Lance Eisenberg joined Berkowitz Lichtstein as a partner in 2013 after being associated with two of the nation’s largest law firms. He devotes his practice to the areas of estate planning and administration, fiduciary counseling and litigation, and tax-exempt organizations.
Lance assists clients with the development of estate plans that meet their personal and financial goals. His counseling on personal issues routinely involves advice on complex family situations, asset protection, business succession and philanthropy. Lance uses simple and complex gift and estate planning techniques to transfer wealth while minimizing the federal and state tax consequences. He has experience preparing a full range of estate planning instruments, including wills, revocable “living” trusts, life insurance trusts, dynasty trusts, grantor retained annuity trusts, qualified personal residence trusts, charitable trusts, shareholders’ agreements, limited liability company and partnership agreements, prenuptial agreements, durable powers of attorney and advance directives for health care.
In addition, Lance represents beneficiaries and fiduciaries (executors, trustees and guardians) with respect to the administration of trusts and estates. His administration practice includes handling probate proceedings; drafting disclaimers and agreements regarding post-mortem planning; preparing gift, generation-skipping transfer, estate, and inheritance tax returns; defending estate and inheritance tax audits; and preparing documents necessary to effectuate interim and final distributions from trusts and estates. Lance has also worked on a wide variety of trust and estate litigation matters, including formal accountings, will contests, guardianships, and actions for construction and reformation of trusts and wills. He has participated extensively in the resolution of these disputes through mediation and other alternative dispute resolution mechanisms. Lance has also obtained favorable private letter rulings from the Internal Revenue Service.
For clients seeking assistance with tax-exempt organizations (private foundations and public charities), Lance forms nonprofit corporations and prepares federal applications for tax exempt status, state charitable registration filings and state applications for sales tax exemption. He also advises tax-exempt organizations on nonprofit corporate governance and activity issues.
Upon graduation from law school, Lance clerked for the Honorable Melvin S. Whitken, Presiding Judge of the Superior Court of New Jersey, Union County, and for the Honorable Rosemary Gambardella, Chief Judge of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court, District of New Jersey.
Lance is a member of the Legal, Wealth and Tax Advisory Committee of the Community Foundation of New Jersey and the Gift Planning Council of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of New Jersey. Lance has authored several articles on estate planning topics and lectures frequently to various business and professional organizations, including the New Jersey State Bar Association, the New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education, the National Football League (NFL) Players Association, and the New York Jets.
Publications
IDGTs for the Soul, Financial Advisor, November 1, 2010
New Jersey Adopts the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act, DBR Private Client Group Alert, July 22, 2009
Estate Planning Update, DBR Private Client Group Alert, March 26, 2009
Estate And Gift Tax Planning Opportunities in the Current Economic Climate, DBR Private Client Group Alert, March 26, 2009
More Than Just Federal Estate Tax: The Importance of Basic Estate Planning in Light of the Current Federal Climate, New Jersey Law Journal, September 11, 2006
Speaking Engagements
How to Survive and Even Enjoy Retirement, Seton Hall University (South Orange, NJ), May 2, 2019
Final Affairs: Estate Planning is a Good Thing, Senior Ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark (Verona, NJ), April 30, 2016
Estate Planning in the Current Environment, Estate Planning Conference 2015: Latest Developments & Advanced Planning Strategies, Center for Professional Education, Inc. (Iselin, NJ), December 4, 2015
Final Affairs: Estate Planning is a Good Thing, Senior Ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Newark (Montclair, NJ), March 14, 2015
Top 10 Responsibilities of a Nonprofit Board Member, Alumni of Lead New Jersey (Roselle Park, NJ), October 16, 2014
Trusts 101, National Business Institute (Princeton, NJ), May 19, 2014
Estate Planning for the Professional Athlete, NFL Players Association Joint Financial Advisors and Agents Conference (Miami, FL), April 25, 2014
Advanced Estate Administration, New Jersey Institute for Continuing Legal Education (Iselin, NJ), November 25, 2013
Basic Estate Planning After the Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, Randolph Senior Citizens Club (Randolph, NJ), June 11, 2013
The Best Defense is a Good Estate Plan: Estate Planning to Avoid Litigation and Other Adverse Results, NJSBA Annual Meeting and Convention (Atlantic City, NJ), May 17, 2013
Estate Planning for 2012 and Beyond, NJSBA Mid-Year Meeting (Las Vegas, NV), October 11, 2012
Seizing Estate Planning Opportunities in 2012, Morgan Stanley (Morristown, NJ), July 27, 2012
Where There’s a Will, The Heirs Will Not Pay, Community Without Walls (Princeton, NJ), November 13, 2011
Estate Planning and the Tax Relief Act of 2010, Exit and Estate Planning Seminar (Princeton, NJ), March 24, 2011
Federal Estate and Gift Tax Changes Under the Tax Relief Act of 2010, DBR Private Client Group CLE Roundtable (Webinar), February 10, 2011
Basic Estate Planning Strategies, New Strategies for CPAs in Financing and Estate Planning, October 27, 2010
Cover Your Assets – Planning for Death, Incapacity and Creditors, New York Jets (Florham Park, NJ), June 22, 2010
The Keys to Estate Tax Planning, Physician Asset Protection Seminar, May 12, 2010
Financial and Estate Planning for Athletes and Entertainers in Turbulent Times, Seton Hall University School of Law Sports & Entertainment Law Symposium (Newark, NJ), April 12, 2010
Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Mercer County Estate Planning Council, October 21, 2009
Sales to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts, Regent Atlantic Capital (Morristown, NJ), May 27, 2009
Cover Your Assets – Planning for Death, Incapacity and Creditors, New York Jets (Florham Park, NJ), June 8, 2009
Estate Planning 101, DBR Private Client Group CLE Roundtable (Webinar), November 25, 2008
Estate and Retirement Planning for New Jersey Attorneys, NJSBA Mid-Year Meeting (Orlando, FL), November 6, 2008
“Superlawyers” and “Rising Stars” are accolades conferred by Thomson Reuters. For the comparison standards employed by the various lawyer rating companies, please visit superlawyers.com, bestlawyers.com, avvo.com or martindale.com.
