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In his estate planning practice, Jay Freireich is adept at using various sophisticated techniques and developing new techniques as the tax laws change. These techniques include QPRTs, GRATs, IDGTs, FLPs and FLLCs. Jay brings his tax and planning background to litigation of estate, trust and shareholder disputes and complex business litigation. He has argued cases successfully before the United States Court of Appeals and has even filed tax cases in the United States Supreme Court. He helped Congress re-write the innocent spouse provisions of the Internal Revenue Code. He has also aided many clients in successfully resolving or winning outright multimillion-dollar tax issues.
Jay advises and structures transactions for tax planning, such as like kind exchanges, and advises clients on all aspects of tax law to help reduce overall tax liability. Jay handles disputes administratively before the Internal Revenue Service and the New Jersey Division of Taxation. For people who owe taxes, Jay can work out payment plans and offers in compromise with the Internal Revenue Service or state taxing authorities, as the situation dictates. He also resolves disputes involving the imposition of IRS interest and penalties.
Jay handles all types of tax litigation, including: income tax audit challenges, innocent spouse claims and related litigation, estate tax controversies, responsible person litigation, civil and criminal structuring cases, as well as representing clients charged with criminal income tax fraud and evasion. Jay has successfully argued cases before the United States Tax Court, New Jersey State Tax Court, the United States Court of Appeals for both the Second and Third Circuits, and has even successfully filed certiorari briefs to the Unites States Supreme Court. Some of the cases that Jay has been involved with are strong precedent throughout the United States. Jay has also represented clients testifying before Congress.
PUBLICATIONS AND SPEECHES
Many cases that Jay has handled have appeared in publications including the
New York Times,
New York Post,
Newark Star-Ledger,
New Jersey Law Journal, The National Law Journal and
New Jersey Newsroom. He has appeared on ABC's "Good Morning America" in a segment involving the innocent spouse tax law. He also appeared on CNN in a feature story on general income taxation. Jay has lectured on "The Standard of Care in Estate Tax Planning Malpractice Claims Against Attorneys" for the Institute of Continuing Legal Education.
Jay has authored the following:
PUBLISHED OR NOTEWORTHY DECISIONS
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Jay won a reversal on appeal before the Superior Court Appellate Division in a case involving whether a New Jersey court can pierce a Florida discretionary trust to pay child support owing to a beneficiary of the trust. On August 4, 2009, the Appellate Division agreed with Jay and overturned the lower court decision and held that the trust could not be pierced.
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Jay represented a taxpayer in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals and before the U.S. Supreme Court in the case of Cockrell v. Commissioner. Though unsuccessful in overturning the Tax Court decision against her, claiming innocent spouse relief, Jay continued to represent her in her pursuit to have the laws changed. The efforts of Ms. Cockrell, with Jay's assistance, in the U.S. Congress led in 1998 to retroactive Congressional relief to her and to all others similarly situated. This new Congressional Act in 1998 was codified in Section 6015 of the Internal Revenue Code. The act was co-sponsored by Senator Alphone D'Amato and Senator William Roth.
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In the case of Friedman v. Commission, Jay was able to successfully overturn most of the decision of the Tax Court, which had denied the taxpayer innocent spouse relief. The Circuit Court ruled that the Taxpayer's subjective beliefs needed to be reconsidered by the Tax Court. Eventually, the taxpayer obtained full relief when she was able to take advantage of the retroactive relief in Section 6015.
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In a case of first impression in New Jersey, Jay pioneered the recovery of interest damages against a tax advisor in a professional malpractice action under New Jersey law. In Ronson v. Talesnick, Jay successfully argued that under New Jersey law, clients are not barred from recovering interest owed to the Internal Revenue Service as damages in a malpractice action. This ruling was made under the principle that the harmed plaintiff should be permitted to recover damages from the wrongdoing of the tortfeasor, although the client's recovery should be reduced by any benefits received from the wrongdoers' action.
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In Wulach v. Busell & Stier, an arbitrator awarded $1.05 million in damages, plus legal fees and costs, in a legal malpractice suit over estate planning advice.
ADDITIONAL NOTEWORTHY INFORMATION
Jay has served as an expert witness in the field of estate litigation. He was featured in a book, "Success - Pure and Simple" by Dominic N. Certo, KSJ. He was also acknowledged by U.S. Senator William V. Roth, who is best known for sponsoring legislation that led to the creation of the Roth IRA, for his contribution to Senator Roth's book, "The Power to Destroy."
Jay is President of the Men's Club of Temple Emanu-El of West Essex.