Morris/Sussex ChapterAnnual Tax Seminar (E1712839)

Ash Ahluwalia is the founder and President of National Social Security Partners, LLC, ("NSSP"), the nation's leading social security planning firm. NSSP works in collaboration with other professionals such as financial advisors, CPAs, and attorneys to help clients navigate the complexitities of social security and maximize benefits. He received the “National Social Security Advisor of the Year” award in 2016 from the National Social Security Association. He has built a significant practice advising clients on how to maximize their eligible Social Security retirement benefits. He is one of only a few advisors in the nation who has obtained both the Certified in Social Security Claiming Strategies (CSSCS) designation and the National Social Security Advisor (NSSA) designation. Mr. Ahluwalia is one of the nation’s foremost experts on social security and is a highly sought after speaker at conferences and industry events. He also provides CPE and CLE credit for his training programs specifically tailored to legal and accounting professionals. He has worked in the financial services business for over 25 years, focusing on financial and retirement planning for individuals and business owners. After graduating from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Commerce degree, he obtained his Chartered Accounting degree (a Canadian CPA). He then went on to obtain an MBA from Wharton Business School. He has also obtained his Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation.

Patrick J. Deo, CPA, Cr.Fa, is president of Deo, LaManna, Deo & Co., P.C. A noted national speaker, he was recognized by Surgent CPE as a 2016 Outstanding Discussion Leader. He also authored and co-authored various technical books and articles. He is experienced in business valuations, litigation support, forensic accounting, tax planning, resolving tax disputes and more.

Mr. Deo has been a member of the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants (NJCPA) for more than 30 years. A frequent speaker and lecturer for the NJCPA and its chapters, he was honored with the NJCPA Outstanding Discussion Leader Award. Additionally, he has served the NJCPA and its chapters in many leadership roles and has been involved in various NJCPA initiatives, including establishing the Morris/Sussex Chapter County College Scholarship Program, spearheading the New Jersey Taxpayer Bill of Rights, developing the cornerstone for the Internal Revenue Service and State of New Jersey “Practitioner Hotline”, instituting the NJCPA lesion meetings with the State of New Jersey Department of Labor, heading up the task force on “piggy-back” of the New Jersey Gross Income Tax on the Internal Revenue Service Tax System, and serving as a “key person” to legislators.

Mr. Deo is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the AICPA Tax Division, AICPA Forensic Valuation Division, and the Institute of Business Appraisers. He is also a certified forensic accountant and diplomat of the American College of Forensic Examiners.

Prior to becoming a certified public accountant, Mr. Deo worked for the Internal Revenue Service for almost 20 years in various high level positions and received numerous recognitions for outstanding service.

Juliya L. Ismailov is an associate in the Tax, Trusts & Estates Department. Juliya focuses her practice in the following areas of tax planning. Roughly half of her practice involves federal and state income tax strategy, including preparing nexus studies, substantial authority letters and ruling requests to obtain tax-efficient outcomes for her clients. She works closely with accountants and financial advisors to implement clients’ transactions with maximum tax-efficiency.

In addition, Juliya helps corporate and individual clients resolve audits with taxing authorities involving income, sales and employment taxes, including trust fund taxes, by determining legal positions to minimize the total assessment and/or obtaining favorable installment agreements and offers in compromise to pay the assessment.

The other half of her practice involves complex estate planning and administration for individuals and their families over multiple generations: (a) from the early phases of defining strategy and executing estate planning documents; setting up gifting, insurance and residence trusts; and forming family businesses and charitable foundations; (b) to the mid-stages of updating estate plans as family circumstances evolve, businesses grow, trustees wish to merge trusts, change their situs or terms, or tax laws change; and, finally, (c) to the end-stages of probating the wills; funding testamentary trusts; preparing and filing federal and state estate tax returns; counseling executors regarding their duties; and representing the interests of estates, executors, trustees and beneficiaries in estate and trust disputes.

Juliya earned her Bachelor of Arts in Economics and Russian from Yale University in 2007. After college, she relocated to Louisville, Kentucky to work as an analyst at a venture capital firm.

Juliya earned her Juris Doctor from Rutgers Law School- Newark in 2011, where she was a full-tuition scholarship recipient of the Elizabeth and Barets O. Benjamin Scholarship, and served as the Managing Editor of the Rutgers Computer & Technology Law Journal. Prior to private practice, Juliya served as law clerk to the Honorable Judge Edith K. Payne on the New Jersey Appellate Division.

Juliya earned her Tax LL.M. from New York University in 2017. Juliya is fully fluent in written and spoken Russian.

Gary A. Prince, Jr. is a Shareholder of the law firm Mantell, Prince & Reynolds, P.C. located in New Providence, New Jersey.  The Firm was established in 1991 and currently consists of nine attorneys and various support staff.  Gary received his J.D from Seton Hall University School of Law (cum laude) and his Master of Laws in Taxation from New York University School of Law.  Gary is also a Certified Public Accountant.  Gary is a member of the Somerset and Union County Bar Associations, the New Jersey Bar Association (including the Taxation Section and the Probate and Trust Section), the New Jersey Society of Certified Public Accountants and he is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel.  Gary is listed under the category Tax in The Best Lawyers in America, published by Woodward/White, Inc..  He is also listed under the category of Tax and Estate Planning and Probate in New Jersey Super Lawyers, published by New Jersey Monthly Magazine.  Gary is a frequent lecturer and author on tax, business, estate and trust and fiduciary litigation topics.

The Firm practice extends to major areas of law relating to tax and business planning, estate planning, estate administration, estate and trust litigation, corporate transactions and family representation in connection with general legal matters.  Due to the nature of the practice, the Firm routinely serves as general counsel to individuals, families and businesses working as an integral part of a team of advisors to provide the highest level of legal and tax advice. 

Jeffrey Schechter, Esq. is chair of Cole Schotz P.C.'s corporate, finance and business transactions department. He has a varied practice in the areas of corporate law and taxation. On the corporate side, he concentrates on commercial transactions, including the purchase, sale or restructuring of businesses, stock transactions, mergers and corporate agreements. Mr. Schechter also regularly represents clients in disputes with the Internal Revenue Service, the New Jersey Division of Taxation and the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance.

Additionally, Mr. Schechter is a frequent lecturer at Rutgers Law School and ABA Tax Section Meetings on a variety of tax and corporate matters. Prior to joining Cole Schotz, he was a manager in the national tax department of the international accounting firm of Ernst & Young in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in advising clients on the tax aspects of complex corporate transactions, including tax-free reorganizations, tax-exempt organizations and federal tax procedure and controversies, as well as newly enacted or proposed tax legislation.

For twenty years, Mr. Schechter served on the board of trustees of the New Jersey Community Development Corporation, a tax-exempt organization in Paterson which specializes in various programs throughout the State of New Jersey. These programs include participation in the Americorps National Service Program, operating housing projects for developmentally disabled persons and increasing employment opportunities for economically disadvantaged youths.

Jeff received his B.B.A. from The George Washington University, his J.D., with honors, from the George Washington University School of Law, and his LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center.

Geoffrey Weinstein, J.D., LL.M. is an attorney at Cole Schotz in Hackensack, New Jersey. As special counsel in the Tax, Trusts & Estates Department, he counsels those with business and personal interests in the greater New York City metropolitan area and South Florida. He is known as a creative advisor and problem-solver who assists in developing tax planning strategies that preserve wealth and a dedicated advocate who resolves tax controversies.

Geoff advises on estate planning that involves wills, trusts, powers of attorney and healthcare directives. Following a death, he advises on estate administration and probate litigation. For businesses and individuals, he advises on taxation of executive compensation, including stock option incentives and nonqualified deferred compensation arrangements. He also reviews executive employment and severance agreements for Section 409A compliance.

When tax controversies arise, Geoff represents taxpayers before federal, state and local tax authorities at all stages of the administrative process, from audit through administrative appeal. He has discretely handled numerous high-net worth residency cases in New Jersey and New York, consistently netting favorable results through confidential closing agreements that avoid the publicity of litigation. In addition, Geoff works closely with other members of the Cole Schotz team to resolve sales and use and corporate business tax audits with state tax authorities.

In cases where taxpayers neglected to file tax or information returns, or have compliance issues involving offshore bank accounts and other assets, Geoff has achieved positive results through participation in federal and state voluntary disclosure programs and procedures.

Geoff also represents taxpayers in sensitive “egg shell” tax audits that include exposure to possible criminal charges and/or civil fraud penalties. He has represented U.S. and non-U.S. resident taxpayers from around the world, including Europe, the Middle East, Asia, and India. For those matters that require litigation, Geoff has prosecuted many cases to successful conclusion.

Before joining the firm he litigated tax and commercial disputes with a boutique law firm in Bergen County and was a former Deputy Attorney General with the State of New Jersey’s Division of Criminal Justice. He received his B.S. from Northeastern University, his J.D. from Rutgers University School of Law-Camden and his LL.M. from Georgetown University Law Center.