Joseph P. Gaffney, Esq.
Joseph P. Gaffney is a partner at Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, where he is the head of the firm’s Trusts & Estates Practice Group. Mr. Gaffney has served as long-time trust and estate counsel to several family groups of extensive wealth, and has over 30 years of experience drafting and advising clients with respect to wills, GRATs, QPRTs, insurance and other trust agreements, stockholders’ agreements, and all other documents necessary to implement an overall estate plan, as well as health care proxies, living wills and powers of attorney.
Mr. Gaffney regularly advises executors and trustees with respect to their obligations to the various beneficiaries, as well as their tax, accounting, and other fiduciary obligations, the guidelines to be established for trust and estate investments, and tax planning opportunities. Mr. Gaffney has substantial experience in the probate and administrative processes, as well as postmortem tax planning techniques, and the preparation of estate tax returns, fiduciary income tax returns and accountings. Mr. Gaffney regularly appears in Surrogate’s Court in contested probate, construction and administration proceedings, and he has lectured on the topic of trusts.
Prior to joining Eisenberg & Baum, Mr. Gaffney was affiliated with Windels Marx Lane & Mittendorf, LLP and Kurzman Eisenberg Corbin & Lever LLP. Mr. Gaffney received his undergraduate degree in liberal arts from St. John’s University and his Juris Doctorate, cum laude, from St. John’s University School of Law, where he was selected for the school’s Journal of Legal Commentary. His article “Can the IRS “White-Out” the Decision of the Surrogate’s Court? United States v. White” was published by the St. John’s Journal of Legal Commentary.
