Michael S. Leone, CPA, JD, LLM (Tax)

Shareholder
Cass, Levy & Leone, An Alpern Rosenthal Company
561-689-7888

Areas of Specialization
Mr. Leone’s specific industry experience includes: assistance with technical analysis of federal estate and income taxes in connection with the administration of estate and trusts, as well as assisting attorneys with drafting shareholder agreements, limited liability company operating agreements, purchase/sale of business agreements, wills and trust agreements, pre-nuptial and post-nuptial agreements, dissolution of marriage property settlement agreements and personal injury structured settlement agreements. Also, Mr. Leone provides assistance to law firms, such as being an expert witness in Florida Uniform Principal and Income Act matters, and law office management consulting concerning compensation for partners/shareholders, partnership/shareholder agreements and attorney trust accounting compliance.

Experience
Mr. Leone has over 30 years of experience in public accounting with national and large local CPA firms in the following areas: tax planning & compliance for corporations, partnerships, individuals & not-for-profit organizations; estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer taxation; income taxation of trusts & estates; pre-immigration tax planning for non-resident aliens and international taxation for both foreign investors doing business in the U.S. & Americans doing business outside the country. Also, Mr. Leone provides tax controversy representation before the Internal Revenue Service and the Florida Department of Revenue.  Mr. Leone has lectured and published articles, including such topics as law firm trust accounting, comparative analysis of entity choices for doing business, partnership and shareholder agreements, estate planning for the terminally ill, U.S. estate and gift tax applicable to foreign individuals, and IRS distribution rules for qualified retirement plans.

Professional Affiliations

• Palm Beach County Estate Planning Council: President (2007-2008)
• East Coast Estate Planning Council: Vice President (2007-2008)
•  Palm Beach Tax Institute: past President
• Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Estate Planning Conference past chair
• American Institute of Certified Public Accountants: Tax Section
• The Florida Bar: Law Office Management Assistance Service Advisory Board, Past Chair; Practice Management and Development Section, Past Chair; Tax Section; Real Property, Probate & Trust Law Section
• American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants, Inc.

Community Affiliations

• University of Miami Citizens Board
• Jewish Federation of Palm Beach County Professional Advisory Committee
• American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science National Ambassador & Member of Palm Beach County Region Leadership Council
• Gold Coast Builders Association Finance Committee

Education

• B.A. (Accounting), J.D., L.L.M. (Tax) from University of Miami