Advanced Trusts & Estates 2025 (presented by NYU School of Professional Studies)

Troy M. Stackpole is an associate in Greenberg Traurig’s Tax Practice. He focuses on domestic and international tax matters involving mergers and acquisitions, private equity transactions, joint ventures, financing arrangements, fund formations, and corporate restructurings. He advises public and private companies, investment funds, and financial institutions on the tax aspects of complex business transactions, helping clients structure transactions efficiently while addressing federal income tax considerations.

Stephen Liss is a Partner at Dungey Dougherty PLLC, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning, estate and trust administration, taxation, and business succession planning. He advises individuals, families, business owners, fiduciaries, and charitable organizations on developing comprehensive wealth transfer strategies, minimizing transfer taxes, and administering complex estates and trusts. His practice also includes counseling clients on closely held business matters and charitable planning.

Joseph P. Scorese is a Member of the Tax, Trusts and Estates Practice Group at Sills Cummis & Gross P.C., practicing in Newark, New Jersey, and New York, New York. His practice focuses on sophisticated estate planning and estate and trust administration for high-net-worth individuals and families. Joseph advises clients on designing and implementing customized wealth transfer strategies, utilizing advanced estate planning techniques to preserve assets, minimize transfer taxes, and accomplish multigenerational planning objectives. He also counsels fiduciaries and beneficiaries on complex estate and trust administration matters, providing practical tax-efficient solutions that maximize wealth preservation.

Paulina Mejia serves as National Fiduciary Counsel at Fiduciary Trust Company International and is a member of the firm’s management and operating committees.

Brad J. Richter is a Partner and Chair of the Trusts and Estates Department at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York. His practice focuses on all aspects of private client representation, including sophisticated tax and estate planning, the administration of large estates and trusts, succession and business planning, and the formation and operation of charitable foundations. He advises high-net-worth individuals, entrepreneurs, family business owners, fiduciaries, charitable organizations, private fund sponsors, and financial institutions on complex wealth planning and estate matters.

George D. Karibjanian is the Member of Franklin Karibjanian Law & DePersis PLLC, a national boutique law firm with offices in Washington, D.C., Boca Raton, and Naples. Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Wills, Trusts and Estates, his practice focuses exclusively on estate planning, probate and trust administration, and nuptial agreements. With more than 37 years of experience, he advises individuals and families on sophisticated estate, tax, and wealth transfer planning and is widely recognized as a leading authority in trusts and estates law.

Jerome M. Hesch is Of Counsel at Meltzer, Lippe, Goldstein & Breitstone, LLP, where he focuses on sophisticated estate planning, wealth transfer, and federal tax matters. He advises high-net-worth individuals, families, and closely held business owners on estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax planning, charitable planning, and business succession strategies. Drawing on decades of experience in both government and private practice, he is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on estate and gift taxation.

Alan S. Gassman is the Partner and founding member of Gassman, Denicolo & Ketron, P.A., a Clearwater, Florida law firm concentrating on estate planning, taxation, asset protection, health law, and business law. A Board Certified Wills, Trusts and Estates lawyer with more than four decades of experience, he advises high-net-worth individuals, physicians, business owners, and families on sophisticated estate planning, wealth preservation, tax planning, and business succession matters. He is nationally recognized for his extensive work in estate and tax planning, professional education, and legal scholarship.

Andy focuses on wealth transfer planning and preservation, multi-generational planning, estate and trust administration, nonprofit and tax-exempt organizations, and charitable giving.

Eduardo S. Chung is a Principal at Forvis Mazars, based in New York, where he leads the firm’s Tax Practice & Procedures Group, specializing in representing diverse clientele on IRS and state tax examinations, administrative appeals, tax court litigation, and collection matters.

Timothy Evans is a Principal in the International Tax Services practice at Forvis Mazars, advising multinational corporations, business owners, and private clients on international tax planning, treaty structuring, and global tax compliance.

James I. Dougherty is a Partner at Dungey Dougherty PLLC, where he concentrates his practice on estate planning, trust and estate administration, taxation, business succession planning, and charitable planning. He advises high-net-worth individuals, families, business owners, fiduciaries, and charitable organizations on sophisticated wealth transfer strategies, helping clients achieve their personal, financial, and tax planning objectives through comprehensive estate planning solutions.