Mark E. Wight
Mark, Founder and President of Idaho Estate Planning, is passionate about helping families plan for their futures. He spends his time counseling individuals as they seek to protect their assets as well as speaking to groups on the same topic. His expertise on the topic is sought by attorneys, insurance agents, and other professionals.
After graduating from Utah State University in 1982 with degrees in philosophy and environmental studies, Mark attended law school at the J. Reuben Clark Law School at Brigham Young University. Graduating in 1985, he took his first position working for the Department of the Interior in Washington, D.C. Mark and his family moved to Idaho in 1987, where he started in private practice.
Having been in practice for nearly 30 years, Mark has worked in private practice utilizing the tools of estate planning since 1987. In 2001, he turned his practice and his team exclusively to estate planning. Since then, they have helped hundreds of families make long-term plans and solve complicated estate problems.
Mark is a member of the Idaho State Bar, the Taxation, Probate & Trust Law Section of the Idaho Bar, WealthCounsel, and Elder Counsel. He is also a Certified Academy Attorney with the Academy of VA Pension Planners and an accredited attorney with the Veterans Administration.
An expert on estate and legacy planning as well as asset protection and tax planning, he has co-authored several manuals for attorneys in the areas of Probate Administration, Estate and Estate Tax Planning, and Asset Protection. Mark is also an often requested speaker and facilitator on the same topics.
Mark has also been involved with volunteer work for the Court Appointed Special Advocate (“CASA”) program, representing the guardians ad litem who are appointed by the Court to represent abused or neglected children. Mark received the CASA Attorney of the Year Award in 2006. He also earned the Denise O’Donnell-Day, Pro Bono Award in 2003, for fifteen years of service in the CASA program.
Mark is also active with the Boys Scouts of America. He and his wife of 36 years, JoAnn, reside in Boise and have six children and four grandchildren.