Monika Jain

Monika Jain is an attorney in Holland & Knight's New York Private Wealth Services Group. She advises and represents high-net-worth individuals and families regarding estate and tax planning, wealth transfer and asset protection, business succession planning, estate and trust administration, contested probate matters, matrimonial agreements and charitable giving.

Wealth and Succession Planning for High-Net-Worth Families. Ms. Jain advises and represents high-net-worth clients, including high-profile artists, musicians, real estate investors, private equity fund principals, physicians, attorneys and high-level corporate executives. She also represents families with generational wealth and often works closely with clients' family offices, financial advisors, life insurance consultants and accountants. When preparing complex plans and structures for clients, Ms. Jain ensures that the clients understand them. Importantly, she pays close attention to her clients' goals and needs and prioritizes what the clients would like to achieve while also recommending the most tax efficient and practical way to do so. For clients who own their own businesses, Ms. Jain highlights for them the importance of succession planning and assists them with structuring and implementing a succession plan. For clients with art collections, in addition to having estate planning discussions regarding the art, she also assists clients who wish to sell some or all of their collection during their lifetime by reviewing and negotiating consignment agreements with auction houses.

Representation of Beneficiaries in Dispute Resolution. At times, beneficiaries and trustees of trusts disagree on how trust assets are managed or distributed. Ms. Jain represents beneficiaries in such instances with the goal of avoiding litigation if possible.

Representation of Corporate Fiduciaries. Ms. Jain is well versed in New York Surrogate's Court procedures and assists corporate trustees of trusts on various administrative matters pertaining to their trusteeship, including the judicial settlements of their accounts and a trustee's resignation or appointment.

Charitable Giving. Ms. Jain advises clients on how to best meet their charitable giving goals, whether it be through a donor-advised fund or the creation of a private foundation. She has created numerous private foundations and obtained grant-making approval from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for clients who wish to have their foundations make grants to individuals. Ms. Jain also advises clients on the important recordkeeping and tax-related requirements of private foundations. Additionally, she advises clients on the negotiation and preparation of charitable gift agreements for grants and gifts to museums, universities and other charitable institutions.

Matrimonial Agreements and Representation. Ms. Jain represents clients on their premarital and postnuptial agreements. Because Ms. Jain is well versed in New York's domestic relations law and estate planning laws, she can advise clients on the creation and implementation of tax-efficient structures in their matrimonial agreements. She also has experience with uncontested divorces and can serve as a consultant to a client regarding the negotiation of his or her separation agreement or the enforcement of the terms of a final separation or divorce settlement agreement. Ms. Jain has successfully represented divorced clients with their claims against the estates of their former spouses while avoiding litigation.

Pro Bono. Offering legal services pro bono is important to Ms. Jain. She is currently the pro bono coordinator for Private Wealth Services pro bono matters in Holland & Knight's New York office and works closely with the New York City Bar and its Cancer Advocacy and Elder Law Projects.

In the Community. Ms. Jain is active in local nonprofit organizations. Her experience includes membership on boards and strategic long-range planning committees and, because of her professional experience, she advises such organizations regarding their charitable foundations and general inquiries regarding operating as a nonprofit. Ms. Jain also served for four years as the president of a local 501(c)(7) organization.