Steven A. Holt, Chair, Mandelbaum Barrett PC
Steven A. Holt is the Chair of the Firm’s Tax, Trusts and Estates Department. Steven is also active as a member of the Firm’s Corporate, Elder Law, Health Law and ERISA/Employee Benefits Practice Groups. He serves as outside general counsel to many business entities and not-for-profit organizations, and advises them on business, tax, succession planning, transactional planning and general business and commercial matters.
Steven represents business entities, corporate executives, individuals, entrepreneurs, professionals (including physicians, dentists, veterinarians and their practices), in all aspects of personal and business planning. He enjoyed a more than 25-year association as outside general counsel to the Tumi brand and continues to work closely with branded companies in the luggage and bag, apparel, luxury goods and travel goods industries.
Steven concentrates his practice in many areas of sophisticated estate and family wealth transfer planning, asset protection planning, federal and state income taxation matters affecting individuals, corporations, partnerships and trusts, foreign taxation, corporate law and corporate transactions, tax aspects of business transactions, mergers and acquisitions, private equity placements, qualified and non-qualified compensation planning, commercial law and commercial transactions, life insurance, choice of entity planning, business reorganizations, organization of and planning and compliance for exempt organizations, and lifetime and testamentary charitable gift planning using charitable annuities, private foundations, donor-advised funds, charitable lead trusts and charitable remainder trusts.
Steven enjoys affiliations as a member of the Board of Trustees of the Mandelbaum Barrett PC Charitable Foundation; a member of and the Secretary of the Board of Trustees of the Institute of Medicine and Public Health of New Jersey; and a member of the Board of Directors of the Northern New Jersey Estate Planning Council. Steven was a founding member and serves on the board of the Metro Professionals Group, a networking group for professional in New York and New Jersey. He is also a member of Junto New York-2, a networking group with a more than 15-year history and broadly diversified membership.
Steven is a member of the Board of Trustees of The Institute of Medicine and Public Health of New Jersey, a member of the Board of Directors of the Ben Appelbaum Foundation (an organization that mentors which concentrated on public health and addiction. He is a member of the Estate Planning Council of Northern New Jersey.
Martin D. Hauptman, Esq., Partner, Mandelbaum Barrett PC
Martin Hauptman is a Partner in the firm’s Trusts & Estates, and Taxation practice groups. His practice primarily focuses on ERISA, pension planning and administration, estate planning and administration, business succession planning, entity formations and planning (including corporations, limited liability corporations, partnerships, etc.), mergers and acquisitions, IRS and state tax representation, tax and probate litigation, as well as federal and state tax matters.
Martin is a Certified Public Accountant who has significant experience in the design, drafting and termination of qualified plans, sophisticated estate planning, and corporate and individual tax planning. He has represented clients before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxing authorities in complex tax matters, including audits of qualified plans and matters involving the IRS Closing Agreement Program. Martin has also in the past successfully concluded audits to prevent the disqualification of qualified plans; facilitated transfers of closely held businesses to create significant tax savings using Employee Stock Ownership Plans; developed creative corporate tax strategies for an airline, which resulted in substantial tax savings; and successfully negotiated with the Department of Labor to enable a profit-sharing plan to invest in the employer’s business.
Martin’s published works include “Taxation of Distributions from Qualified Plans,” Tannen – Recent NJ Case Upholds Protection of Trust, Matrimonial Strategist, December 2011.He is a frequent lecturer for New Jersey Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
Jason E. Marx, Partner, Mandelbaum Barrett PC
Jason E. Marx is a Partner at Mandelbaum Barrett PC, and a member of the firm’s Tax, Trusts, and Estates Practice Groups. His practice focuses on estate planning, estate administration, elder law, wills and trusts, tax and business planning for individuals, corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies, and tax controversies.
Mr. Marx serves as a strategic advisor to high net worth and ultra-high net worth individuals, families, executives, business owners, executors and trustees. He counsels clients on a wide range of issues in the areas of taxation, trust and estate law. His work encompasses the structuring of wealth preservation and asset protection strategies and the preparation of estate planning documents such as wills, living wills, powers of attorney, trust agreements, special needs trusts and domestic and offshore asset protection trusts. Mr. Marx advises executors and trustees on the practical and successful administration of estates and trusts, including the minimization of trust and estate tax liability and the oversight of probate and the estate/trust administration process. He assists clients with the formation of various business entities, including corporations and limited liability companies, and the preparation of buy-sell agreements, the orderly succession of business interests, the structuring of business mergers, acquisitions and sales, and the preparation of federal and state gift tax returns, estate tax returns and inheritance tax returns. He represents clients in tax controversy matters before the Internal Revenue Service and state taxation agencies.
Mr. Marx also has significant experience in elder law where he guides clients through the challenges associated with planning for long term care needs, guardianships, and eligibility for Medicaid and related public assistance and government benefit programs.
Mr. Marx frequently lectures and writes about estate and assets protection planning, elder law and Medicaid planning and business succession planning.
Jason earned his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, his J.D. with a concentration in Taxation and Health Law from Seton Hall University School of Law, and his B.S.B.A. in Finance from Boston University School of Management.
Shawn R. McClelland, Partner, Mandelbaum Barrett PC
Shawn McClelland focuses his practice on corporate law, business services, estate planning, elder law and Medicaid planning, and special needs planning.
Mr. McClelland is experienced in counseling business owners in matters pertaining to entity formation, initial start-up strategies, and the structuring of sales and acquisitions. He has been instrumental in preparing and advising business owners on matters pertaining to buy-sell agreements, operating agreements, shareholder agreements, asset transfers, and succession planning issues.
In addition, Mr. McClelland has counseled clients in matters involving estate and tax planning, including tax audits and related issues, working together with them and their financial advisors to structure and implement plans tailored to their specific needs.
Previously, he served as counsel to several small townships and municipalities, advising them on matters relating to the development and implementation of zoning and land-use guidelines. He also worked as a part-time Assistant Prosecutor for several years.
Philip Drudy, Tax Practice Leader, CBIZ
Phil is a Managing Director and the Tax Practice Leader for CBIZ’s New York tax department. A CPA and JD, Phil is a frequent speaker at seminars and conferences across the country on tax, estate planning, and business life-cycle issues. He is often called upon by the national and local media for contributions on current topics in these areas, including The Tax Adviser and NJ Monthly. He has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and several Bloomberg financial publications. He also is the author of several published manuals and newsletters.
Phil was formerly on the advisory board for the Executive’s Tax & Management Report newsletter, published by CCH Publications, a Wolters Kluwer company.