J. Singer Law Group, PLLC

We believe in getting things right for you!!

OUR FIRM

It is a bedrock principle of our firm that the long range goals of our clients need to always be first and foremost in our minds. We understand that our clients have a lot of choices when it comes to serving their legal needs. Thus, we distinguish ourselves by taking time during the beginning of an engagement to get to know our clients and understand their unique needs. We recognize the importance of having a relationship built on trust and honesty as clients provide us with highly confidential and personal information – from business strategies to family dynamics.

Only once we garner a better understanding of our clients, we develop a cost-efficient strategy narrowly tailored to achieving these objectives. As we delve into the work of drafting documents, we stay in consistent contact with the client to assure that we stay on task and up to date with any changes that may affect their legal needs. It is through this personal approach and communications that our clients quickly develop trust in us.

Sometimes our representation is limited to one matter, but on many occasions the trust that we have garnered leads to continued representation spanning several projects over a matter of years. Either way, the client is treated with the utmost respect and attention.

Sincerely yours,

J. Singer Law Group

Partner Bio's

Jeb Singer, Esq.

University of Michigan

Mr. Singer, a cum laude graduate of Brooklyn Law School and a graduate of the University of Michigan, is a highly skilled and versatile attorney. Having started his career as a corporate restructuring attorney at one of the nation’s leading practice groups, Mr. Singer regularly represents closely-held corporations in bankruptcy matters. In those matters, he has represented Debtors, creditors, investors and asset acquirers. He also authored a book chapter on examiners in corporate bankruptcy cases. Mr. Singer’s commercial litigation practice spans various matters and industries from partnership disputes in the credit card processing business to commercial foreclosures and complex breach of contract disputes. He also represents early-stage businesses in their transactional matters from incorporation through mergers. He prides himself on being at his best when his clients need him the most.

E. Alan Rubenstein, Esq.

New York University

For almost 20 years, since graduating from the prestigious Tax L.L.M. program at New York University, Alan Rubenstein has amassed a wide range of experience primarily representing clients in taxation and asset protection planning matter. Alan leads the Firm’s tax and asset protection practices.

Practice:

Alan’s tax practice includes advising businesses, from start-ups to middle market companies with revenues in excess of tens of millions of dollars, on

corporate taxation,
taxation considerations of commercial transactions such as financings, mergers, asset sales and stock sales,
business succession planning,
employees and executive compensation

Alan regularly advises real estate developers and investors on tax structuring and “like-kind exchanges.” He also regularly represents individuals in audits and other matters before the IRS and U.S. Tax Court.

Alan’s asset protection practice includes a full range of asset protection and wealth preservation and transfer services. He regularly advise entrepreneurs, business executives, professionals, families and individuals and with a wide range of assets. He utilizes the most efficient estate planning techniques, taking into account the client’s needs while minimizing the exposure to transfer tax penalties. He also assists in the orderly transfer of wealth during our clients’ lifetimes and upon death. In so doing, he takes advantage of a variety of strategies available to reduce the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax costs. These efforts ideally lead to maximizing the benefits received by the beneficiaries.

Alan has developed curriculum for, and taught, various CLE Courses on topics including 1031 exchanges and entity taxation.

Our Core Practice Areas

TRUSTS AND ESTATES

Our trusts and estates practice offers a full range of asset protection and wealth preservation and transfer services. We regularly advise entrepreneurs, business executives, professionals, families and individuals and with a wide range of assets.

Having practiced for decades, our lawyers have extensive knowledge and experience in dealing with the estate, gift, generation-skipping transfer and income tax laws impacting wealth transfers. We are able to assist clients in developing sophisticated and creative estate plans for the transfer and preservation of wealth from generation to generation.

We utilize the most efficient estate planning techniques, taking into account our client’s needs while minimizing the exposure to transfer tax penalties. We also assist in the orderly transfer of wealth during our clients’ lifetimes and upon death. In so doing, we take advantage of a variety of strategies available to reduce the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax costs. These efforts ideally lead to maximizing the benefits received by the beneficiaries.

We understand that estate planning decisions are very personal, and need to be addressed with extreme care and sensitivity to a client’s particular family situation and business concerns. Our goal is to create an estate plan that makes sense from a tax perspective while taking each family’s dynamics into consideration.

Areas of focus include :

Wills and Trusts

Our lawyers prepare wills and revocable and irrevocable trusts for the transmission of property during life and at death. We aim to take advantage of available exemptions, credits and exclusions to minimize the estate tax costs. We also prepare health care proxies, living wills and powers attorney. We always take time to fully explain each document so that clients can feel confident their goals have been met.

Estate Planning Techniques

We assist clients with estate planning arrangements which are suitable to their unique needs and stage in life. This may be a simple will. Or it may involve creative and sophisticated estate plans to facilitate wealth transfers. Amongst the estate planning tools and techniques that we use are:

Grantor retained annuity trusts
“Crummey” trusts
Family limited partnerships and limited liability companies
Dynasty and other generation-skipping trusts
Qualified personal residence trusts
Sales to defective grantor trusts
Intra-family loans
Charitable lead and remainder trusts
Private foundations and trusts for retirement plan benefits
Life insurance, including life insurance trusts (for individual and second to-die policies), life settlements and premium financing.

Estate and Trust Administration

We regularly advise individual and corporate executors and trustees with respect to their fiduciary obligations and support them in fulfilling such obligations.

Among other services, we prepare and file all documents necessary to probate a will upon death, and assist the fiduciary in the marshalling of assets and retention of any necessary appraisers.

As part of our handling of the legal matters involving the estate, we prepare court-required inventories of assets if needed, fiduciary income tax returns, and federal and state estate tax returns.

We also represent the fiduciary in audits of those returns by the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authorities.

In addition, we prepare the estate and trust accountings in-house to facilitate the cost-effective and timely settlement of estates and trusts, and draft the documents needed to distribute the assets to the beneficiaries and terminate the estate or trust. When required, we draft and file documents to obtain judicial approval of the account of the executor or trustee.

We also advise the fiduciary on tax elections and discounts, and will suggest the use of disclaimers where appropriate to reduce the estate tax that is payable.

Special Needs Individuals

We counsel parents of disabled or other special needs individuals, and are familiar with the concerns of families faced with such circumstances. We know that there are unique issues that must be considered in wills and trust documents in order to maximize the quality of care and services that will be available to children and others who face special challenges, including dealing with governmental or other alternative programs. Difficult choices are faced by parents in deciding how to provide for a child with special needs, and our experience helps clients find a satisfactory resolution.

LITIGATION

As litigators, we represent clients in federal, bankruptcy and state court proceedings at both the trial and appellate levels, as well as in alternative dispute resolutions (arbitration or mediation). Our clients include corporations, entrepreneurs and individuals. Among the matters we litigate are cases arising out of debtor-creditor relationships, commercial tort, fraud and contract actions.

We tenaciously pursue remedies for our clients and tirelessly defend claims against our clients. But we also understand that litigation arises within a business context. Our attorneys have the experience and business acumen to analyze sophisticated transactions or business disputes and devise strategies that maximize benefits and minimize exposure for our clients.

We are proud of the many important, precedent-setting successes we have achieved for our clients over the years. And we are equally proud to have helped many clients to avoid protracted litigation through appropriate counseling, sound advice and negotiation.

We are experienced in handling a wide spectrum of disputes, including, among other areas:

Business Dissolutions

When business relationships such as joint ventures or corporations face disputes or dissolution, individuals and corporations need representation to protect their interests in the existing business and to go on to establish new ventures. The firm has successfully represented parties involved in business relationship disputes in the courts as well as reaching negotiated settlements so as to avoid the need for litigation.

General Commercial and Corporate Matters

We represent shareholders and partners in all types of disputes and litigation, including:

corporate and partnership law; Officer and director liability and shareholder derivative actions

Real Estate Litigation

We understand the steps necessary to successfully litigate real estate matters, and are able to avoid pitfalls that may prevent a party enmeshed in a real estate dispute from successfully protecting its position or pursuing remedies.

Dispute Resolution and Litigation in Estate and Trust Matters

As part of the estate and trust representation on behalf of our clients, the firm represents fiduciaries and beneficiaries of estates and trusts in will contests, contested accountings and other miscellaneous matters involving trust and estates. When family disputes or spurious claims threaten the inheritance of a client, we take an active role in protecting our client’s rights through negotiation and litigation if necessary.

TAX

As tax lawyers, we provide comprehensive tax advice and representation to a broad spectrum of domestic and international clients.

In every case, our goal is to achieve the optimal tax treatment consistent with our clients' business and personal objectives. We make it a priority to keep abreast of changes in this continually evolving field

General Corporate and Business Tax

Counseling clients on entity selection, with an eye toward limiting tax costs, achieving civil liability insulation, and preserving tax attributes.
Advising clients on the use of family limited partnerships, limited liability companies (LLCs) and other estate and succession planning vehicles for business interests and real property.
Structuring business and investment transactions to maximize tax efficiencies.
Negotiating and drafting agreements with tax implications, including shareholder agreements for C corporations and S corporations and indemnification agreements.
Negotiating and structuring partnerships and LLCs, including preparing allocation, distribution, liquidation and other provisions.
Representation before the IRS and state and local tax agencies, as well as in litigation in state and federal courts, including the U.S. Tax Court.
Advising clients on a wide range of state and local tax matters, including New York State and New York City corporate and individual income taxes, sales and use taxes as well as special taxes.

Investment Funds

Establishing investment funds for numerous types of business assets and activities.
Drafting documents with allocation, distribution and liquidation provisions to achieve certain compensation, economic and tax goals.

Real Estate

Advising real property owners and providing tax opinions regarding cooperative housing corporations and condominiums.
Counseling foreign investors in U.S. real property with regard to Foreign Investment in Real Property Act (FIRPTA) requirements, exemptions, withholding, and related tax issues.
Structuring and advising with regard to like-kind exchanges of real property.
Advising on matters regarding New York City and New York State real property transfer taxes, including transfers of interests in entities and aggregation rules.

International

Coordinating with foreign tax advisors to maximize tax benefits to the clients.

CORPORATE BANKRUPTCY

Our lawyers have substantial experience helping high net worth individuals, including executives and business owners handle a variety of bankruptcy matters, which include:

Chapter 11 bankruptcy for individuals and corporations, as well as creditors, and other interested parties
Bankruptcy litigation, including preferential transfer and fraudulent conveyance actions
Creditors' rights issues

We can address all of your legal needs and review all of your options to find the best solution to your specific legal issue.