Cohabitation Agreements, Property Rights, Property Division, Custody and Economic Rights of Unmarried Cohabitants Act

Sean R. Weissbart | BLANKROME

Sean R. Weissbart concentrates his practice in the areas of trusts and estates law and tax-exempt organizations.

His trusts and estates practice is focused on domestic and international estate planning, the administration of trusts and estates, and the representation of beneficiaries and fiduciaries in contested matters in Surrogate’s Court. He also advises clients on the preparation of pre- and post-nuptial agreements and the modification of trusts upon divorce.

Sean also counsels tax-exempt organizations on matters ranging from formation and obtaining of tax-exempt status from the Internal Revenue Service (“IRS”) to complying with state and federal tax-exemption laws and the avoidance of excise taxes and the unrelated business income tax. He has also litigated against the IRS in United States federal courts.

Sean serves as an adjunct professor of law at both New York University School of Law, where he teaches Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates and International Estate Planning, and Fordham University School of Law, where he teaches Trusts and Estates Drafting. He is a co-author of the law school textbook The Income Taxation of Trusts and Estates. He is a regular faculty member of leading trusts and estates conferences, including the Hawaii Tax Institute, the Notre Dame Tax and Estate Planning Institute, and the annual meeting of the New York State Bar Association. Sean publishes scholarly and practice-driven articles that have been featured in leading journals such as The ACTEC Law Journal, The Journal of Taxation, and Estate Planning. During law school, Sean served on the editorial blankrome.com board for the Fordham Law Review.

Sean is a fellow of The American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a national organization of trusts and estates attorneys who have demonstrated the highest level of professionalism in the field. He also serves on the boards of various philanthropic organizations, including as general counsel to the Ment’or BKB Foundation, an organization that sponsors the American team at the Bocuse d’Or (a biannual culinary competition in France), and as chair of the “NextGen” Trusts and Estates Committee of the UJA Federation of New York.

Admissions

New York U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York U.S. District Court – Southern District of New York United States Court of Federal Claims

Education

New York University, BA, magna cum laude Fordham University School of Law, JD New York University School of Law, LLM

Recognitions

2023, Trusts and Estates in New York, listed in Best Lawyers in America© 2015–Present, “Rising Star” in Estate Planning and Tax-Exempt Organizations, listed by Super Lawyers 2022, “Up and Coming” for New York Private Wealth Law: Mid-Market, listed in Chambers High Net Worth 2010, “Justice Award” for Outstanding Contributions to Pro Bono Legal Services in New York City, awarded by MFY Legal Services.

Alan R. Feigenbaum | BLANKROME

Alan is an experienced matrimonial and family law attorney who assists a diverse range of professionals and their spouses, including business owners, lawyers, investors, and entertainers, on their family law matters, with a notable focus on evaluating the optimal strategies to manage and resolve complex financial and custody disputes.

He is well-versed in managing agreements (separation, prenuptial, and postnuptial) to create a framework for his clients’ futures, and approaches dispute resolution with an eye toward facilitating cooperation and reducing conflict, making every effort to settle cases out of court.

Understanding that divorce can affect the trajectory of a person’s life, Alan focuses on his clients’ long-term financial and familial best interests. His multifaceted approach has included:

• Working with financial experts to identify and define the scope of assets acquired by a spouse before the marriage, thereby eliminating litigation over whether those assets are part of the marital pot;
• Resolving the disposition of a spouse’s interest in a business without resorting to a pro forma approach that assumes complex valuation of that interest is always required;
• Reaching agreement on the payment of expenses while a divorce action is pending, without the need for costly, interim support motion practice;
• Negotiating interim parenting schedules by empowering parents and not substituting attorney judgment for that of the parents;
• Settling contentious custody disputes without involving court-appointed professionals, sparing the family from the potentially lasting effects of blankrome.com domestic relations litigation; and
• Prioritizing the value clients place on financial independence both during and after the divorce action concludes, including in the case of the nonmonied spouse evaluating the financially feasibility of retaining the marital home.

Alan also has significant courtroom experience, including first-chair trial experience in domestic relations matters and, at an early stage in his career, examining witnesses before the U.S. International Trade Commission. He also speaks and writes frequently on matters of family law.

Outside The Firm

Alan and his wife, Talia, live in Maplewood, New Jersey with their two children

Admissions

New York Memberships New York State Bar Association Education Tulane University, BA, summa cum laude Cardozo Law School, JD

Recognitions

2020, 2022–2023, Family Law, listed in Best Lawyers in America© 2014, “Rising Star” in Family Law, listed in New York Metro Super Lawyers

Professional Activities

Alan is a fellow of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers. He also serves as co-chair of the Committee on Legislation for the Family Law Section of the New York State Bar Association

Kyle G. Durante | BLANKROME

Kyle G. Durante concentrates his practice on providing sophisticated counsel to high net-worth individu als and families in trust and estate matters to create tax-efficient wealth transfer strategies through estate, tax, business succession, and asset protection planning.

Kyle has notable experience counseling clients on exemption capture planning, drafting estate planning documents, assisting with the preparation of gift tax, estate tax, and fiduciary income tax returns, assisting individuals with the establishment and maintenance of tax-exempt organizations, foundations, and trusts, as well as conducting extensive research on income, estate, generation-skipping transfer, and capital gains taxation.

Kyle is also experienced at managing contested and uncontested estate and trust administration matters within the court systems, including probate, administration, accounting, and miscellaneous proceedings. He regularly represents clients in matters before the New York Surrogate’s Court, including fiduciary succession applications, trust termination proceedings, will contests, construction proceedings, accountings, declaration of death proceedings, and other fiduciary-based litigation.

During law school, Kyle served as the managing editor of the Touro Law Review.

Admissions

• Connecticut
• New York
• U.S. District Court – Eastern District of New York
• U.S. District Court – Southern District of New York

Education

• University of Buffalo, State University of New York, BA
• Erie Community College, AS
• Touro College Jacob D. Fuchsberg Law Center, JD, summa cum laude

I. What key provisions should be included in a cohabitation agreement? | 2:00pm – 2:20pm

II. What is the best way to hold title to property for cohabitants? | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

III. Should partners give financial authority to the other? | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

Break | 3:00pm – 3:10pm

IV. How is appreciated property divided when the relationship ends? | 3:10pm – 3:40pm