Ozarks Profile - Richard Owensby

Tell us some career history and about your firm.

"After graduation from high school, I attended the University of Arizona in Tucson and ob-tained a bachelor's of science degree in business. Thereafter, I obtained a master of arts degree in accounting and a juris doctor degree from the University of Missouri-Columbia. Between the second and third years of law school, I was employed as a summer clerk at our law firm, which was then known as Neale, Newman, Bradshaw, Freeman and Neale. Upon graduation from law school, I joined the firm and have spent my entire legal career here," Owensby said. He added that the firm originally was established by Ben M. Neale and Charles F. Newman in 1903 in Greenfield, and will soon celebrate its centennial year. The firm moved to Springfield in 1925 and has remained here since. "We have grown to a total of 20 attorneys, including two attorneys in an "of counsel" position. We are a general practice firm and have attorneys experienced in various legal matters and have a diverse clientele," he added.

What led you to choose estate planning as one focus for your work?

"I have always enjoyed office'-type legal work and the drafting of various legal documents. Estate planning is a challenging area and allows the opportunity to meet various individuals on a face-to-face basis. Also, it is an area of practice where there is typically no adversary because, with proper estate planning, both the client and family members can all benefit."

How has estate planning changed?

Owensby said estate planning has changed dramatically through the years. "A great deal of it deals with estate and gift tax issues, and the Internal Revenue Code is a set of tax rules which undergoes frequent changes. For example, when I graduated from law school, individuals needed to be concerned about estate taxes if their total net worth exceeded $60,000 in value. Now, the figure is $1,000,000. Also, there formerly was a separate set of gift tax rules and estate tax rules. Now, gift and estate taxes are both in a unified system," he said, adding that there also have been amendments to both the Probate Code and the Trust Code from time to time.

What is the biggest mistake people make in estate planning?

"In my opinion, the biggest mistake would be procrastination. Individuals oftentimes will delay planning their estates on the theory that they don't plan to die and will take care of it at some future time," Owensby said.

What is the best part about your work?

"Unlike litigation, estate planning is a type of legal work where there are generally no competing interests. If a family is able to plan their estate so that the assets can be left to the intended beneficiaries by avoiding probate administration and either eliminating or minimizing estate taxes, then there are no losers," Owensby said.

Tell us about your family.

"I am married to the former Shirley A. Cooper, who has now retired as an elementary school teacher with the Springfield school system. We have no children," he said.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

"Since so much time is spent in the office, I enjoy weekend outside activities, such as going to our farm in Dallas County or to my mother's cabin on the Niangua River. I also enjoy reading a good book."

by Maria Hoover