Mark brings more than 30 years of experience as a practicing attorney in these areas of practice. Mark has since retired from the active practice of law and now provides his clients with the same sophisticated yet straightforward estate and tax planning through ALTA Estate Services, LLC. Mark continues to represent your individual, family and business interests with the same level of personal care and concern, at reasonable costs to you.

Mark shares his unique and thought provoking approach to estate planning by sharing his personal experience concerning the inevitable: "The death of a loved one is not as difficult to handle as the insanity that will follow if you don't plan your estate properly." Mark is referring to the complex process of settling an estate. By his own experiences following his father's death, the probate process that followed was extremely frustrating, costly and time consuming.

"I don't want anyone to go through the experiences I endured following my father's death." This was Mark's first case, twenty years ago, and was the singular event that has molded his practice philosophy: "Peace of Mind."

Estate Planning

ALTA handles all areas of estate planning, including review, preparation and drafting of last will and testaments, codicils, living wills, durable powers of attorney for financial and medical needs, and revocable and irrevocable living trusts. ALTA prepares and closes family limited partnerships, including the coordination of funding program, establishing valuation discount for "minority ownership and control" pursuant to Internal Revenue Code provisions and organizing gifting programs. Further, credited for writing copyright format of "straight line" revocable living trust with conversion features for tax credit shelter provisions. We also handle the preparation and filing, as well as administration, of estate probates and coordination with surviving interested parties in collection, accounting and distribution of estate assets. ALTA is involved in tax planning in all areas of estate planning practice.

Corporate

ALTA will review, negotiate and draft corporate organization and reorganization documents including business acquisition agreements, stockholder agreements, asset purchase agreements, public and private securities offering memoranda, SEC Registration Statements and related disclosure documents. We will review, negotiate and draft your necessary employment agreements, management agreements, partnership agreements, license agreements, distribution agreements, lease agreements, security agreements and related lien instruments, escrow agreements, option agreements and other forms of corporate documentation. We will also assist you in your tax planning in all areas of corporate practice.

Real Estate

ALTA handles numerous real estate transactions including preparation, review and negotiation of contracts of sale, leases and loan documents. We represent clients at closings involving real estate purchase and sale, cooperative share interest acquisitions, and other forms of real estate transfers, as well as formal litigation concerning numerous issues of dispute involving related real estate matters. We can prepare warranty deeds, deeds of trust, escrow agreements, finance and refinance agreements and closing statements. We represent lenders such as Chase Manhattan Mortgage Company, Northwest Bank Private Banking Division and Mitchell Financial Services, Inc. in lending activities. We will review and settle loan packages involving Housing and Urban Development and private lender and seller carry-back financing. We also participate in numerous real estate continuing legal education seminars and workshops involving real estate law and related ethical considerations such as client representation and avoiding conflicts of interest. We will also assist you in your tax planning in all areas of real estate practice.

Also successfully represented numerous clients in National Association of Security Dealers (NASD) arbitrations. Extensive client contact and development in all areas of practice.

Positions Held

1995 to Present:  ALTA Estate Planning Services, LLC; Tucson, Arizona; Senior Advisor
1989 to 1999:       Jacob & Fishbein; Tucson, Arizona; Senior Partner
1984 to 1988:       Solomon, Schuman & Fishbein; New York, New York; Managing Partner
1979 to 1984:       Burns, Jackson, Summit, Rovins, & Spitzer; New York, New York; Associate Attorney

Education

Syracuse University, College of Law; Syracuse, New York, J.D., May 1979
Law School Moot Court Dean's List: 1978, 1979

Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, Bachelor of Science, Business Administration, 1976
Dean's List: 1974, 1975, 1976. Graduated in top 10% of class

Past and Present Associations

Arizona State Bar Association; Arizona State Bar Membership Assistance Committee Chairperson; New York State Bar Association; Pima County Bar Association; American Bar Association; Chairman of the Board, Guardianships of Southern Arizona; Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council; ALS Association of Southern Arizona; Southern Arizona Alzheimer Association; Accredited Member Southern Arizona Better Business Bureau