John Matthew Hemenway

Partner John M. Hemenway is a founding partner of Bivins & Hemenway, P. A. John serves as a trusted legal advisor to business owners, real estate investors, and families seeking to preserve and pass down their wealth and values. His practice focuses on estate planning and probate, small and closely held businesses, and real estate, combining experience in each of these areas to provide a comprehensive approach to transactions and planning. John regularly presents at legal education seminars on both probate and estate planning topics, from fundamentals to advanced will and trust techniques, and is published on estate planning techniques and best practices, including most recently in Trusts & Estates on separate and joint trusts. John is a graduate of Class V of the ACTEC Florida Fellows Institute and a past President of the Tampa Bay Estate Planning Council. Practice Areas: Estate Planning; Trusts and Estates; Probate; Wills; Premarital Agreements; Postnuptial Agreements; Business Law; Commercial Law; Corporate Law; Contracts; Real Estate; Commercial Real Estate; Real Estate Title Insurance Professional Recognition: Florida Super Lawyers 2022-2025 Florida Super Lawyers Rising Stars 2013-2021 Professional Memberships: The Florida Bar Member, Business Law Section Member, Real Property, Probate and Trust Law Section Member, Asset Protection Committee Member, IRA, Insurance & Employee Benefits Committee Hillsborough County Bar Association Tampa Bay Estate Planning Council President (2023-24) Board of Directors (2017-25) Professional Activities: Florida Fellows Institute of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), Graduate of Class V (2022) International Society of Primerus Law Firms (former member) Developing Partners Section, Executive Committee (2023-2025) Young Lawyers Section, Executive Committee (2014-18), Chair (2016-17) Civic Membership and Activities: Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce Co-Chairman, Winthrop/Bloomingdale Area Council, 2012 Member, Accreditation Task Force Communication Committee, 2011 Leadership Brandon, 2008 Greater Brandon Community Foundation (past volunteer legal counsel) Hillsborough Education Foundation (past volunteer) Tampa Connection, 2011 Biography: Speaker: Improving Asset Protection, Taking Your Wills and Trusts from Boilerplate to Bespoke, National Business Institute, 2025 Estate Planning for Retirement Benefits: IRS Final Regs, 10-Year Rule for IRAs, RMDs, Planning for Spouse and Minors, Strafford, 2025 What You Need to Know About Trusts and Accounting/Distributions in Trust Administration, Florida Probate and Trust Administration, National Business Institute, 2024 Trusts in Estate Planning: Types of Trusts and Determining When to Use Them, Key Provisions, Asset Protection, Strafford, 2024 Joint vs. Individual Trusts in Separate and Community Property States, Strafford, 2023 Opening the Estate and Preparing the Personal Representatives for the Job, Florida Probate Process: In 7 Simple Steps, National Business Institute, 2022 Joint vs. Individual Trusts in Separate and Community Property States, Strafford, 2022 What You Need to Know About Trusts and Accounting/Distributions in Trust Administration, Florida Probate and Trust Administration, National Business Institute, 2021 Utilizing Lifetime QTIP Trusts in Estate Planning: Tax Issues, State Limitations, Key Provisions, and Options, Strafford, 2020 IRAs and RMDs After the SECURE Act: What You Need to Know and Do Right Now, National Business Institute, 2020 Taking the First Step: Filing an Estate in Probate Court and Understanding the Role of the Personal Representative in Probate, The Probate Process from Start to Finish, National Business Institute, 2020 Advanced Wills: Writing Provisions to Prevent Disputes and IRA Trusts: Preserving the Maximum Available Stretchout of RMDs, Advanced Estate Planning, National Business Institute, 2018 Transfers During Life and Inter-Vivos Trusts, Estate Planning and Administration: The Complete Guide, National Business Institute, 2018 Taking the First Step: Filing an Estate in Probate Court and Understanding the Role of the Personal Representative in Probate, The Probate Process from Start to Finish, National Business Institute, 2017 First Steps and Educating the Personal Representative, Probate Boot Camp, National Business Institute, 2016 What Greys Anatomy Didnt Teach You: Fundamental Asset Protection Principles, Brandon Regional Hospital Medical Resident Seminar, 2016 Transfers During Life and Inter-Vivos Trusts, Estate Planning and Administration: The Complete Guide, National Business Institute, 2015 Basic Tax Considerations - What You Need to Know in Order to Choose the Appropriate Plan, Drafting Effective Wills and Trusts, National Business Institute, 2014 Uncovering the Laws of Intestacy and How They May Apply, The Probate Process From Start to Finish, National Business Institute, 2014 Tips to Prevent Your Non-Profit from Becoming Non-Compliant, Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce and Greater Brandon Community Foundation Non-Profit Seminar Series, 2009 Author: Distinguishing Use Cases for Joint and Individual Trusts, Trusts & Estates, November 2023 Design Trusts for Maximum Retirement Plan Tax Deferral, Checkpoint WG&L Estate Planning, April 2019 Adapting to the Changing Concerns of Trusts and Estates Clients in the Current Planning Environment, Inside the Minds: Best Practices for Structuring Trusts and Estates (Leading Lawyers on Drafting a Flexible Plan, Protecting the Clients Assets, and Leveraging Tax Strategies), Aspatore Books, 2014 Effective Estate Planning for the Modern Family in Uncertain Times, Inside the Minds: Strategies for Trusts and Estates in Florida (Leading Lawyers on Analyzing Recent Developments and Navigating the Estate Planning Process in Florida), Aspatore Books, 2013 Education: University of Florida, J. D., cum laude, 2005 Vice President, Association for Law and Business, 2005 Book Award, Legal Drafting University of Florida, B. S. B. A., Economics, with honors, 2002 Bar and Court Admissions: U. S. District Court, Middle District of Florida, 2009 Florida, 2006