Mark O. Costley
Attorney
Meet the co-author of The Ultimate Caregiver Guide: How to Provide the Best Possible Care for Loved Ones and Yourself in North Carolina.
Experience
With more than 30 years’ experience in private practice, Mark Costley has helped hundreds of North Carolinians with estate planning, living trusts, financial law, probate, and trust administration. Mark’s work involves elements of teaching, strategic analysis and planning, documentation, and assisting clients in implementing their plans. He is devoted to providing the best in planning, efficiency, administration, and asset protection.
Mark was drawn to estate planning and trust law because he wanted to help clients and their families. He aims to help them address some of life’s biggest challenges and provide the tools they need to preserve their wealth. Mark also wants to help them avoid disputes, prepare for the future, and deal with issues when they come up. Mark’s practice is built around the needs of clients to deal with their family business matters and personal affairs. He has set up Clarity Legal Group® to provide you with effective legal help. You can also feel at ease knowing you have addressed some of the biggest risks for you and your family. Mark and his team work hard to build strong relationships. They connect not just with clients, but also with their families and other advisors. This helps them provide the best support possible when legal advice is needed.
Mark’s areas of practice include estate planning, trust and estate administration, elder law, planning for children and adults with special needs, business succession planning and estate related business transactions, counseling regarding social entrepreneurship, representation of non-profit organizations, family charitable and philanthropic counseling, and counselling and support regarding fiduciary liability.
Education and Honors
Mark received an AB, Magna Cum Laude, from Duke University in 1982, and was awarded his Juris Doctorate in 1985 by the Duke University School of Law. He was an editor of the Duke University Legal Research Program, a member of the law school’s National Moot Court Team, and was selected by his peers to serve as commencement speaker for his law school class. Mark completes in excess of 36 hours of continuing education in estate planning, taxation and related areas each year.
He has served as an instructor of business law at Greensboro College, has been a guest lecturer on business ethics at Texas A & M University, and has presented continuing education papers and presentations to lawyers, CPAs, and financial professionals on subjects including estate planning, trust administration, charitable planning, trust drafting, covenants not to compete, incapacity planning, asset protection, debt collection, and business formation. Mark has given scores of presentations to the public on the subjects of estate, financial planning, asset protection, health care planning, retirement planning, and related topics.
Mark Costley is a Martindale-Hubbell® AV Preeminent® attorney. This rating indicates the highest level of professional excellence in legal ability and ethical standards, as evaluated by peers.
Experience
Mark has been engaged in the private practice of law since 1985. After law school, he practiced in his native state of Oklahoma with Crowe & Dunlevy, a large firm in Oklahoma City. He returned to North Carolina and started his own firm in 1992. In 2002, he joined Walker, Lambe, Rhudy & Costley, PLLC. There, he was the Managing Partner of the Estate Planning practice for ten years and served as the Managing Partner of the firm. In 2017 he put together the team forming the client-centered core of Clarity Legal Group®.
Community Service
In addition to his law practice, Mark has served on the Board of Trustees at Duke University. He also served as Chairman of the Board for the Servant Center, Inc., a non-profit that helps provide health care services for veterans and the homeless. Additionally, he was Chairman of the Board of Trustees for the North Carolina Humanities Council. He is a member of the American Bar Association, North Carolina Bar Association, Oklahoma Bar Association, the North Carolina Bar Association Estate and Trust Legislative Committee. Mark is also a past president and current member of the Durham-Orange Estate Planning Council. He is a graduate of Leadership Greensboro, Greensboro Chamber of Commerce, and has served as a Member of the Duke University School of Law, Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Personal
Mark is married to Margaret Costley, and has two daughters. He is a member of University Presbyterian Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. He loves sports and enjoys reading, traveling, playing tennis, following politics, gardening, and listening to music. Mark and Margaret love visiting the North Carolina mountains and never pass up a good hike.
