Janis L. Cowhey

About Janis

Janis Cowhey is a Principal in the Firm’s New York City office. She is a member of its Trusts and Estates Practice Group and the National Practice Leader of its Modern Family & LGBT Services practice group. Her focus is on complex estate, gift and income tax planning; estate and trust administration; planning for same sex couples and unmarried couples; individual and fiduciary tax compliance; and providing corporate counsel to clients.

Janis has refined a broad range of effective estate planning tools including QPRTs, GRATs, SLATs, CRUTs, CLATs, NIMCRUTs, and IDGTs. She works with high-net-worth individuals and families to assist them in developing comprehensive estate plans that minimize taxes while achieving their inheritance goals.

She has developed an expertise in working with domestic partners and non-traditional families including same sex married couples and unmarried couples. She provides income tax planning as well as tax return compliance, including filing amended returns based on the recent Supreme Court ruling in Windsor. She assists LGBT individuals, couples, and families navigate through the complex and rapidly changing tax and legal landscape of estate, gift, and income tax planning.

Janis works closely with owners of closely-held businesses and start-up companies. She advises clients on business strategies, succession planning, sale/purchase of their business, shareholder agreements and operating agreements.

Janis handles trust and estate administration and acts as the fiduciary’s trusted advisor handling all aspects of the process from inception to distribution. She prepares Court ordered as well as informal trust and estate accountings. She guides families and fiduciaries through the complex administration process.

Prior to joining the Firm in 2007, she was with a publicly-traded professional services company. Janis frequently lectures on topics related to estate and gift tax issues; estate planning strategies; and LGBT estate and income tax issues. She has appeared on TV and quoted in print media including the New York Times, as an expert on LGBT issues.