Nick Jovanovich

Nick Jovanovich is a partner in the Fort Lauderdale office of Berger Singerman LLP. He is a member of its Business, Finance and Tax Team and its Wealth Preservation and Tax Planning Group. His practice is concentrated in the areas of corporate, partnership and limited liability company structure and tax planning, wealth transfer tax and asset protection planning, bankruptcy and insolvency tax matters and tax controversies both at the federal and state level with particular emphasis on Florida sales and use tax. Mr. Jovanovich has served as special tax counsel in connection with several large bankruptcy cases and frequently advises on bankruptcy tax and debt restructuring tax matters.

He began his career as a Certified Public Accountant (Florida) with one of the largest national accounting firms and later served as in-house tax counsel for a large corporation based outside Washington, D.C. before entering the private practice of law in 1983. Mr. Jovanovich earned his B.S. degree, magna cum laude, from Florida State University in 1975, his J.D. degree, with honors, from Florida State University in 1980, and his LL.M. in Taxation from the University of Florida in 1981. He is "AV Preeminent" rated by Martindale-Hubbell and has been Board Certified by The Florida Bar in Tax Law since 1987.

Mr. Jovanovich is an adjunct professor in the Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning at the University of Miami School of Law where he teaches Corporate Tax, as well as an adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center where he teaches Estate and Gift Tax, and is a frequent lecturer and author on tax, estate planning and asset protection planning topics. He is a member and former Director of the Estate Planning Council of Broward County, a member and former Director/President of the Greater Fort Lauderdale Tax Council, and a member of the American Association of Attorney-Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Jovanovich has been included in such lists as Florida Trend Magazine's "Legal Elite" for Tax Law, the South Florida Legal Guide's "Top Lawyer" for Tax Law and Corporate Law, Florida "Super Lawyers" for Tax Law and The Best Lawyers in America for Tax Law.

J.D., cum laude, Florida State University College of Law
LL.M. in Taxation, University of Florida
B.S., magna cum laude, Florida State University

Florida
U.S. Court of Federal Claims
U.S. Tax Court

Business, Finance & Tax

Corporate
Taxation
Wealth Preservation & Estate Planning

• Tax, estate planning and asset protection planning for high net worth individuals
• Drafted complex employment agreements, shareholders' agreements, partnership and operating agreements
• Involved in the structuring and drafting documents for transactions involving asset sales, stock sales and tax-free reorganizations, including the sale of personal goodwill
• Involved in the structuring and formation of charitable foundations and related tax-exempt matters
• Served as special tax counsel to debtors involved in Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganizations
• Represented numerous companies in connection with sales and use tax disputes with the Florida Department of Revenue
• Represented numerous companies and individuals in connection with disputes with the Internal Revenue Service regarding federal income tax, estate tax and gift tax matters
• Represented the successful plan proponent in a series of reorganization transactions for the iconic, 700-room Pittsburgh Hilton hotel, that included our client's acquisition of all the equity in the debtor. These transactions included: (a) restructuring the hotel's senior secured financing under BlackRock Capital's $49.6 million loan, (b) negotiating and implementing a new Franchise Agreement followed by a Hotel Management Agreement with Wyndham Hotels, (c) consummating $8 million of additional financing from Wyndham, secured by the Hotel's equity, (d) placing up to $11 million in junior mortgage financing from our client as Plan Proponent, and (e) resolving other secured and unsecured claims
• Represented a 100+-store franchisee of a national quick-service restaurant chain in an investment bank-led sales process that generated aggregate sale proceeds of more than $200 million. The sales process encompassed multiple transactions with four unaffiliated sophisticated buyers, seven affiliated selling entities, a national franchisor with the power to block or influence the transaction, and assets located in multiple states, leading to a complex transaction negotiation and structure. Advised client in connection with tax matters.

• Martindale-Hubbell, AV® Preeminent™ rated
• Chambers & Partners USA, America's Leading Business Lawyers, Tax, 2018
• The Best Lawyers in America®, 2014-2019
• Florida Trend, Legal Elite, 2006-2009, 2013
• The South Florida Legal Guide, Top Lawyer, 2007-2014, 2016
• Florida Super Lawyers, 2006-2019

• Certified Public Accountant
• Florida Bar Board Certified Tax Attorney
• Estate Planning Council of Broward County, 1984-Present (Director, 1994-1996)
• Greater Fort Lauderdale Tax Council, 1984-Present (Director, 1991; Secretary, 1991-1992; Treasurer, 1992-1993; Vice President, 1993-1994; President 1994-1995; Advisory Committee Member, 1996-Present)
• Florida Advisory Council for the National Business Institute, Charter Member
• Member, Brazil-American Chamber of Commerce of Florida
• Former Vice-Chair of the Partnership Tax Committee and the Bankruptcy Tax Committee of the Federal Tax Division of the Florida Bar Tax Section
• Graduate of Leadership Broward, Class VII, and member of Leadership Broward Foundation, Inc.
• Adjunct Professor at Nova Southeastern University Shepard Broad Law Center, where he teaches Estate and Gift Tax
• Adjunct Professor in the Heckerling Graduate Program in Estate Planning at the University of Miami School of Law, where he teaches Corporate Tax

Twenty-Seven Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2020 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
June 8, 2020

Twenty-Eight Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2019 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
May 29, 2019

Thirty Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2019 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2018

Thirty-One Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in 2018 Edition of Florida Super Lawyers
June 17, 2018

Berger Singerman Recognized by Chambers USA for 15th Consecutive Year
May 2, 2018

Miami Today quotes Nick Jovanovich in, "Tax reduction on pass-through companies to have big impact"
January 23, 2018

Thirty Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2018 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2017

Thirty-Two Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Super Lawyers Florida Edition
June 8, 2017

CNBC interviews Nick Jovanovich in, "Use this IRA strategy if you think tax reform will happen by next year"
May 14, 2017

International Business Times interviews Nick Jovanovich on, "Trump Tax Policy Could Be Huge Gift To Hedge Fund And Private Equity Millionaires"
April 25, 2017

Twenty-Eight Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2017 Edition of Best Lawyers In America
August 14, 2016

Thirty-Six Berger Singerman Attorneys Recognized in the 2016 Super Lawyers Florida Edition
June 13, 2016

The New Deduction for Pass-Through Entities and Sole Proprietorships
January 21, 2018

To "C" or Not To "C"? A Triumph of S-Election Form Over Substance
April 24, 2017

Make Sure to File Entity Classification Election if Non-Default Tax Status Desired
November 6, 2016

"Catch-Up" Distributions to Holders of Profits Interest
April 28, 2016