Michelle Hood Milner practices in the areas of estate planning and business services.  She counsels high net worth families on sophisticated planning to transfer wealth and legacy, often in connection with closely held businesses or other valued assets.  Michelle prepares a wide range of estate and tax planning documents, including wills, revocable and irrevocable trusts, durable powers of attorney, and advance healthcare directives.  Michelle also handles administration and potential modification of trusts, including through nonjudicial settlement agreements. In her practice, Michelle works closely with clients’ other service teams, including accountants, financial institutions, and family offices, to provide analysis of current estate plans, including evaluation of generational trust planning and preparation of estimated estate tax liability, and recommends updates.  

Before joining Cochran Law Group, Michelle practiced estate planning at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC, in Washington, DC. She began her legal career as a litigator practicing at Williams & Connolly LLP, in Washington, DC.     

Michelle earned her JD with honors, BBA in Finance, and BA with honors in Economics, all from University of Texas in Austin, TX. She remains a dedicated Longhorn fan and engaged Texas alum. Michelle grew up in the panhandle of Texas and credits her family’s ingenuity in farming and the law for her distinctive approach to legacy planning. She recently completed a DC Estate Planning Certificate at Georgetown University Law Center, where she received the CALI Award for Excellence in Estate Planning: Estate and Gift Tax.  Michelle is an active member of the Washington, DC Estate Planning Council and admitted to practice in Texas and the District of Columbia.  Michelle lives in northern rural Virginia with her husband and two small children. She loves spending time with her family, and on the rare occasion she finds herself with leisure time, she enjoys traveling and utilizing her private pilot’s license.