Private Clients + Exempt Organizations

We counsel individuals, business owners, and corporate executives on all aspects of tax and estate planning. We also advise charitable organizations and fiduciaries of estates and trusts. Many of our entertainment, advertising and corporate clients take advantage of our estate planning services, and we have developed particular expertise in formulating estate plans for authors, performers, artists, celebrities, media executives and entrepreneurs.

Our Estate Planning + Administration Group advises clients on how to structure estate plans to achieve their personal goals and facilitates the implementation of these plans.

We formulate estate plans, including the preparation of wills and trusts, and help clients coordinate their tax and personal planning objectives. We counsel clients on tax-advantaged vehicles that can benefit children and grandchildren, including trusts, custodian accounts, and college savings plans.

We design tax-advantaged gifting strategies, such as grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, and family limited partnerships.

We advise on life insurance planning, including the creation, funding and proper administration of irrevocable life insurance trusts.

We assist clients in structuring tax-efficient plans for distributing retirement assets, including IRAs, pensions and profit-sharing plans, deferred compensation, executive compensation, and other benefits.

We guide business owners in planning for orderly and tax-advantaged succession planning.

We create vehicles for charitable giving, including charitable trusts and private foundations, and counsel clients in complying with state and federal tax, registration and other regulations.

We manage all phases of estate and trust administration, including probate, asset collection and distribution, preparation of estate tax returns, and settlement of accounts.

We help beneficiaries and fiduciaries resolve estate controversies, including will and trust disputes; and we handle estate litigations and probate contests.

We represent our clients in tax audits, and in preparing tax positions, protests, and appeals.

In addition to the services outlined above, our media and entertainment industry clients derive special benefits from our expertise in copyrights, trademarks, publicity rights, and other intellectual property assets:

We assist in the formation of business entities that centralize control of entertainment-based intellectual property rights and yield tax benefits to heirs.

We help artists and other creators of intellectual property terminate grants of copyright and recapture those rights for further exploitation.

We advise clients on the selection of fiduciaries capable of capitalizing on intellectual property assets.

We help clients establish and preserve their tax‑exempt status and create the proper organizational form to meet their charitable goals.

We negotiate and draft sponsorship, endowment, affiliation, joint venture, fundraising and other agreements, and we assist in the development of compensation packages for key executives.

We advise inbound clients on structure, governance, management, operational and transactional issues in connection with establishing and navigating relationships with U.S.-based organizations (e.g., so‑called “Friends of” organizations), including advice regarding tax, employment and intellectual property matters. We also advise U.S. clients on international grantmaking issues, including the exercise of expenditure responsibility for private foundations.

We review charitable fundraising programs, negotiate agreements with fundraising partners and assist clients with state registration requirements, including assistance with the preparation, submission and monitoring of state registration filings for charitable solicitations and commercial co‑ventures.

We negotiate and draft grant agreements—including grants for general support and specific domestic and foreign projects or programs—and assist clients in structuring grantmaking policies and procedures.

We assist our clients in establishing and managing planned giving programs and advise on the tax and regulatory implications of gifts and bequests to charitable organizations, including donor‑advised funds.

We advise on applicable federal and state tax laws and rules, assist with required annual tax filings (e.g., IRS Form 990), respond to notices from federal and state regulators and handle other compliance issues.

We assist our clients in tax examinations and audits, develop and advocate tax positions, draft and submit written protests and handle litigation and appeals.

We help clients address potential UBIT liabilities.

We help our private foundation clients evaluate and structure program‑related investments.

We advise clients on governance issues, including the fiduciary duties of board members and officers, compliance with state law (including, as applicable, the New York Not‑for‑Profit Corporation Law), conflicts of interest, committee responsibilities and indemnification rights. We also structure and prepare related policies, such as conflict of interest policies, joint venture policies, compensation policies, investment policies, whistleblower policies and document retention policies.

We counsel individuals, business owners and corporate executives on all areas of tax and estate planning, and we help individual donors structure charitable gifts and bequests to meet their financial and personal goals.