James M. Kosakow

James M. Kosakow

Partner — New York, NY

T: (212) 448-6212

F: (212) 448-0066

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Biography

James Kosakow graduated from Connecticut College in 1976 and received his law degree from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law in 1984. He is admitted to practice in New York, Connecticut, Florida, the District of Columbia and before the U.S. Tax Court.

Before joining McLaughlin & Stern in 2005, he was a founding partner of Kove & Kosakow, LLC with offices in New York City and Westport, Connecticut. His practice relates primarily to estate planning and the administration of trusts and estates, and includes an active Connecticut practice.

Mr. Kosakow is a co-author of the two-volume text, Handling Federal Estate and Gift Taxes, 6th Edition, published by West Group, and is an assistant editor of Insights and Strategies, a nationally distributed monthly financial and estate planning newsletter for professionals.
He has authored or co-authored more than twenty articles appearing in such publications as Estate Planning, Retirement Planning for Individuals, Planning Matters, Elder Law Advisory, the Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletters of the New York and Connecticut Bar Associations and The National Alliance of Trust & Estate Professionals.

He is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Finance, Law and Taxation at New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies. He is an Estate Planning Instructor with the American Financial Planning Institute and the Center for Professional Education at Pace University Lubin School of Business.

Mr. Kosakow is a member of the Connecticut, New York, Florida and District of Columbia Bar Associations, the Fairfield County Regional Bar Association, the Estate Planning Councils of New York City and Lower Fairfield County and the Connecticut Estate and Tax Planning Council. He is listed in Who's Who in American Law, New York Superlawyers, Martindale-Hubbell Bar Register of Preeminent Lawyers and Worth Magazine's Top 100 Attorneys in the Nation.

 

Publications & Honors

  • Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel
  • Worth Magazine's Top 100 Attorneys in the Nation
 
Co-author of the two-volume text, "Handling Federal Estate and Gift Taxes", Sixth Edition, December 2000, Publisher – West Group, supplemented semiannually.

Assistant editor of "Insights & Strategies", a nationally-recognized financial and estate planning monthly newsletter for professionals.

"Year-end Trusts, Estate and Gift Tax Planning Strategies," Publisher-Estate Planning, November 2004, Vol. 31, No. 11.

"Benefits of Cash Value Life Insurance," Publisher – Elder Law Advisory, Number 145, March 2003; India Weekly-USA, January 12, 2003, January 19, 2003; Forerunner, New York Chapter Society of Financial Service Professionals, Summer 2003, Vol. 61, No. 5.

"IRS Issues Final Regs. On Treating Revocable Trust as Part of Estate," Publisher – Estate Planning, May 2003, Vol. 30, No. 5.

"Benefits of Life Insurance for Minors," Publisher – India Weekly-USA, January 5, 2003; India Weekly-USA, March 2, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 22, Page 14.

"Asset Protection Planning and the Family Limited Partnership," Publisher – Planning Matters, May 1998, Vol. 3, No. 5; The National Alliance of Trust & Estate Professionals, October 28, 2002, Vol. 6, Issue 3; India Weekly – USA, February 23, 2003, Vol. 2, No. 21, Page 29.

"Revocable Living Trust Planning Benefits – Part One and Two," Publisher – Elder Law Advisory, West Group, Number 93, December 1998, Number 94, January 1999; India Weekly-USA, January 26, 2003, February 2, 2003.

"Charitable Gifts of Life Insurance Have Many Benefits," Publisher – New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Vol. No. 31, No. 2, Summer 1998; The National Alliance of Trust & Estate Professionals, December 16, 2002, Vol. 6, Issue 10.

"Estate Planning Benefits of Deferred Like-Kind Exchanges of Real Estate," Publisher – Estate Planning, August 2001, Vol. 28, No. 8.

"Beware Tax Trap When Transferring IRA to Spouse Pursuant to Divorce Decree," Publisher – New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Summer 2001, Vol. 34, No. 1.

"New Tax Law Eliminates Estate Tax in 2010," June 2001.

"Proposed Regulations Clarify Treating Revocable Trust as Part of Estate," Publisher – Estate Planning, April 2001, Vol. 28, No. 4.

"New Proposed Regulations Challenge Accelerated Charitable Remainder Trusts," Publisher – Estate Planning, February 2000, Vol. 27, No. 2; New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Vol. 33, No. 2, Summer 2000.

"The Importance of Cash Value Life Insurance in Financial, Retirement and Estate Planning, " Publisher – Elder Law Advisory, West Group, Number 105, December 1999.

"Techniques That Maximize the Advantages of Lifetime Giving," Publisher- Estate Planning, December 1998, Vol. 25, No.10; The New York City Association of Life Underwriters, The Bulletin, July/August 1999

"Problems Created by New Prop. Regs. on Revaluation of Gifts," Publisher – Estate Planning, May 1999, Vol. 26, No.4; "Gift and Estate Tax Revaluation Proposed Regulations – Guidance and Traps," Publisher – New York State Bar Association, Trusts and Estates Law Section Newsletter, Fall 1999, Vol. 32, No. 3.

"The Defective Grantor Trust as an Estate Planning Strategy," Publisher – Elder Law Advisory, West Group, Number 87, July 1998.

"Layered GRATS – Big Gift and Estate Tax Benefits," Publisher – Elder Law Advisory, West Group, Number 86, June 1998.

"Gifts of Family Limited Partnership Interests Did Not Qualify for Annual Exclusion, Rules IRS," Publisher – Estate Planning, May 1998, Vol. 25, No. 4.

"New Regulations Provide Flexibility for Using Trust Beneficiaries as IRA Measuring Lives," Publisher – Retirement Planning for Individuals, March/April 1998, Vol. 2, No. 5.