Sabino Biondi

Sabino Biondi focuses his practice on estate planning, estate and trust litigation, and estate and trust administration. He represents individuals in a broad range of estate and trust matters, both domestic and international. He also represents families with multigenerational wealth, assisting them in the structuring of their estate plans to minimize gift, estate, and generation-skipping taxes. With his knowledge of the estate tax treaties between the U.S. and various foreign countries, Sabino is also experienced in assisting clients with assets or residences in more than one country.

Sabino has counseled clients and their families regarding general and sophisticated estate planning techniques involving closely held and family-owned businesses, commercial and residential real estate holdings, insurance policies, and intrafamily transactions, with an emphasis on shifting appreciation potential to younger generations. Sabino’s estate plans have involved the formation of charitable and non-charitable trusts and the use of structures formed in low-tax and favorable asset protection jurisdictions, which can provide overall tax benefits and extra protection for clients seeking to safeguard their wealth from future potential creditors and are favored by persons in high-risk professions who may be exposed to lawsuits arising from negligence, intentional torts, and contractual claims.

With extensive experience in all facets of surrogate’s court litigation, Sabino has represented and counseled fiduciaries and individuals in matters involving estate and trust administration, probate, complex accountings, and related litigation in surrogate’s courts throughout New York State and superior court in New Jersey. Sabino’s litigation experience comprises numerous matters involving claims for breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, and conflicts of interest; petitions for instructions, reformation, removal of fiduciaries, as well as various will and trust contests.   He additionally handles potentially sensitive family matters, such as the preparation of prenuptial and postnuptial agreements, and counsels clients on elder law issues.

Prior to joining the firm in 2008, Sabino was an associate with the New York office of Cozen O’Connor. He earned his B.A. in Business Administration, magna cum laude, from Bernard Baruch College, where he was made a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, New York’s Epsilon Chapter, in recognition of high academic achievement in finance and investments. While attending Baruch, Sabino was an analyst at the New York City Campaign Finance Board. He earned his law degree from Brooklyn Law School. While in law school, he served as an intern for the NYSE Division of Enforcement and was the senior law clerk for the Counsel to the Public Administrator for Kings County.  Sabino is an active member of the Malverne/North Lynbrook community, where he served as a member of the school board of Our Lady of Lourdes and the parish finance committee.

• Has represented and counseled a diverse client base in matters of estate planning and asset protection, including real estate owners, real estate developers, and various members of closely held enterprises.
• Has planned estates in excess of $100 million for sophisticated New York-based philanthropists.
• Represents the patriarchs and family of a well-known importer and producer of Italian foods.
• Represents the founders and family of a well-known trucking and distribution company.
• Created an asset protection and wealth transfer plan for an individual with corporate securities prior to his company’s IPO, as well as handling the administration of trusts valued at more than $100 million, resulting from the IPO.
• Created foundations for families with philanthropic and generational gifting goals.
• Represents individuals in matters involving the administration of estates of decedents owning property in the U.S. and Italy, persons with dual citizenships with the U.S. and Italy, and persons with assets in both the U.S. and United Kingdom.
• Successfully represented the beneficiaries of a $60 million trust in obtaining a judgment against the trustee for the damages caused to the trust resulting from the trustee’s improper investments, self-dealing, and conflicts of interest.
• Obtained a judgment, without the need for a bench trial, in favor of his client in a proceeding seeking the return of assets wrongfully withheld from the estate by the decedent’s attorney-in-fact for acts he committed during the decedent’s lifetime.
• Represented individual clients and institutional fiduciaries in numerous matters involving complex accountings, claims for breach of fiduciary duty, self-dealing, and conflicts of interest, applications for instructions and reformation, petitions for the removal of fiduciaries, as well as various will and trust contests.

• "Changes in Laws affecting Estate Planning", Inside the Minds: Strategies for Trusts and Estates in New York (2009)

• International Estate Planning -- New Jersey State Society of CPAs (NJCPA) Estate Planning Conference, 2016
• Changing the Unchangeable: How Decanting can be used to Change Trust Provisions -- Oppenheimer & Co., 2016
• Decanting Procedure, Uses and Strategies – BNY Mellon Fiduciary Conference, 2015
• Sabino has lectured as guest speaker and panelist on estate planning opportunities and current developments at forums held by various financial institutions for their clients.