of Who's Who, Who's Who In American Law
1989 - Present
Attorney/Founder, Carpenter & Lewis PLLC
2007 - Present
Knoxville Estate Planning CouncilMember
2000 - Present
Knoxville Bar AssociationMember
2000 - Present
Fountain City Business & Professional AssociationPast President
1996 - Present
Tennessee Bar AssociationMember
1989 - Present
Virginia State BarMember
Assets Protected, Family Conflicts Resolved
1990
LL.M - Master of Laws
1989
JD - Juris Doctor
1986
BA - Bachelor of Arts
2009
2007
Wills and Trusts
2002
2009
English
Legal Answers
How long does an asset need to be specifically named in a trust to avoid probate?
21 Jun 2017
Can i sue my phone service provider for changing my cell phone number completely twice without my permission.
10 Feb 2015
Testators last will and testament leaves estate to his sons per strip. One heir died before testator.
05 Feb 2015