Margaret L. Halverson
Founder & Managing Partner
J.D., LL.M. (Tax) — Estate Planning & Trusts
Charlotte, North Carolina
Counsel for the decisions that outlast a transaction.
Halverson & Park PLLC advises individuals, families, and closely held businesses across the Carolinas on estate planning, business formation, and commercial real estate. We do fewer matters by design — so each one gets the attention it deserves.
This website is for general informational purposes only and is not legal advice. Visiting this site or contacting Halverson & Park PLLC does not create an attorney-client relationship. Please do not send confidential information until a written engagement letter has been signed. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.
Credentials & Accreditations
- North Carolina State Bar
- South Carolina Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Mecklenburg County Bar
- NC Bar — Real Property Section
Recognition
- Best Lawyers — Estate Planning 2022 – 2026
- Super Lawyers — Rising Stars M. Halverson, 2023
- Martindale-Hubbell AV Preeminent Peer-reviewed
- Charlotte Business Journal — Legal Elite 2024
- NC Bar Real Property Section Member
Recognitions are based on peer-review and editorial selection processes and are not indicative of future results. No representation is made that the quality of legal services is greater than that provided by other lawyers.
Practice areas
Three practices. One firm. No bench warmers.
We focus deliberately. Every matter is staffed by one of our partners — not handed off to an associate you have never met. If a question falls outside our practice areas, we will tell you and refer you to counsel who can help.
-
Estate Planning
Wills, revocable living trusts, durable powers of attorney, healthcare directives, and beneficiary coordination. We design plans for North Carolina and South Carolina families with assets between $500K and $25M, including business interests, second homes, and blended-family arrangements.
-
Business Formation & Counsel
LLC, S-Corp, and partnership formation; operating agreements; buy-sell provisions; founder agreements; commercial contract review; and ongoing outside-general-counsel arrangements for service businesses, professional practices, and family-owned companies.
-
Commercial Real Estate
Purchase and sale agreements, commercial leases (landlord and tenant), title review and curative work, easement and access disputes, 1031 exchanges, and entity-level real estate holdings. We close in North Carolina and select South Carolina counties.
-
Probate & Trust Administration
Personal representative and trustee guidance through Mecklenburg, Union, and surrounding county probate processes. Asset inventories, creditor notices, fiduciary accountings, and final distributions — handled with the discretion these matters require.
Managing Partner
Margaret L. Halverson
Founder & Managing Partner
Margaret founded Halverson & Park in 2018 after eight years at a regional firm in Charlotte, where she built her practice around the kinds of matters that do not fit neatly into transactional or litigation buckets — generational wealth transfers, family-business succession, and the closely held real estate holdings that often tie them together.
Her clients tend to be people who have built something they would like to keep building, and who want a lawyer who will pick up the phone. She has been recognized by Best Lawyers in America for Trusts & Estates and serves on the Real Property Section of the North Carolina Bar Association.
Outside the practice, Margaret teaches a continuing education seminar on small-business succession planning for the Mecklenburg County Bar and is a board member of a Charlotte-area community foundation.
Admissions & Credentials
- North Carolina State Bar — admitted 2011
- South Carolina Bar — admitted 2014
- United States District Court, Western District of North Carolina
- J.D., University of North Carolina School of Law, 2010
- B.A., Davidson College, 2007
- Best Lawyers in America — Trusts & Estates, 2022–2026
Our partners
The lawyers who will actually do the work.
Halverson & Park is intentionally small. There are two of us. When you hire the firm, you hire one of us — and the other is across the hall when a second set of eyes helps.
-
-
David S. Park
Partner — Business & Real Estate
J.D. — Business Formation & Commercial Real Estate
Client perspective
What our clients say.
Per North Carolina Rule of Professional Conduct 7.1, the comments below describe each client's individual experience and are not a guarantee of any particular outcome in your matter.
-
“Margaret walked us through a generational transfer that involved a small business, a vacation home, and three adult children with very different lives. She was patient, plain-spoken, and quietly insistent on the parts that mattered. We left with a plan we actually understand.”
Catherine R.
-
“We engaged David to handle the lease for our second location and stayed for outside-counsel work. He answers his phone, his contracts read like a person wrote them, and he is honest when something is not worth fighting over.”
Jonathan M.
-
“My husband passed unexpectedly. Margaret guided me through probate without making me feel rushed or talked-down-to, and she flagged a beneficiary issue on a retirement account that would have taken months to unwind. I am grateful.”
Eleanor B.
Before we meet
Common questions.
If your question is not here, the consultation form below is the fastest way to reach us.
Do you offer a free initial consultation?
Yes. We offer a complimentary 30-minute introductory call so you can describe your matter, we can confirm the firm has the relevant experience, and we can both decide whether engaging is the right next step. Substantive legal advice is provided only after a written engagement letter has been signed.
How do you bill — flat fee or hourly?
It depends on the matter. Most estate planning engagements (wills, revocable trusts, powers of attorney, healthcare directives) are flat-fee, and we will quote a fixed price after the consultation. Business formation packages are flat-fee. Litigation, contested probate, and ongoing outside-general-counsel work are hourly. You will receive a written engagement letter with the fee structure before we begin.
In which states are you admitted to practice?
Margaret is admitted in North Carolina and South Carolina. David is admitted in North Carolina. We accept matters in those states only. If your matter requires counsel admitted elsewhere, we are happy to refer you to a colleague we trust.
How do you handle conflicts of interest?
We run a conflicts check on every prospective client before scheduling a consultation. If a conflict exists, we will tell you, and we will not accept the engagement. Information shared during a conflicts check is held in confidence whether or not we go on to represent you.
Will I work with the partner I meet, or be handed to an associate?
You will work with the partner you meet. The firm has two partners and no associates by design. From time to time we co-counsel with experienced outside attorneys on matters that benefit from a specialized hand — when that happens, we tell you who, and why, in advance.
Can I send documents through your website?
Please do not send confidential documents through the website contact form. Use the form to introduce yourself and describe your matter at a high level, and we will follow up to arrange a secure transfer if the engagement moves forward.
The answers above are general in nature, are based on North Carolina law as of the date posted, and are not legal advice. Specific facts and circumstances may alter the analysis. Please consult an attorney about your particular situation.
Schedule a consultation
Tell us briefly what you are working through.
A 30-minute introductory call is complimentary. After you submit the form, one of us will respond within one business day to schedule a time.