Gary A. Zwick

Partner
Practice Head, Taxation - Federal, State and Local
Member, Firm Management Committee

Professional Experience

Gary has a general tax practice, with emphasis on tax planning for closely-held and family businesses and their owners, and high net worth individuals. This encompasses not only income tax planning, but also estate planning, ERISA, business and individual taxation, Subchapters C & S, mergers and acquisitions, employee benefits and IRS, and tax court practice and controversy work. Mr. Zwick also handles criminal tax matters working in conjunction with Ralph Cascarilla, our Managing Partner and a former U.S. Attorney.

Before joining Walter & Haverfield in 1997, Gary, who is also a Certified Public Accountant, spent 21 years in public accounting, including serving for many years as Director of Tax Operations and Head of the Cleveland Office Tax Department for a large regional Bowman 100 CPA firm.

Gary is the principal author of the book "Tax & Financial Planning for the Closely Held Family Business", published by ALI-ABA and a co-author of the book “Transferring Interests in the Closely Held Family Business” also published by ALI-ABA. He has also authored or co-authored over a dozen feature articles for major tax publications including a chapter entitled "Transfers of Property in Exchange for Services - Section 83," for the Lexis Nexis Online Tax Encyclopedia, published in January 2007. For many years, Gary was the Tax Clinic editor of the August rotation in the Tax Adviser, the AICPA's national tax publication. He is also a contributor to the ALI-ABA Practice Checklist Manual on Advising Business Clients II and the book, "Golden Opportunities" by Amy and Armond Budish. Gary is a frequent speaker, both locally and nationally, on tax subjects, with hundreds of speaking engagements to tax professionals. He is board certified in federal tax (State of Ohio) and former Chair of Federal Tax Specialty Board of the Ohio State Bar Association. He was an adjunct professor of Wealth Transfer Tax and Estate Planning at Case Western Reserve School of Law and also was an adjunct professor of tax law at Cleveland State University College of Law.

Recent Presentations

National Business Institute - "Family Limited Partnerships," Independence, Ohio (5/13/10)

Ohio Society of CPA's - "Maximizing Cash Flow for Retirement," Canton, Ohio (1/13/10)
National Business Institute - "Advanced Issues in Business Entity Selection," Cleveland, Ohio (12/8/09)
National Business Institute - "Advanced Issues in Business Entity Selection," Youngstown, Ohio (12/7/09)
Ohio Society of CPA's Mega Tax Conference - "Tax Planning for High Net Worth Individuals," Columbus, Ohio (12/3/09)
2009 Cleveland Tax Institute - "Tax Relief for Victims of Ponzi Schemes," Cleveland, Ohio (11/5/09)
Community Foundation of Collier County - "Sale to Grantor Trust and Variations" and "The Care and Feeding of Family Limited Partnerships and Family LLC's," Naples, Florida (10/22/09)
National Center for Family Business - "Tax Magic," Cleveland, Ohio (10/5/09)
OSCPA Ohio Accounting Show - "Social Security" and "Succession Planning for Small Business," Cleveland, Ohio (9/23/09)
AICPA - "Closely Held Business Succession Planning and Caring and Feeding FLP's," Cleveland, Ohio (7/19/09)
National Business Institute - "Advanced LLC Issues: Mastering Estate Planning Techniques," Akron, Ohio (6/22/09)
ASPPA Benefits Council of Cleveland - "Roth Ira Vs. Non-Roth Ira/Conversions And Non-Traditional Alternatives To Wealth Preservation," Cleveland, Ohio (6/18/09)
John Carroll University "The Heights" - "Advanced Planning for the Closely Held Family Business and their Owner Operators," Cleveland, Ohio (6/9/09)
Society of Financial Planning Services - "Roth Ira Vs. Non-Roth Ira/Conversions And Non-Traditional Alternatives To Wealth Preservation," Cleveland, Ohio (4/22/09)
Ohio Society of CPAs - "Choice of Entity," Cleveland, Ohio (3/10/09)
The Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants - Mega Tax Conference - “Tax Planning for High Net Worth Individuals,” Columbus, Ohio (12/11/08)
NBI - LLC Trends and Developments - “Formation and Operation” and “Understanding Complex Tax Issues,” Cleveland, Ohio (12/9/08)
Kentucky Institute on Federal Taxation - “Creative Tax Consulting for the Closely Held Family Business and their Owner Operators,” Louisville, Kentucky (11/18/08)
Cohen & Company - “Preferred Limited Partnerships” Cleveland, Ohio (11/6/08)
Institute for Continuing Professional Education - “Sale to a Grantor Trust and Variations” Bucyrus, Ohio (10/8/08)
Lorman Education Services, The 8 Greatest Estate Planning Techniques - “Sale to a Grantor Trust and Variations,” “Advanced Planning for Dynasty Trusts,” “The Zeroed Out Grantor Retained Annuity Trust,” and “Advanced Estate Planning for the Elderly” Cleveland, Ohio (9/24/08)
The Ohio Society of CPAs 2008 Cleveland Accounting Show - “Social Security” and “Succession Planning for Small Businesses” Cleveland, Ohio (9/18/08)
Ohio Society of CPAs - “Choice of Entity” Cleveland, Ohio (8/5/08)
AICPA Advanced Estate Planning Conference - “Family Limited Partnerships and Family LLC’s” Chicago, Illinois (7/27/08)
Sterling Education Services Inc., Trust Planning and Drafting Techniques - “Charitable Trusts” Cleveland, Ohio (7/22/08)
American Institute on Federal Taxation - “Section 529 Plans” and “Section 409A - Overview, Selected Topics and Practical Applications,” Birmingham, Alabama (6/18/08)
Cleveland Bar Association - “Elder Law for the Practitioner: The Tax Man Cometh! Watch out for These Tax Issues,” Cleveland, Ohio (6/3/08)
36th Annual Jewish Welfare Fund Charitable Tax Seminar - “Baby Boomer Retirement Planning: The Triple Decker Sandwich Squeeze,” Cleveland, Ohio (6/2/08)
American Cancer Society Planned Giving Committee - “Retirement Planning Strategies: How Can You Retire with Enough Money and Ancillary Considerations,” Cleveland, Ohio (5/21/08)
National Business Institute - “Advanced LLC Issues” Akron, Ohio (5/19/08)

Professional & Community Associations

Gary participates in numerous professional and community activities. He is a member of the Advisory Committee of the Small Business Council of America, the ABA Tax Section, the AICPA Tax Division, and the Tax Club of Cleveland. He previously participated in presenting community Estate Planning seminars for the Southwest Community Health Foundation and the Arthritis Foundation.

Institute for Creative Living - past President, former member of the Board of Trustees
Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association - General Tax Committee and the Estate Planning, Probate and Trust Law sections

Education

Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M. (Taxation), 1981
Cleveland State University, J.D., 1979
Kent State University, B.B.A., (Accounting and Finance), 1976

Licensed to Practice

Ohio
U.S. Tax Court
Federal District and Appellate Courts

Awards & Recognitions

Recognized by the Ohio State Bar Association as a "Board Certified Specialist" from 2005 - present in Ohio Lawyer

Selected for inclusion in the 2011 edition of Best Lawyers in America; Tax Law

AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell

2004-2010: Law & Politics magazine, Ohio Super Lawyer: Tax; Estate Planning & Probate; Employee Benefits/ERISA

2005-2007: Named to Worth magazine’s list of the nation’s “Top 100 Attorneys” in recognition of his expertise in the area of “tax and wealth management;” he was one of only three attorneys in Ohio to receive this honor in 2007

Article of the year award winner in the Tax Adviser, 1993

Articles by Gary A. Zwick

December 2007/January 2008 – Two-part article entitled, “Innovative Strategies for Closely Held Businesses and Their Owner Operators,” Business and Compensation Planning newsletter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals.

December 16, 2008 – In the on-line version of The New York Times, Gary was quoted in the article entitled, "Investors With Madoff May Get Tax Relief;" in which he commented on the "theft-loss" tax rule and its possible use by investors victimized in the Bernard Madoff scandal.

June 2007 – Gary discusses the interplay of partnership tax rules and estate and trust tax rules in situations in which a decedent owned partnership interests at the time of death in his article entitled, “Partnership Interests in Estate and Trust Administration," published in the Cleveland Bar Journal in June, 2007

February 2006 – Current Thinking on Family Limited Partnerships

January 2006– The Tax Adviser, "Tax Consequences to Investors of Broker Fraud and Theft"

November 2005 – Building Flexibility into the Typical Irrevocable Life Insurance Trust; Journal of Taxation of Investments

June 2004 – Equity Compensation Planning for Partners and Employees of Pass-Through Entities

January 2003 – "Rehabilitating old buildings with the government's money" as published in and reproduced by permission of Builders Exchange—The Magazine

May 2002 – Estate Planning for the very elderly; Journal of Financial Planning

March 2001 – How to Prevent and Solve Operating Problems in the Family Business; The Practical Lawyer

October 2000 – Using Conservation Easements for Real Estate - ALI - ABA Estate Planning Course Materials

January 1999 – Family Business Consulting Revisited; The Tax Adviser

July 1998 – Solving Problems in Succession for Family Businesses; The Practical Lawyer

January 1993 – Family Business Consulting; The Tax Adviser