Mr. Purnell specializes in Estate and Trust Law. He represents a wide range of clients with diverse needs. His practice includes planning for minimizing Federal and State estate, gift and generation-skipping taxes.
It also includes asset protection and planning involving income farming and family businesses, same-sex couples and also charitable gifting. He represents clients with guardianship and elder care needs. He also advises regarding both pre-mortem and post-mortem planning.
His estate and trust administration practice includes preparation of documents to open domestic and ancillary estates, preparation of filing of inventories and accounting, preparation of Federal and State estate tax returns, and preparation of gift tax returns. He represents clients wishing to transfer situs of trusts to Delaware and terminate trusts.
Mr. Purnell earned his Bachelor of Arts degree from Gettysburg College in 1977 and his Juris Doctor from Delaware Law School in 1980. Mr. Purnell subsequently earned his Latin Legum Magister (LLM) in taxation from Villanova Law School in 1983. He is a member of the Delaware State Bar Association (past Board member), Sussex County Bar Association (past President), Southern Delaware Estate Planning Council (Board member, past President) and Bryn Mawr Trust Company of Delaware (Advisory Board). Mr. Purnell was admitted to the Delaware Bar and U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware in 1980 and the U.S. Tax Court in 1989.
Mr. Purnell is a Board member for the Lewes Historical Society, Advisory Board member for the Delaware Community Foundation, past Board member and past Commodore for the Lewes Yacht Club, past Board member and past President of the Lewes Yacht Club Foundation and past Board member and past President of the Georgetown Millsboro Rotary Club.