McCandlish Lillard, PC has been providing creative legal advice and advocacy to meet the legal needs of businesses and individuals in Northern Virginia for more than a century. The firm provides legal services in the following practice areas: Corporate/M&A, Elder Law/Special Needs, Employment Law, Family Law, Litigation, Personal Injury/Workers’ Compensation, Real Estate, Taxation, and Wills, Trusts & Estates.

As a Principal in the firm’s Wills, Trusts & Estates and Taxation groups, Melinda provides holistic multi-generational income and wealth transfer tax planning advice and estate and trust services to high net worth individuals, families and business owners. She also advises fiduciaries and beneficiaries on probate and estate and trust administration, and serves as a technical expert on estate and trust litigation matters.

Melinda has thirty years of experience in the estates and trusts and taxation areas, and brings a unique and diverse perspective from her work in private law practice, Big Four accounting firms, and private banking/trust services. With her focus on advising clients on estate planning, estate and trust administration, asset protection, business succession and pre-sale planning and charitable giving, Melinda pursues her passion for helping clients and their families successfully navigate the process to protect and preserve their wealth.

Given her diverse background, Melinda is distinctively collaborative when working with her clients and their other advisors, and highly respected among her peers through her involvement in various professional and community organizations. She received the Accredited Estate Planner® (AEP®) designation by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils, which distinguishes designees for their dedication to being a collaborative advisor and is awarded only to estate planning professionals who meet special requirements of education, experience, knowledge, professional reputation and character.

Melinda often views her role as a “translator” by carefully listening to her clients, analyzing their situation and helping them to understand their planning options and solutions in “plain English” big picture terms. Melinda notes, “I enjoy helping clients to navigate the process and design a customized solution that is flexible, practical and understandable.”

Melinda is listed among the Washingtonian’s and Northern Virginia Magazine’s Top Trusts/Estates/Tax Lawyers, as well as Virginia Business Magazine’s “Legal Elite.” She is active in the estate planning community on a local and national level, and has served on the Board of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council and the Washington DC Estate Planning Council. Melinda is also a member of the Wills, Trusts & Estates Legislative Committee for the Virginia Bar Association, and is a frequent speaker and writer on estate and trust planning. In addition, she is an honoree of the 2024 Class of “Leaders in the Law” by Virginia Lawyers Weekly.

On a personal level, Melinda is a strong supporter of local philanthropy and the arts in Northern Virginia, and is a past Board member of the Community Foundation for Northern Virginia. She is also a past Board Member of Goodwin Living Foundation, and a long-time supporter and serial adopter of Lab Rescue and other animal welfare organizations.

Specialty Estate Attorneys (Wills, Trusts & Estates; Taxation; Asset Protection; Estate and Trust Administration/Litigation)