Brett C. Barner

Principal Attorney Brett C. Barner is a native Floridian. Born and raised in Palm Beach Gardens, Brett attended The Benjamin School from kindergarten through 12th grade. After a brief stint at Washington & Lee University in Lexington, Virginia, where he played football, Brett graduated from The University of Florida with a degree in business. Excelling academically, Brett put himself through law school at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center. During law school, he supplemented his education by clerking at Freeman Barner & Associates, P.A.

Unlike many attorneys, Brett did not go directly to law school upon completing his undergraduate studies. Instead, he gained extensive sales, management, and leadership experience during his highly successful years spent with Fidelity Federal Bank & Trust (now PNC Bank) and e-Numerate Solutions, Inc. (a software company located in McLean, Virginia). This real-world business experience informs his approach to the practice of law. Brett Barner is well-rounded, immediately at ease with clients, fellow attorneys and judges. His is a refreshingly pragmatic and transparent approach to client service and legal representation.

Brett concentrates his practice predominately in the areas of estate, trust, guardianship and fiduciary litigation. He has helped clients obtain fantastic results in the most complicated cases, with some cases involving hundreds of millions of dollars in assets. Brett also represents commercial clients in litigation related to real estate and in other business disputes. Brett Barner has successfully represented clients on appeals before the Fourth District Court of Appeal and in federal court as a member of the US District Court Southern District of Florida.

Brett Barner holds the prestigious AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell. The AV Preeminent® rating evidences his peers’ ranking of him as holding the highest level of professional excellence. An AV Preeminent® rating is Martindale’s highest possible peer review rating and takes into account the ability and ethics of the lawyer as well as confidential opinions of members of the bar and judiciary. The honor is bestowed upon those lawyers, who exude extraordinary legal capability and adhere to strict ethics.

Brett Barner is a graduate of the prestigious Florida Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). He is an active member of the Florida Bar Real Property, Probate, and Trust Law section (RPPTL), participating in the discussion and drafting of new legislation while attending their quarterly meetings around the state. He is a member of the RPPTL’s guardianship committee, probate procedure committee, real property litigation committee, and regularly attends the probate litigation, trust law, and other committee meetings. He has served as the co-chair of the Palm Beach County Bar Association (PBCBA) Estate and Probate CLE Committee and as the co-chair of the Probate Committee of the Bench-Bar Conference, which is an annual conference between attorneys and probate judges. He is also a member of the PBCBA Elder Law and Probate/Guardianship Practice committees.

Brett serves on the Board of Directors for the North County Section of the Palm Beach County Bar Association and is a former member of the esteemed American Inns of Court – The Craig S. Barnard American Inn of Court LIV in West Palm Beach (local chapter). The American Inns of Court are designed to improve the skills, professionalism, and ethics of the bench and bar and have been endorsed by the Conference of Chief Justices and the Judicial Administration Division of the ABA. Members hold professionalism and ethics in the highest regard and strive to promote these ideals throughout our legal community.

Principal Attorney Brett C. Barner stewards Barner & Barner as the living professional legacy of Freeman Warren Barner, Jr.