Private Wealth Conference

Kevin Matz, Esq., CPA, LLM (taxation), is a partner in the Private Clients, Trusts and Estates Department at the national law firm of ArentFox Schiff LLP, based in its New York City office, where he co-chairs its Family Office Group.  Kevin’s practice is principally devoted to domestic and international estate and tax planning, family office services, estate administration and related litigation. Kevin earned his BS in Accounting from Lehman College (CUNY), his JD from Fordham University School of Law (where he was a Notes & Articles Editor of the Fordham Law Review) and his LLM in Taxation from New York University School of Law. Kevin is currently President of the NYCPA, and is a former chair of both its Estate Planning Committee and its Trust and Estate Administration Committee, the current chair of both the FAE Curriculum Committee and of the NYCPA Professional Liability Insurance Committee, and a past President of the FAE Board of Trustees.  In addition, Kevin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (“ACTEC”), in which connection he is a past Chair of ACTEC’s Business Planning Committee, the current Vice-Chair of its Washington Affairs Committee and a member of ACTEC’s Board of Regents. Kevin is also currently the Treasurer of the Trusts and Estates Law Section of the New York State Bar Association, and the past Chair of the UJA-Federation of New York’s Trusts and Estates Group (for which he was its Honoree at its 2023 Annual Event). Kevin may be contacted at 914-380-2140 or kevin.matz@afslaw.com.

Robert S. Barnett, CPA, Esq., is a founding partner of Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP, Attorneys at Law. His practice is highly concentrated in the areas of taxation, trusts, estates, corporate and partnership law and charitable planning. His experience includes Surrogate’s Court practice, tax dispute resolution, and Tax Court representation. Mr. Barnett frequently assists clients in structuring financial transactions and charitable gifts. Mr. Barnett applies creative and practical solutions to estate and business planning. He has served on many committees and is a frequent lecturer on numerous aspects of tax and business law. He is an active participant and serves on many professional and charitable boards. Mr. Barnett is a frequent lecturer and writer. His articles and lectures encompass a wide variety of topics, including business succession, estate planning, charitable planning, generation-skipping, stock options, effective strategies for removing tax liens, business taxation, utilization of the marital deduction and partnership elections. Mr. Barnett received his juris doctor in 1986 from Fordham University, where he graduated cum laude and was a member of the Fordham Law Review. He graduated magna cum laude from Hofstra University, where he received his Bachelor’s degree in accounting. Mr. Barnett holds a Master’s degree in taxation as the recipient of the highest dean’s award. Mr. Barnett is admitted to practice law in New York, Virginia and Washington, D.C. Member: • Board of Directors of the Long Island Community Foundation.
• Board of Directors of Nassau Academy of Law
• Professional Advisors Committee of the Long Island Community Foundation
• Professional Advisors Committee of the American Heart Association
• Past Education Committee Chairman NCCPAP
• Past President of the NCCPAP Educational Foundation
• Past President of Nassau Chapter NYSSCPA
• Member of Nassau Academy of Law Advisory Board
• CPA Journal Editorial Review Board, May 2017-2020 Awards:
• 2013 Max Block Distinguished Article Award for Technical Analysis
• November 2016 – Samuel A. Dyckman, Excellence in Education Award
• November 2016 – Leadership in Law Award – Long Island Business News
• May 2017 – Distinguished Service Award – NYSSCPAS – Nassau Chapter
• Dean’s Award in Taxation – Long Island University CW Post
• Fordham Law Review
• Fordham University American Jurisprudence Award – Trusts and Estates

Gregory Matalon’s practice concentrates in the areas of estate planning, estate administration, elder law and Not-for-Profit and Religious Corporations Law. He regularly helps individuals and families plan for the future through the preparation of Last Wills and Testaments, Trusts, Living Wills and Health Care Proxies and Durable Powers of Attorney documents. Greg provides his clients with the tools to create a tax efficient estate plan, while realizing that the Client’s goal/s are primary. Greg also represents Executors and Trustees to navigate the complex Federal and State laws impacting Estates and Trusts. While representing Executors and Trustees, Greg has identified areas of unsettled law and he has either clarified existing law or, in some cases, created new law through his submissions of Private Letter Ruling requests to both the Internal Revenue Service and New York City Department of Finance. He has been successful, on behalf of his clients, in each instance. Gregory regularly lectures on various topics of law including: estate planning and estate administration, Medicaid planning, same-sex couples tax planning and Religious Corporations Law topics He has lectured before prestigious bar associations (of which he is a member) including: the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), the Nassau County Bar Association and LeGaL and noted accountant organizations including: the National Conference of CPA Practitioners, the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants and the New York Society of Independent Accountants. Greg is also invited to lecture at the Interchurch Center and various community-based organizations. This year Gregory was asked to speak by Lawline, a premier provider of continuing legal education. As a member of the NYSBA, Greg was appointed liaison to the Tax Law Section. In addition, he was granted a seat on the House of Delegates, the policy-making body of the NYSBA. Greg is proud to have represented numerous families who lost loved ones on September 11, 2001, and to have helped to establish Lutheran Disaster Response of New York, a major charitable organization created in the aftermath of the 9/11 tragedies. In addition, to his regular lecture schedule, Gregory has authored numerous articles on estate and tax topics for many professional publications. Greg enjoys serving his community, and has been involved in the following community positions: Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Kew-Forest School, an independent pre-k through 12th grade college preparatory school located in Forest Hills, New York; Former Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees of Lutheran Schools Association located; Former Vice Chair of the Small Firm and Solo Practitioners Committee of LeGaL. Education: Hofstra University School of Law, J.D. Skidmore College, B.A. Honors: Lutheran Schools Association 2016 “Spirit of Hope” Award in recognition of the faithful support and the model of service he provides to the children, families and schools of the LSA Transfiguration Lutheran Church, Bronx, New York – “Amigo” award for resolution of a major tax matter Long Island GLBT Services Network, Nassau, New York – named Capell Barnett Matalon & Schoenfeld LLP a 2014 Equality Award Honoree Outside the office: In his spare time, Greg enjoys cycling the five boroughs of New York City, travelling the world and spending time with his family and friends.

Heather Oboda is a partner with over two decades of experience in public accounting. With a focus in trust and estates, Heather provides tax, financial, estate, and succession planning. She specializes in coordinating family group returns, including their entities, trusts, and private foundations, in addition to their personal returns. Her clients include trusts and estates, high net worth individuals, closely-held businesses. She is an active member of the firm’s Trusts and Estates Practice. Heather has presented at a number of events and has written a number of articles relating to estate planning. Heather has a well-rounded background due to her experience working at firms that has exposed her to all aspects of engagements, including bookkeeping and attest work (401k and not-for-profit audits). She has significant tax experience, working with corporate, partnership, S-Corp, trusts, and individual returns, awarding her with an in-depth understanding of the engagement and her client’s transactions. Heather began her career in public accounting in 2000 and has hit the ground running since. Prior to joining Citrin Cooperman, she was with EZKR, a portion of which joined Citrin Cooperman in 2011.

Karen Goldberg is the Principal-in-Charge of the firm’s Trust and Estate practice, which is part of the Personal Wealth Advisors Group. For more than 30 years, she has specialized in estate planning for closely held business owners, senior corporate executives and other high net worth individuals. Karen’s expertise includes U.S. gift and estate taxation (as also applied to non-U.S. citizens) and income taxation of trusts and estates. Karen also manages a sophisticated tax compliance practice that includes the preparation of U.S. gift, estate and trust and estate income tax returns, and implementation of tax minimization strategies. Karen is a frequent lecturer on trust and estate topics at professional conferences, including those sponsored by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, local CPA societies and the United Jewish Appeal. Most recently, Crain’s New York Business named Karen as one of the Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting for 2020. She is also a past president of the Estate Planning Council of New York City.

As Business Leader for the EY Fiduciary/Trust & Estate Accounting Services (FTEAS), Francine and her team focus on the development of go-to-market strategies and managing relationships with banks, law firms and family offices. FTEAS is a national practice with a deep bench of professionals with extensive experience preparing complicated fiduciary/court accountings spanning decades of transactions, using multiple state formats to satisfy local jurisdiction filing requirements across the country. FTEAS prepares accountings for everything from small special-needs trust to billion-dollar-plus trusts and estates. Francine brings over 25 years of experience creating income tax and estate planning solutions for high net worth clients and building platforms and products at industry leading organizations. She holds a Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law and Juris Doctor from Western New England School of Law, and is admitted to the New York State Bar. Francine is a published author and frequent public speaker.

Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, PFS, AEP (distinguished), JD, is an attorney in private practice in Fort Lee, New Jersey and New York City, New York who focuses his practice on estate and tax planning, planning for closely held businesses, estate administration. He is the author of 42 books and more than 1,000 articles, including for Trusts & Estates Magazine (Editorial Board Member), the CPA Journal, the Matrimonial Strategist, and CCH (Wolter’s Kluwer) where he is co-chair of the Professional Advisory Board. He founded chronicillnessplanning.org, which educates professional advisers on planning for clients with chronic illness and disability and has written books for the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research, the National Multiple Sclerosis Society and the COPD Foundation. Mr. Shenkman received a Bachelor of Science from the Warton School, with a concentration in accounting and economics; an MBA from the University of Michigan with a concentration in tax and finance; and a Law degree from Fordham University School of Law. He is admitted to the bar in New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C.; a CPA practicing in New Jersey, Michigan and New York; and a Registered Investment Adviser in New York and New Jersey.

First and foremost, Stephen considers himself a teacher. Tax and estate planning are complicated, but Stephen enjoys making these topics as simple as possible so his clients can be confident they are making the best decisions for themselves, their families, and the charities they care about. Stephen starts every relationship by helping families articulate their goals. What issues need to be addressed? Are there opportunities to take advantage of? Using his unique background that includes seven years working at leading financial services firms, Stephen helps clients find a balance between tax optimization, complexity, risk, and competing non-tax goals. He then engages a family’s team of advisors to fully integrate their personal, legal, and financial planning. Stephen’s practice focuses on the needs of wealthy individuals and families, their businesses, and charities. His extensive experience includes domestic and international trust and estate planning, tax minimization, advanced life insurance strategies, and planned charitable giving. He has helped clients with pre-sale and pre-IPO planning, planning with concentrated stock positions, planning with fund interests, trust decanting and trust modifications, minimizing state income taxation of trusts, dynasty trusts, generation skipping transfer (GST) tax, split-dollar life insurance, planning with art, private foundations, charitable lead trusts, and charitable remainder trusts. He has advised families on the formation and operation of foreign trusts, pre-migration planning, foreign investment in U.S. real property, voluntary disclosures, and expatriation. Stephen has authored or co-authored more than 30 articles. A frequent lecturer, he has spoken at numerous industry conferences in the United States and globally. Stephen currently chairs the Estate and Gift Tax Committee of the Real Property, Trust & Estate Section of the American Bar Association.

Perry A. Shulman, CPA, CFP, holds an MBA in Taxation, having received his professional training in the personal financial planning tax practice of Ernst & Young, LLP. He is a member of the AICPA’s Personal Financial Planning and Tax specialty sections, the NYSSCPA, New York City and Nassau County chapters, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, and the Estate Planning Council, New York City and Nassau County chapters.

Before joining ArentFox Schiff, Tracy was a financial advisor with a registered investment advisory firm. Drawing on this experience, she understands how the estate plan fits within a client’s overall financial strategy. She was also an associate in the New York office of an elite international law firm. Tracy is a decorated combat veteran as well, serving five years in the United States Army.

Justin Miller is a Partner and National Director of Wealth Planning at Evercore Wealth Management and a Managing Director at Evercore Trust Company, where he works collaboratively with accountants, attorneys, and other advisors to provide comprehensive wealth planning advice to clients. Justin also is an adjunct professor at Golden Gate University School of Law, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel. In addition, he is a frequent speaker at major conferences, has published numerous articles, and is regularly quoted as an industry expert in the media. Justin received a B.A., with honors, from the University of California, Berkeley, and a J.D. and LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of La