Like-Kind Exchanges 2026 (Presented by NYU School of Professional Studies)

Robert D. Schachat, Esq., Managing Director | BDO USA

Robert D. Schachat is a Managing Director in BDO USA’s National Tax practice, based in Washington, DC, and serves as Chair of this conference. He brings more than 40 years’ experience advising clients on all federal income tax aspects of real estate, including REIT, partnership, limited liability company, and S corporation formations, acquisitions, like-kind exchanges, development, leases, financings, workouts, dispositions, and liquidations. Throughout his career, he has also regularly advised clients in monitoring federal legislative and regulatory activity affecting real estate.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Schachat earned his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, his J.D. from Columbia University Law School, and his S.B. from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is co-author, with Jim Lowy, of the CCH treatise Taxation of REITs and UPREITs, and has published numerous articles on real estate taxation. He is a frequent speaker at real estate industry and tax conferences nationwide, including the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation, the AICPA-CIMA Real Estate Conference, and the Jeremiah Long Memorial National Conference on Like-Kind Exchanges Under Section 1031.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Schachat has served as Chair of the Real Estate Committee of the ABA Section of Taxation, Vice Chair of the Tax Policy Advisory Committee of The Real Estate Roundtable, co-chair of the Cost Recovery Committee, and a member of the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section. He continues to serve as a member of the Partnerships and Real Estate Committees of the ABA Section of Taxation.

• Experience

Mr. Schachat joined BDO in 2021 after 23 years in the National Tax Real Estate Group of Ernst & Young LLP and 12 years as a partner in a Manhattan law firm, where his practice focused on the taxation of real estate.

Jeffrey Horan, CES, Vice President | Realty Exchange Corporation

Jeffrey Horan is Vice President and co-owner of Realty Exchange Corporation, a family-operated qualified intermediary headquartered in Gainesville, Virginia, that specializes exclusively in IRC Section 1031 like-kind tax-deferred exchanges of real estate throughout the United States. As part of a third-generation family business founded in 1990, he helps oversee a firm that has facilitated tens of thousands of exchanges of all sizes and has become the largest exclusive qualified intermediary in the Mid-Atlantic region.

• Education & Credentials

Jeffrey Horan holds the Certified Exchange Specialist® (CES®) designation, the national credential recognizing advanced knowledge and professional experience in the exchange industry. He attended North Carolina State University.

• Recognition & Leadership

As Vice President and co-owner of Realty Exchange Corporation, Jeffrey helps lead one of the largest exclusive qualified intermediary firms in the Mid-Atlantic region, continuing the firm’s longstanding commitment to facilitating IRC Section 1031 like-kind exchanges.

• Professional Involvement

Through his leadership at Realty Exchange Corporation, Jeffrey is actively involved in the administration and facilitation of IRC Section 1031 exchanges, working with clients nationwide on tax-deferred real estate transactions in accordance with IRS safe harbor regulations.

• Experience

Jeffrey co-owns Realty Exchange Corporation with the firm’s president, Bill Horan, continuing the family business established by Ed Horan in 1990. The firm’s practice encompasses forward, simultaneous, reverse, and improvement exchanges, with a focus on strict compliance with the IRS safe harbor regulations governing tax-deferred exchanges.

Annet M. Thomas-Pett, CPA, Managing Director | PwC

Annet Thomas-Pett is a Managing Director in PwC’s National Real Estate Tax Practice, based in New York. She has over 17 years of experience working with real estate advisors, private equity real estate fund sponsors, both public and private REITs, and high-net-worth individuals. She has extensive real estate experience and is considered a technical expert in federal taxation, particularly in the real estate area.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Thomas-Pett received a Bachelor of Science in accounting and a Master of Science in taxation, graduating summa cum laude, from St. John’s University. She is a certified public accountant in New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

Ms. Thomas-Pett is Vice Chair of the Real Estate Tax Committee of the American Bar Association.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Thomas-Pett has published a number of articles on real estate topics in Taxes – The Tax Magazine, the Journal of Passthrough Entities, and Real Estate Taxation. She regularly speaks at real estate tax conferences sponsored by organizations including the American Bar Association, the Los Angeles County Bar Association, and NAREIT.

• Experience

Ms. Thomas-Pett has worked on a variety of real estate transactions over her career, including REIT due diligence and tax opinions, REIT M&A transactions, FIRPTA planning and structuring, Section 1031 exchanges, and global private equity real estate fund and deal structuring.

Aaron S. Gaynor, Esq., Partner | Roberts & Holland

Aaron S. Gaynor is a Partner at Roberts & Holland LLP in New York, where his practice centers on real estate partnerships and real estate investment trusts (REITs). He focuses in particular on section 1031 like-kind exchanges, acquisitions of private REITs, qualified opportunity zone (QOZ) investments, and distressed debt restructurings.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Gaynor earned his LL.M. in Taxation from New York University School of Law, his J.D. from the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, and his B.A., cum laude, from Brandeis University. He is admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is co-author of the Bloomberg (formerly BNA) Tax Management Portfolio Tax-Free Exchanges Under Section 1031 and the author of the qualified opportunity zone chapter of the LexisNexis treatise Real Estate Financing—Text, Forms, Tax Analysis. His articles on real estate, opportunity zone, and state and local tax developments appear regularly in the New York Law Journal.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Gaynor is a frequent conference speaker, including at the Federation of Exchange Accommodators Annual Conference and the NYU Like-Kind Exchange Conference, where he presented on the Partnership Transactions and Ethics panels in 2025.

• Experience

At Roberts & Holland, Mr. Gaynor practices in the firm’s Real Estate Taxation, Workouts and Debt Restructurings, and State and Local Taxation groups, advising on the structuring of exchanges and real estate investment transactions.

Matthew E. Rappaport, Esq., Partner | Falcon Rappaport & Berkman

Matthew E. Rappaport is Vice Managing Partner of Falcon Rappaport & Berkman LLP, based in New York City, and chairs the firm’s Taxation and Private Client Groups. His practice concentrates on taxation as it relates to real estate, closely held businesses, private equity funds, family offices, and trusts and estates. He is known for his work on complex transactions involving advanced tax considerations, including Section 1031 exchanges, the Qualified Opportunity Zone program, freeze partnerships, private equity mergers and acquisitions, and qualified small business stock.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Rappaport earned both his LL.M. in Taxation and his J.D. from Georgetown University Law Center. He is admitted in New York and before the United States Tax Court, the United States District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and the Supreme Court of the United States.

• Recognition & Leadership

He was selected to the New York Metro Super Lawyers Rising Stars list each year from 2017 through 2025 and received NBI’s 2025 Outstanding Faculty Award. His articles have appeared in The Wall Street Journal, the Journal of Taxation of Investments, ABA Tax Times, the Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Real Estate Journal, The Tax Adviser, and the Thomson Reuters Journal of Real Estate Taxation.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Rappaport serves on the Sales, Exchanges & Basis Committee of the American Bar Association Section of Taxation and is a member of the New York State Bar Association. He is a past Vice Chair of the Taxation Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association and a frequent CLE and webinar presenter on tax planning topics.

• Experience

He advises clients on tax planning, structuring, and compliance for commercial real estate projects, all stages of the business life cycle, generational wealth transfer, family business succession, and executive compensation, and regularly collaborates with attorneys, accountants, financial advisors, bankers, and insurance professionals on matters requiring dedicated tax law expertise.

Mary B. Foster, Esq., President | 1031 Services

Mary B. Foster is President of 1031 Services, Inc. in Seattle, where she has been involved in thousands of exchanges as both attorney and intermediary. Her practice spans day-to-day exchange administration and the structuring of creative and complex exchange transactions, and she lectures frequently before CPAs, attorneys, and other professional groups on tax-deferred exchanges.

• Education & Credentials

Ms. Foster received her B.A. with honors in economics from the University of Michigan (1981) and her J.D. from Boalt Hall, University of California, Berkeley, where she was a member of the Order of the Coif (1984). She holds the Certified Exchange Specialist® (CES®) designation.

• Recognition & Leadership

She is co-author of Tax Free Exchanges Under §1031, a comprehensive treatise on Section 1031 exchanges published by Thomson Reuters/West Publishing, and has served since 1996 as co-chair of and speaker at an annual three-day national seminar on advanced issues in like-kind exchanges. She is a contributing author to publications including Real Estate Taxation, the Journal of Accountancy, Tax Management Memorandum, the Journal of Passthrough Entities, The Journal of Real Estate Taxation, and The Practical Tax Lawyer.

• Professional Involvement

Ms. Foster is a past Chair of the Committee on Sales, Exchange and Basis of the ABA Tax Section and a current member of the Section’s Tax Council. She is a Past President and former Board Member of the Federation of Exchange Accommodators, a member of the American College of Tax Counsel, a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation, and a member of the Washington State Bar Association Tax Section. She is active in federal legislative and administrative efforts relating to IRC §1031 on behalf of the ABA Tax Section and the FEA, and frequently meets with senior staff of the IRS National Office on exchange matters.

• Experience

Before joining 1031 Services in 1996, Ms. Foster was a partner with the Seattle law firm of Tousley Brain Stephens.

David Shechtman, Esq., Shareholder | Flaster Greenberg, PC

David Shechtman is a Shareholder at Flaster Greenberg, PC in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, and has practiced tax and business law for more than 40 years. He advises LLCs, partnerships, and corporations on federal, state, and local tax compliance, taxefficient structuring of operations and transactions, and tax controversies, and is widely recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on tax-deferred, like-kind exchanges.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Shechtman earned his J.D. from Cornell Law School and his B.A. from Swarthmore College. He is admitted to practice in Pennsylvania.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is a Fellow of the American College of Tax Counsel and has been listed in The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law from 2009 through 2026, named Tax Lawyer of the Year in 2015 and 2023 and recognized for Tax Litigation and Controversy in 2026. He was also named a Pennsylvania Super Lawyer in Tax and Business & Corporate law from 2009 through 2012. He is a frequent commentator on tax matters in the Wall Street Journal and other business publications and has authored articles for The Practical Tax Lawyer, the Journal of Taxation of Investments, Tax Management Memorandum, and Tax Notes.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Shechtman has been a member of the ABA Tax Section since 1980 and chaired its Committee on Sales, Exchanges and Basis from 2005 to 2007, and he served as an officer of the Philadelphia Bar Tax Section from 1997 to 2001. Since 1995 he has spoken at every national conference on advanced like-kind exchange issues sponsored by the Center for Professional Seminars, and he is a regular speaker at conferences of the ABA Tax Section, the Pennsylvania Bar Institute, and the NYU and USC Institutes on Federal Taxation. He was part of the ABA Tax Section task force that commented on the U.S. Treasury’s proposed qualified opportunity zone regulations, and previously served as an Adjunct Professor of Tax Law at Temple University’s Beasley School of Law from 2014 to 2019.

• Experience

Mr. Shechtman manages a national practice implementing complex like-kind exchanges of real estate for major oil and gas, telecommunications, and transportation companies, as well as REITs and other real estate owners and investors. His exchange documents are widely used in the industry, and he has served as an expert witness in several like-kind exchange lawsuits. He is also a prominent advisor on the tax consequences of litigation settlements and awards, including structured settlements and qualified settlement funds, having obtained two significant IRS private letter rulings on those issues.

Glenn M. Johnson, Esq., Principal | EY

Glenn is a Principal in Ernst & Young LLP’s US National Tax Department. Glenn leads the US PPP Infrastructure Tax Practice and is the Director of the Leasing Tax Services. Glenn is experienced in planning leasing and other asset-based structured transactions.

• Education & Credentials

Glenn, who joined Ernst & Young in 1998, earned his LL.M. in Taxation from Georgetown University Law School; his J.D., with honors, from Boston University School of Law; and his B.A. in Economics from Wesleyan University.

• Recognition & Leadership

Glenn is the former American Bar Association Chair of the Capital Recovery and Leasing sub-committee. Glenn is a member of EY’s Federal Income Tax Committee and leads EY’s Infrastructure Tax Committee.

• Professional Involvement

Glenn currently is and has been a member of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association Federal Tax Committee for over 13 years. Glenn also is active in a number of civic and charitable organizations.

• Experience

Glenn has provided US tax services with respect to many infrastructure projects where he advises on a wide range of tax issues to both developers and owners. In addition, Glenn has worked with domestic and foreign manufacturers in establishing and operating captive leasing and finance companies. Further, Glenn has significant experience concerning deferred like-kind exchange transactions where he advises on a wide range of tax and operational issues.

Chris Cunningham, Esq., Partner | Elliott, Thomason & Gibson

Christopher Alan Cunningham is a Partner at Elliott, Thomason & Gibson, LLP in Dallas, where he practices across all areas of business tax law — from Ccorporation and partnership taxation to public and private M&A, tax-exempt entities, and multi-state tax planning — with particular experience and expertise in like-kind exchanges and the taxation of real estate investments. Educated as a computer scientist before entering law, he applies an engineering-based, practical, and results-oriented approach to client problems for which he has drawn specific praise from clients.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Cunningham earned his LL.M. in Taxation from the New York University School of Law and his J.D., with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law. He has been admitted to practice in Texas since 2006.

• Recognition & Leadership

He was named to Super Lawyers Rising Stars in 2016 and 2017 and recognized in D Magazine’s Best Lawyers in Dallas for Tax (2015). He was selected to the inaugural class of the State Bar of Texas Tax Section Leadership Academy in 2012 and is a member of The College of the State Bar of Texas.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Cunningham has held numerous leadership roles with the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers, including Co-Chair of its Finance Committee and Sustaining Life Fellow of its Foundation. He is a frequent CLE speaker on like-kind exchanges, Delaware statutory trusts, and transactional tax planning before the Dallas Bar Association, the State Bar of Texas, and the University of Texas CLE programs.

• Experience

Before entering law, he worked for a number of years as an engineer in telecommunications security. His transactional practice has included structuring and forming private equity and real estate investment fund vehicles for investors with differing tax needs, executing private equity acquisitions in the oilfield services sector and subsequent restructurings, advising nontraditional technology startups on venture-preferred and alternative equity structures, and designing succession plans for closely held businesses.

Terence Floyd Cuff, Esq., Of Counsel | Loeb & Loeb

Terence F. Cuff is Of Counsel to Loeb & Loeb LLP in Los Angeles, with more than 44 years of experience in partnership taxation, real estate taxation, and the taxation of real estate investment trusts. He has lectured and written extensively on partnership and real estate tax issues, particularly those arising in the drafting of real estate partnership and LLC agreements, and he also writes and speaks on the advanced use of Excel for finance and tax planning.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Cuff earned his LL.M. from the New York University School of Law and his J.D. from the University of Southern California, Gould School of Law, where he was elected to the Order of the Coif and served as a member of the Southern California Law Review. He received his B.A. from the University of California at Santa Cruz and has been admitted to the California bar since 1977.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is the author of the treatise Drafting and Understanding Partnership and LLC Allocation and Distribution Provisions (2022 ed., Thomson Reuters), addressing tax problems in drafting partnership agreements, partnership tax, and related issues. He is a frequent speaker at national tax programs, including the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation and PLI’s tax planning conferences for partnerships and joint ventures.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Cuff’s practice centers on advising clients on the tax and drafting issues involved in structuring real estate partnerships, LLCs, and like-kind exchange transactions.

• Experience

Before his legal career, Mr. Cuff served as a Marine Corps engineering and guided-missile officer, specializing in combat engineering and the use of HAWK guided missiles for air defense.

Libin Zhang, Esq., Partner | Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson

Libin Zhang is a Partner in the Tax practice of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP in New York, advising clients on a diverse range of real estate, corporate, and international taxation matters. Clients seek his representation in structuring real property transactions, real estate and private equity funds and their investments, cross-border joint ventures, and other tax-efficient transactions, and he counsels REITs, fund managers, sovereign wealth funds, and other companies.

• Education & Credentials

Mr. Zhang earned his LL.M. from the New York University School of Law and his J.D., magna cum laude, from Harvard Law School, where he served as a Senior Editor of the Harvard Environmental Law Review. He received his B.S./M.S., with honors, from the California Institute of Technology, and is admitted to practice in New York.

• Recognition & Leadership

He is the author of the Bloomberg BNA Tax Management Portfolios Passive Loss Rules (2020) and Global Intangible Low-Taxed Income (GILTI) (2022). His 2018 Tax Notes article on the marginal income tax rates of the passthrough deduction was cited favorably in the legislative history of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. He is recognized for Tax by Chambers USA, as a Top 25 Opportunity Zone Influencer (Tax Specialist) by Opportunity Zone Magazine, and by Legal 500 in US Taxes: Non-Contentious and REITs.

• Professional Involvement

Mr. Zhang serves on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association Tax Section and is a member of the Federal Tax Subcommittee of Nareit (the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts). He also serves on the Tax Authority Federal Editorial Advisory Board and is a member of the Tax Forum and the Tax Club.

• Experience

His practice spans corporate real estate, REIT, and broader tax matters, and he is a frequent author and speaker on federal tax developments, including recent commentary on the taxation of foreign governments, domestically controlled REIT regulations, and the corporate alternative minimum tax.

DAY 1, THURSDAY, JULY 30, 2026

WELCOME REMARKS | 8:25am – 8:30am

Kathleen Costello, CMP, Assistant Director, NYU School of Professional Studies, New York, NY

SESSION 1 – BASICS | 8:30am – 9:30am

Review of basic requirements for a like-kind exchange, including the definitions of “real property” and “like-kind.”

Jeffrey Horan, CES, Vice President, Realty Exchange Corporation, Gainesville, VA

Annet M. Thomas-Pett, CPA, Managing Director, PwC, New York, NY

SESSION 2 – ETHICS | 9:30am – 10:30am

Ethics issues, including professional standards for tax advice, conflicts of interest, and preparation of documents.

Aaron S. Gaynor, Esq., Partner, Roberts & Holland, New York, NY

Matthew E. Rappaport, Esq., Partner, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, New York, NY

BREAK | 10:30am – 10:45am

SESSION 3 – STATE AND LOCAL TAX ISSUES | 10:45am – 11:45am

Recent state court decisions on partnership divisions, nonresident state tax withholding and other SALT issues.

Mary B. Foster, Esq., President, 1031 Services, Seattle, WA

Matthew E. Rappaport, Esq., Partner, Falcon Rappaport & Berkman, New York, NY

LUNCH | 11:45am – 1:15pm

SESSION 4 – PARTNERSHIP TRANSACTIONS | 1:15pm – 2:15pm

Acquisitions and dispositions of partnership interests and other partnership transactions involving likekind exchanges other than partnership divisions.

Aaron S. Gaynor, Esq., Partner, Roberts & Holland, New York, NY

David Shechtman, Esq., Shareholder, Flaster Greenberg, PC, West Conshohocken, PA

BREAK | 2:15pm – 2:30pm

SESSION 5 – PARKING | 2:30pm – 3:30pm

Parking relinquished or replacement property within or outside the safe harbor of Rev. Proc. 2000-37 and exchanges into build-to-suit replacement property. Glenn M. Johnson, Esq., Principal, EY, Washington, DC

David Shechtman, Esq., Shareholder, Flaster Greenberg, PC, West Conshohocken, PA

SESSION 6 – PARTNERSHIP DIVISIONS | 3:30pm – 4:30pm

Structuring exchanges where some partners want cash and others seek like-kind exchanges, or partners seek exchanges into separate replacement properties, including special allocations of boot, partnership distributions of tenancy-in-common interests in partnership property (drop and swap), conversions of partnerships into DSTs (synthetic drop and swap), distributions of QI or buyer’s note, partnership divisions into successor partnerships and tracking partnerships.

Chris Cunningham, Esq., Partner, Elliott, Thomason & Gibson, Dallas, TX

Terence Floyd Cuff, Esq., Of Counsel, Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles, CA

DAY 2, FRIDAY, JULY 31, 2026

SESSION 1 – EXCHANGE POTPOURRI | 8:30am – 9:30am

Impact of cost seg studies on relinquished and replacement property, interplay of sections 1031 and 1245, installment sales, separation into part-exchange, part-sale, deed in lieu of foreclosure and other like-kind exchange issues.

Glenn M. Johnson, Esq., Principal, EY, Washington, DC

Libin Zhang, Esq., Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, New York, NY

SESSION 2 – CREDIT NET LEASE PROPERTY, DSTs & TICs & CONTRIBUTIONS TO REIT OPs | 9:30am – 10:30am

Exchanges into and out of credit net lease property or interests in a tenancy-in-common or a Delaware statutory trust, contributions of replacement property to REIT operating partnerships.

Chris Cunningham, Esq., Partner, Elliott, Thomason & Gibson, Dallas, TX

Libin Zhang, Esq., Partner, Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, New York, NY

BREAK | 10:30am – 10:45am

SESSION 3 – PROPERTY IDENTIFICATION | 10:45am – 11:30am

Identification of replacement property (or relinquished property in a safe harbor parking arrangement) in various contexts, such as portfolio exchanges, build-to-suit replacement property, interests in tenancy-incommon and Delaware statutory trusts, treatment of liabilities, when multiple integrated properties can qualify as single property for purposes of the three-property rule, determination of fair market value and what is an unambiguous description.

Terence Floyd Cuff, Esq., Of Counsel, Loeb & Loeb, Los Angeles, CA

Mary B. Foster, Esq., President, 1031 Services, Seattle, WA

SESSION 4 – ASK THE SPEAKERS | 11:30am – 12:15pm

Open Questions & Answers

All Panelists