Practice Areas

Estate Planning including Wills, Trusts & Estates
Probate & Estate Administration
Business Formations & Transactions
Taxation
Contracts

Estate Planning including Wills, Trusts & Estates

  • Wills
  • Living Wills
  • Healthcare Proxies
  • Durable General Power of Attorneys

All of the above documents are critical to ensure that your wishes and needs are fulfilled when you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself. The documents are legally binding and should be prepared and signed in accordance with local laws. It is advisable that a competent attorney be retained to explain the importance of each document, prepare the documents and supervise the signing of each document.

  • Family Limited Partnerships
  • Trusts
  • Limited Liability Companies
  • Corporations
  • Private Foundations
  • Living Trusts
  • Irrevocable Trusts
  • Life Insurance Trusts
  • Charitable Trusts

All of the above entities are frequently used when preparing an estate plan that includes business interests, estate tax planning, and other business succession issues. Because I am both an attorney and CPA, I stay abreast of the frequent revisions to the tax laws and estate planning techniques. Consequently, I present my clients with a fuller range of up to date options.

Probate & Estate Administration

When a loved one passes on, the survivors are left with settling the estate. This settlement process generally involves the Surrogate Court for the county where the decedent resided at the time of death, as well as the county or counties in which the decedent owned real property at the time of death. Probate is the legal process by which a person’s debts are paid and assets are distributed upon his or her death. The legal entity that owns the decedent’s assets until they are distributed is an “Estate”. Estate administration includes the probate process as well as the non-probate transfers of the decedent’s assets. The probate and administration of estates could be a complex and time consuming process requiring knowledgeable legal and tax counsel to guide the estate administrator(s) through the process.

Business Formation & Transactions

The form of entity chosen for a business has an impact on many aspects of operations of a business including legal liability and taxation. Clients need to consider the pros and cons of different business entities such as a corporation, limited liability company or partnership. Additional aspects to consider are the director and officer liability and shareholder rights. All of these issues are also important when a subsequent business transaction such as mergers, acquisitions, reorganizations, and business succession occur.

When contemplating the acquisition, sale or liquidation of a business, a critical element is the economic impact after considering the income tax consequences. Knowledgeable legal and tax counsel should be retained to advise the client on the numerous decisions that should be made in order to maximize profits and minimizes losses.

Taxation

As a practicing Certified Public Accountant, I offer extensive professional services in the area of taxation. Tax advise may involve international and domestic corporations, partnerships, individuals, estates, trusts and tax-exempt entities on a full range of strategic tax planning issues including international, federal, state and city tax issues. Clients have been represented in a diverse variety of transactions including mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt financings, leasing transactions, financial products, venture capital and restructurings. I provide tax preparation advice for foreign clients on the formation and operation of their United States business interests while taking into account the complex tax aspects of their operations. I represent clients in tax controversies at both the field office, appeals levels and in Federal Tax Court. I have also represented public charities and private foundations in qualifying for and maintaining their tax-exempt status.

Dealing with the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Tax Commission, or the New York City Department of Finance can be a difficult process for most people. Not only are the laws and issues often difficult to comprehend, but the bureaucracy can be overwhelming. Advice and guidance regarding tax issues, as well as meeting the challenges faced by audit and trial issues with the Internal Revenue Service, the New York State Tax Commission and the New York City Department of Finance can also be provided.

Contracts

From negotiations to drafting to final review, each stage of contract development is crucial in achieving the goals of the parties involved. I have extensive experience in contracts from buying and selling a business, employment contracts, shareholder agreements, organizational contracts, financing contracts to individual agreements. My overall objective is to maximize the economic interest of my clients by memorializing the parties’ agreements and diminish the likelihood of potential disputes.

 

Send Me an Email