William Battle McQueen, CPA, JD, LLM
Florida Board Certified Wills, Trusts & Estates Attorney
Bill McQueen was admitted to practice law in Florida approximately 30 years ago. As a founding partner of Legacy Protection Lawyers, LLP, Bill uses his experience and various talents as an attorney-at-law, CPA, entrepreneur, consultant, and licensed funeral director to counsel families and business owners on estate planning, business formation and succession planning, asset protection, Medicaid and Special Needs planning, probate & trust administration and other end-of-life decisions. Bill is one of the select few attorneys in the State of Florida who is Board Certified in Wills, Trusts & Estates (less than 300 of the 100,000+ Florida attorneys hold this high honor).
After college, Bill worked with both privately-held and public companies as a CPA with Arthur Andersen & Co., CPA’s. After becoming an attorney, Bill counseled his clients with not only the legal aspects of a transaction or issue, but the business ones as well. Upon the untimely death of his father who founded Anderson-McQueen Funeral Home, Bill returned to help his siblings with the family business. During his sixteen year tenure as President/CEO, his family business gained international attention for their strong growth in a challenging industry and several disruptive innovations introduced by their team.
After transferring his family business interest to his brother John for succession planning reasons, Bill eventually attended the University of Miami School of Law’s prestigious Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning where he earned a Master of Laws in Estate Planning. As a 2nd generation native of St. Petersburg, Bill knows many other Tampa Bay professionals to whom he makes qualified referrals for legal or financial issues outside his area of focus.
Education
- LL.M. in Estate Planning, University of Miami School of Law, Coral Gables, Florida, 2013
- JD with High Honors, University of Florida Levin College of Law, Gainesville, Florida, 1987
- BS in Business Administration, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, 1983
- AS in Funeral Services, St. Petersburg College, St. Petersburg, Florida, 1994
Professional Licenses and Memberships
- The Florida Bar (The Real Property, Probate and Trust section)
- Certified Public Accountant – State of Florida
- Licensed Funeral Director & Embalmer – State of Florida
- American Bar Association (Elder Law and Estate Planning section)
- St. Petersburg Bar Association (President—2017-18)
- National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys
- Academy of Florida Elder Law Attorneys
- WealthCounsel
- Cremation Association of North America
- National Funeral Directors Association
Leadership and Awards (current and past)
- Board Certified Wills, Trusts & Estates Attorney – The Florida Bar
- St. Petersburg Bar Association (President)
- The Florida Orchestra (Trustee)
- The St. Petersburg Salvation Army (Trustee & Finance Chair)
- Suncoast Estate Planning Council (Director & President-Elect)
- The Canterbury School of Florida (Chairman & Trustee)
- YMCA of Greater St. Petersburg (Chairman & Trustee)
- St. Anthony’s Hospital (Trustee)
- St. Raphael’s Catholic Church (Capital Campaign Chairman for new church)
- Museum of Fine Arts (Trustee)
- St. Petersburg Yacht Club (Director & Secretary)
- City of St. Petersburg Board of Adjustment (Member)
- Dragon Club (President & Director)
- Leadership St. Pete (Class of 1990)
- Leadership St. Pete Alumni Association (Member)
- Recipient – West Coast Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award
- Recipient – St. Anthony’s Hospital Foundation Leadership Award
Activities and Family
Bill enjoys travel, reading, physical fitness, Gator football, Tar Heel Basketball, and spending time with his family and friends. Married to another St. Petersburg native, Maria Davis, Bill, his wife and three daughters have been residents of Snell Isle for almost 30 years.
