James M. Rubino

Focus and practice areas

This Stamford, Connecticut practice works across estate planning, taxation, real estate, business law, probate and elder law. Clients include individuals, families and businesses in Fairfield County. The mix leans toward matters where tax rules and personal planning overlap. That pairing runs through most of what the firm handles.

In my opinion the clearest signal here is the depth on tax. Attorney James M. Rubino prepares returns, plans around tax exposure, and represents clients in IRS audits. The firm also handles offers in compromise and installment agreements for people who owe back taxes. When a dispute reaches litigation, the work moves to United States Tax Court and Connecticut Superior Court.

An offer in compromise asks the IRS to settle a tax debt for less than the full amount owed. An installment agreement spreads the balance over monthly payments. Both need careful financial disclosure, and the result depends on what the taxpayer can show about income and assets. Work like this calls for someone who reads tax rules for a living.

What the estate planning work covers

Estate planning here starts with wills and revocable living trusts. The firm also drafts credit shelter trusts and marital deduction trusts for married clients. It sets up family limited partnerships and charitable remainder trusts for those with gifting or charitable goals. Powers of attorney and related documents complete the set.

These instruments do different jobs. A credit shelter trust holds assets so a married couple can use both spouses' estate tax exclusions. A charitable remainder trust pays income to a person for a set period, then passes what remains to a named charity. A tax LL.M. behind that drafting matters, since each choice carries its own tax result.

A family limited partnership lets a family hold assets together and move shares to the next generation over the years. It can serve estate planning and business succession at the same time, which is why it appears in a practice that covers both. That overlap is where the tax training pays off.

Probate and elder law matters

In probate, the firm represents executors, administrators, trustees, conservators and beneficiaries. That work happens in Probate Courts across Connecticut. Probate follows a set path: the court validates the will, appoints a fiduciary, and oversees the payment of debts before assets pass to heirs. A lawyer on that file handles the filings, the accountings and any disputes among the parties.

Elder law forms the other half of this side of the practice. The firm advises on conservatorship, Medicaid eligibility, nursing home expenses and long term care insurance. Medicaid planning turns on strict asset and transfer rules, and small mistakes can delay coverage for months. As a reviewer, I read this pairing of probate and elder law as a fit for clients planning a decade ahead.

Real estate and business services

The firm handles residential and commercial real estate transactions, along with mortgage refinances, foreclosures and partition actions. A partition action divides property that co-owners can no longer share, and it often follows an inheritance or a business split. That connects the real estate work back to the probate and business files.

On the business side, the firm forms corporations, limited liability companies, partnerships and sole proprietorships. It advises on business sales, succession planning and internal disputes. Municipal tax appeals sit alongside this business work. They give property owners a route to challenge a town's valuation of their land.

Foreclosure and refinance work runs on tight deadlines and lender paperwork. A refinance replaces one mortgage with another on better terms, while a foreclosure defense looks for procedural gaps a lender may have missed. Keeping this work in the same office as estate and business matters lets one lawyer see how a property fits a client's wider plan.

Background and credentials

James M. Rubino was admitted to practice in Connecticut in 1982. He was admitted before the Federal District Court for the District of Connecticut and the United States Tax Court in 1983. His schooling starts with a B.S. in Accounting from Fairfield University in 1978. That accounting base shows up in the tax focus of the practice today.

He earned his J.D. from the University of Bridgeport School of Law in 1982, where he graduated summa cum laude and ranked first in his class. He went on to complete an LL.M. in taxation at New York University School of Law in 1987. He belongs to the Fairfield County Bar Association and the Connecticut Bar Association, and he sits on their Estates and Probate and Taxation committees.

Who the firm serves

The firm works with clients in Stamford and the towns around it. Those include Greenwich, Darien, Norwalk, New Canaan, Westport and Wilton. In my opinion the practice reads as a fit for people who want tax and estate advice from one office. The committee seats in estates, probate and taxation track the same two subjects the firm centers its work on.