About Brian
After graduating from the Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law at the University of Memphis, Brian moved back to his hometown in northeast Arkansas to practice law and became a partner in a small firm there where he practiced real estate and probate law among other areas.
After practicing law for several years, Brian moved to southeast Arkansas and was employed as a vice-president and trust officer of a community bank. He was also part-time music director for one of the large churches in town.
After being in southeast Arkansas for eight years he moved to Memphis and was a financial advisor for several years before his ultimate move to Nashville.
Brian has always enjoyed volunteering for church, civic, and non-profits arts organizations serving in capacities from treasurer to president. He is currently the founding president of the board of directors of Vocal Arts Nashville, a professional choral ensemble. Previously, he served on the board of the Nashville Philharmonic Orchestra. While in Memphis he was President of the Memphis Symphony Chorus and has been an active member and officer of the Lions Club, Rotary Club, Kiwanis Club and various other civic organizations.
Currently, Brian sings in the Chancel Choir at West End United Methodist Church where has has been a member since 2003. He is the 2019 Chair of the Staff Parish Relations Committee at the church. He has created a life management program and is working on a book concerning that topic. He continues to pursue professional songwriting.
Real Estate Background:
From his teenage years and young adult life, Brian has had an interest in real estate. His dad was a residential builder and he started working in his early teens drawing landscape plans and landscaping new construction for new houses. Between college and law school, Brian obtained a real estate broker’s license and graduated from the Realtors® Institute. He flipped his first house at age 22 and built several houses with his father in his mid-twenties after graduating from law school. During law school summers he worked as an appraiser during a county-wide reappraisal of his home county in northeast Arkansas. In law school he took advanced real estate law classes including Future Interests and Real Estate Law Transactions, in addition to the basic Real Property Law class.
After law school, Brian practiced law in his hometown where he learned the real estate closing business reading real estate abstracts, giving title opinions, and conducting closings. A big part of his practice then was real estate law and closings.
In 2002, Brian moved to Nashville and opened the Nashville office of the real estate division of a large multi-state law firm. After that, he was employed as a legal underwriter for a multi-state title company. His underwriting duties included analyzing legal issues affecting insurable title to real estate. Drawing on his already extensive experience in real estate, he dealt with myriad issues concerning divorce, probate, tax sales, bankruptcy, judgments, boundary encroachments, escrows, and new construction. He worked in that position until January 2009 when he formed his own law practice focusing on the three areas of law he enjoys: real estate, estate planning and probate administration.
He loves working with real estate agents, buyers, sellers, and lenders in developing on-going business relationships.
Estate Planning and Probate Background:
After practicing law for several years, Brian moved to southeast Arkansas to be a bank vice-president and trust officer. During that eight year period of time, he graduated from the American Bankers’ Association three year graduate trust school program taught at Northwestern University. During that time, Brian oversaw the administration of trust agreements, investment agency accounts, helped procure caregivers for elderly clients, and was active in the Arkansas Bankers’ Association Trust Division.
After working for eight years in southeast Arkansas, Brian moved to Memphis to be a financial advisor in the Memphis branch of a major Wall Street brokerage firm.
One of his favorite aspects of estate planning and probate is being able to help friends and clients in preparing for the inevitable and assisting them in time of need. Many times it is difficult for ones to discuss preparing a will or a trust, but it is so important to mark that off your “to-do” checklist.
Special care is always given to survivors of a decedent. This can be a period of time that is confusing, numbing, and overwhelming, and Brian works to make the period of time as stress-free as possible given the circumstances. He explains the process and helps survivors with the necessary items to begin moving forward.
In a small community, client service is paramount. Word of mouth is key to one’s reputation and referral business. Brian continues to bring those small-town values to his work in Nashville. After all, Nashville is composed of hundreds of small communities.
Educational Background:
Bachelor of Science, Psychology, Arkansas State University
Doctor of Jurisprudence, Law, Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, University of Memphis
American Bankers’ AssociationGraduate Trust School, Graduate
Realtors® Institute, Graduate
Brian Lavoy Payne
Personal Background:
Attorney Brian Payne moved to Nashville in 2002 from Memphis after spending all of his life in the Arkansas and Tennessee delta along the Mississippi. Growing up in a small town in northeast Arkansas, Brian was a high school honor student and graduated cum laude from Arkansas State University with a bachelor of science degree in psychology.
Brian completed college studies in two and a half years and took a couple years off from formal education between undergrad and law school. During his time off, he helped form a country band and began writing songs. Songwriting has continued to be a passion of his throughout his life and was a primary reason for his move to Nashville.
Brian Lavoy Payne
Attorney at Law PLLC
4235 Hillsboro Pike, Suite 300
Nashville, TN 37215
brian@brianpaynelaw.com
P 615.414.1368
F 615.915.4964