Cohen & Burnett, P.C. - Our Team: Partners

Mark Cohen, J.D., LL.M, CFP® | Founding Partner

I. Mark Cohen, JD, LL.M, CFP® is the founding partner and visionary for both Navigator Wealth Management, LLC, Registered Investment Advisor, and Cohen & Burnett, P.C., Attorneys and Counselors at Law, as well as co-author of Lessons to My Children: Simple Life Lessons for Financial Success, Wealth and Abundance.

Mark is licensed to practice law in both Virginia and Arizona. He is a registered representative of Pacific West Securities, Inc., an independent broker/dealer. Mark is a past president of the Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council and is an active member of the Legislative Committee of the Wills Trusts and Estates Section of the Virginia State Bar Association. Mark is a frequent lecturer and writer at attorney CLE seminars where he specializes in estate taxes and ethics.

Mark has been published extensively in trusts and estates journals and magazines, and is the author of the first and only comprehensive treatise on the Uniform Trust Code, (Cohen, 864 T.M. 1st, Uniform Trust Code).

Mark grew up in an Air Force family the son of a rocket scientist. He has lived in Ohio, Colorado, California, Israel, Arizona and Virginia. He met his wife, Kathy, during his first year of law school while she was working on her Masters in Teaching English as a Second Language. Together they have two children, Michael and Rachel, who are both undergraduate students at the College of William and Mary.

Mark enjoys woodworking, guitar, and anything that gets him outdoors, especially cycling, kayaking, flying small airplanes, sailing, and backpacking. He is a passionate supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and was recently nominated as a candidate to be Man of the Year of their National Capital Area chapter where he raised nearly $50,000 for cancer research in just 10 weeks.

To learn more about Mark’s wealth management firms and publications, please visit: www.navigatorwealth.com and www.lessonstomychildren.com .

Professional Publications and Presentations:

February 2008	BNA Estates, Gifts and Trusts Portfolios on Uniform Trust Code. Cited as Cohen, TM 864 TM, Uniform Trust Code.
Winter 2007	Insurable Interests in Trusts, Virginia State Bar Wills Trusts and Estates Section Newsletter
Spring 2007	The Uniform Trust Code and Special Needs Trusts, NAELA Symposium in Cleveland, Spring 2007
December 2006	Appreciating Individual Trustees, Trusts & Estates Magazine
November 2006	The Top Fourteen Things You Need to Know About the Uniform Trust Code, NAELA Journal, Vol. 2, Number 2
Fall 2006	Insurable Interests in Trusts, NAELA Quarterly Newsletter, Fall 2006
Spring 2006	The Doctrine of Worthier title, BNA Insights and Commentary
Spring 2006	Trustee’s Duty to Keep Beneficiaries Informed Under the Uniform Trust Code, BNA Insights and Commentary
January 2006	Fairfax Bar Association Presentation on the Uniform Trust Code, together with Professor Robert Danforth
2002	21st Annual Trusts and Estates Seminar, VA CLE, “Ethics in Communication,” (presenting from Frank Thomas’ outline)
July 2001	The Virginia Bar Association News Journal, “Expanding Your Estate Planning Practice”
2001	10th Annual Elder Law Seminar, VA CLE, “Representing the Elderly or Disabled Client: Ethical Issues,” (presenting from Kevin Rack’s outline)
October 2000	Financial Planning Association Annual Retreat, Cumberland, MD, “Multidisciplinary Practice”
2000	How to Protect Assets During Life and Avoid Estate Tax at Death in Virginia, NBI seminar, “The Art Of Making Uncle Sam Your Assignee Instead Of Your Senior Partner: The Use Of Partnerships In Estate Planning,” (presenting S. Stacy Eastland’s outline)
1999	8th Annual Elder Law Seminar, VA CLE, “The Ethics of Practice Development”
1999	Sophisticated Estate Planning Strategies for the Advanced Practitioner in Virginia, NBI Seminar, “The Year In Review: An Estate Planner’s Perspective of Recent Tax Developments,” (presenting Howard M. Zaritsky’s outline); “Imaginative uses of the GST Exemption,” (presenting Carol A. Harrington’s outline); “Intentionally Defective Irrevocable Trusts (IDITs) in Estate Planning;” (my outline) “Considerations in Selecting Marital Deduction Formulas,” (presenting William M. Hutchins & Tammy L. Joseph’s outline); “Ethical Considerations in Estate Planning;” (my outline) “Choice of Trustees and the Use of Trusts in Estate Planning;” (my outline) “Using Life Insurance in Estate Planning” (my outline)
September 1997	Northern Virginia Estate Planning Council Meeting, “Selected Provisions of Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 that Apply to Estate and Pension Planning”
Summer 1990	Trusts and Estates Newsletter, “Making Value disappear for Gift and Estate Tax Purposes with Intrafamily Discounts,” (co-authored with Patrick Vaughan)
April 1990	11th Annual Advanced Estate Planning and Administration Seminar, VA CLE, “Discounts in Valuation – A Planning Approach,” (major contributor to Patrick Vaughan’s outline)

Wes Burnett, J.D., LL.M, CFP® | Managing Partner

Weston D. Burnett, J.D., LL.M, CFP®, is the Managing Partner of Cohen & Burnett, PC, Attorneys and Counselors at Law, President and CEO of Navigator Wealth Management, LLC, Registered Investment Advisor, and co-author of Lessons to My Children: Simple Life Lessons for Financial Success, Wealth and Abundance. He helps his clients and their families realize their life goals and gain peace-of-mind by espousing an integrated, strategic approach to legal, tax, and financial planning.

Wes is a 1972 cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History, Philosophy and Political Science. He subsequently graduated with Honors in 1975 from George Washington University Law School. That same year, he was admitted to the practice of law in Virginia and entered on active duty with the Navy as a judge advocate. In 1983, he earned a Masters of Law Degree with Highest Honors in International and Comparative Law at George Washington University Law School. He retired from the Navy as a senior captain in May 2000 and joined I. Mark Cohen’s law practice. He has since been admitted to the practice of law in Maryland and the District of Columbia. In September 2003, he became a Certified Financial Planner®. Wes has been published over the last three decades in a wide variety of subject areas.

Wes grew up in a Navy family and has lived on three continents and moved over 25 times in his life. He married Barbara Feicht within a week of her graduation from Vanderbilt University with Cum Laude honors in 1973. They have three children: David, Edward, and Jennifer.

Wes Burnett is proud to serve in various alumni leadership roles with George Washington University and its Law School. In April, 2010, he was bestowed the George Washington (GW) University Alumni Outstanding Service Award for his exceptional service to the entire GW University community.

He enjoys running, hiking, biking, golf, skiing, stamp collecting, history, military affairs, and family and friends.

To learn more about Wes’ wealth management firms and publications, please visit: www.navigatorwealth.com and www.lessonstomychildren.com .

Professional Publications and Presentations:

First Quarter 2000	Author, “Postal Service in the Philippines in July 1898,” 22 Philippine Philatelic Journal 1-29
November 1999	Author, “A New Discovery from the Philippines ,” 113 American Philatelist 1052
January 1999	Author, “A Tale form Many Cancels,” 17 Scott Stamp Monthly 108-09
November 1998	Author, “Columbians form the Philippines, 1898-1902,” 112 American Philatelist 1036-40
1987	Editor, Naval Law Review, vol. 36, Naval Justice School, Department of the Navy
1986	Editor, Naval Law Review, vol. 35, Naval Justice School, Department of the Navy
1985	Author, “Command Responsibility and a Case Study of the Criminal Responsibility of Israeli Military Commanders for the Pogrom at Shatila and Sabra,” 107 Military Law Review 71-190
1985	Author, “Mediterranean Mare Clausum in the year 2000? An International Law Analysis of Peacetime Military Navigation in the Mediterranean ,” 34 Naval Law Review 75-156
1984	Author, Law of the Sea and Law of Naval Warfare, Naval Justice School ; Department of the Navy
1974	Legislation on Foreign Relations, Senate Foreign Relations Committee & House Foreign Affairs Comm, GPO

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