Member
Attorneys
David A. Snouffer
Member
Practicing with Willcox Savage since 1989, David advises clients at the intersection of tax-exempt organizations, employee benefits and executive compensation, and estate planning. He helps nonprofit executives and boards, governmental entities, and closely held businesses design compliant benefit structures, avoid costly tax pitfalls, and align compensation with mission and governance. Drawing on decades of experience, he guides organizations ranging from behavioral health providers and national sports groups to community and family foundations. Clients value his meticulous approach, clear communication, and focus on durable, business-minded solutions that stand up under IRS scrutiny and real-world operations.
David has served as outside counsel to a behavioral health care living community for youth, a tax-exempt business league, a national sports organization, and area community foundations, providing formation, governance, and day-to-day compliance guidance that keeps mission-critical programs moving while meeting federal and state regulatory expectations.
He structures new ventures and revenue initiatives for tax-exempt organizations to minimize or avoid unrelated business taxable income under the Internal Revenue Code, preserving exemption, stabilizing cash flow, and supporting long-term program investment.
David designs and reviews compensation arrangements for exempt organizations to
avoid prohibited “excess benefit transactions” and other “insider” issues, aligning board process, comparability data, and documentation with IRS intermediate-sanctions rules to manage regulatory and reputational risk.
He resolves complex compliance issues for employer retirement and welfare plans, including 403(b) programs, employee stock ownership plans, public defined-benefit systems, cafeteria plans, and executive and rank-and-file life-insurance programs, with an eye toward plan design, non-discrimination testing, operational fidelity, and qualifying for and maintaining “church plan” status where appropriate.
David has advised individuals and families pursuing sophisticated estate and charitable planning. He has formed and advised affiliated foundations for several major Hampton Roads charities and counseled high-net-worth individuals on charitable planning strategies that integrate estate planning, tax efficiency, and family governance.
David guides benefit compliance and nondiscrimination testing in joint-venture settings and multi-entity affiliations, addresses COBRA continuation coverage and cafeteria-plan administration, and advises on payroll practices for multistate and remote workforces to avoid constructive-receipt acceleration and related tax exposure.
It is working with the client to understand and accomplish objectives efficiently while alerting the client to, and resolving with the client opportunities, issues and consequences that the client may not be aware of.
Norfolk Office
