David M. Lenz

David Lenz joined the firm in 2006, became a Partner in 2013, and was elected to serve as Managing Partner in 2020. His practice focuses primarily on planning for and administering wealth transfer for individuals and families, in addition to counseling charitable organizations.

David considers each client’s unique estate planning needs, creating comprehensive plans and helping families communicate their purpose and goals to the next generation. This often includes complex charitable, retirement, and tax planning strategies, as well as oft-overlooked items such as digital assets and pets. Further, David also counsels charitable institutions to help them have a greater impact in the community. This can encompass applying for tax-exempt status for start-up nonprofit organizations, planned giving consultation for established public charities, and governance and compliance management for private family foundations.

David translates his expertise into leadership within the legal community. He is a Fellow of the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel (ACTEC), certified by the Ohio State Bar Association (OSBA) as a specialist in Estate Planning, Trust, and Probate Law, and was a part of the OSBA subcommittee that helped create Ohio’s law on executors’ access to decedents’ digital assets in 2017. Additionally, he has volunteered with the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association (CMBA) as the chair of multiple groups. He is a frequent speaker and author on charitable planning and on estate planning with digital assets.

David has also led in various roles in his faith community, having served as President of Advent Lutheran Church in Mentor and spent nine years on the regional Synod Council for the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). He is now serving a six-year term on the ELCA’s national Church Council.

David lives in Mayfield Village with his wife and daughters, and he can often be found distance running on the trails of North Chagrin Reservation and Mayfield.

• Asset Protection Planning
• Business Succession Planning
• Charitable Planning
• Estate Administration
• Estate Planning and Probate
• Family Foundations
• Nonprofit Organizations
• Trust Administration
• Wealth Transfer

Education

• Michael E. Moritz College of Law, The Ohio State University, J.D., magna cum laude, Order of the Coif, 2006
• The Ohio State University, B.S. Economics and B.A. Political Science, summa cum laude, distinction in Political Science, honors in Liberal Arts, 2003

Admissions & Associations

• State of Ohio
• American Bar Association, Member
  • Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section
• Ohio State Bar Association, Member
  • Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Section
• Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, Member
  • Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law Section, Past Chair
  • Estate Planning Institute, Past Chair
  • 3Rs Program, Past Team Captain
  • 3Rs Oversight Committee, Past Chair
• Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, Member
• Purposeful Planning Institute, Member
• The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, Fellow
• American Bar Foundation, Fellow

Awards & Honors

• Certified Specialists Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law - Ohio State Bar Association
• Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2018 for Practice Areas:
  • Litigation - Trusts and Estates
  • Trusts and Estates
• Selected to the Ohio Super Lawyers® list: 2022-present
• Selected to the Ohio Rising Stars list: 2014-2021
• Estate Planning Council of Cleveland Exceptional Service Award, 2018

Community Activities

• Ohio State Bar Association Leadership Academy, Class of 2018
• Daily Dose of Reading, Board Member
• Hospice of the Western Reserve, Planned Giving Advisory Council
• Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 
  • National Church Council
  • Past Secretary, NE Ohio Synod Council
• Advent Lutheran Church, Mentor, Ohio, Past President and Service Outreach Team Chair

Articles & Presentations

• Annual Legal Update on Exempt Organizations and Charitable Giving, NOCGP's Planned Giving Day, September 2024
• Legal Update for Charitable Giving, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association, March 2023
• Is the Cloud Lifting? Recent Developments in Planning For and Administering Digital Assets, Cleveland-Akron Financial Service Professionals, March 2023
• Gifts of Non-Cash Assets from Real Estate to Virtual Currency, Northern Ohio Charitable Gift Planners, February 2023
• Negotiating Gift Agreements – A Proactive Way To Address Difficult Gifts And Difficult Donors, Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Journal, December 2022
• Legal Update – Changes, Developments and Trends for the Development Professional, Northern Ohio Charitable Gift Planners, Planned Giving Day, September 2021, 2022
• Advisory Professionals in the New Normal, Estate Planning Council of Cleveland, September 2020
• Planning under the CARES and SECURE Acts, Iowa State University Foundation, Ames IA, August 2020
• Is the Cloud Finally Lifting? Recent Developments in Planning for and Administering Digital Assets, NAIFA Cleveland, February 2020
• Multiple Bites at the Apple? Interpreting Fiduciaries’ Authority to Access Digital Assets Under RUFADAA, Probate Law Journal of Ohio, September/October 2019
• The Philanthropic Conversation in 2019, Northern Ohio Charitable Gift Planners, May 2019
• The Philanthropic Conversation in 2019 - More than Just Tax Talk, Probate Law Journal of Ohio, January/February 2019
• Digital Assets and Electronic Wills, Purposeful Planning Institute Fusion Collaboration, Denver, CO July 2018
• Estate Planning & Digital Assets, OSBA Law You Can Use, May 2018
• Tax Changes and Planning Opportunities as a Result of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act of 2017, Key Private Bank Estate Planning Seminar, May 2018
• Digital Assets and Electronic Wills: Tomorrow’s Estate Planning Is Here Today, The Estate Planning Council of Cleveland East Side and West Side breakfast meetings, October 2017 and January 2018
• Modern Estate Planning: Digital Assets, Electronic Wills, and More, Cleveland-Marshall Law Alumni Association, March 2017
• Is the Cloud Finally Lifting? Planning for Digital Assets:
  • Iowa State University Foundation, Ames, IA August 2020
  • AICPA Engage+ National webinar August 2020
  • National Trust Closely Held Business Association, Sept. 2018
• Afterlife on the Cloud: Creating a Heavenly Plan for Digital Assets:
  • Estate Planning Council (EPC) of Cleveland and EPC of Akron
  • Lorain County Bar Association Estate Planning Institute
  • American Law Institute, Estate Planning In Depth, Madison, WI
  • Ohio Association of Magistrates, Spring Conference
  • OSBA Marvin R. Pliskin Advanced Probate & Estate Planning SEM
• Is the Cloud Finally Lifting? Planning for Digital Assets, Probate Law Journal of Ohio, January/February 2016