Experience
John represents closely-held businesses, their owners, individuals, and their families involving taxation, estate planning, probate and estate administration, wills and trusts, and business succession planning. John has worked with clients to:
- Prepare last wills and testaments, trust agreements, advance medical directives, and powers of attorney;
- Administer estates and trusts;
- Negotiate with the Internal Revenue Service;
- Plan for optimal tax treatment; and
- Form and manage businesses and 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations.
Prior to joining Rees Broome, John spent three years at Alvarez & Marsal in Washington, D.C., concentrating his practice on state and local, federal, and international tax compliance and consulting for individuals and businesses. He then joined Ritzert & Leyton, PC (now known as Gombos Leyton, PC), where he began to focus his practice on estate planning and administration and tax planning and controversy.
In addition to being licensed as an attorney in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia, John holds credentials as a Certified Public Accountant and CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™. It is with this background that John approaches all of his clients’ needs, from a multifaceted approach that allows him to view their situations from a variety of different perspectives. He has also worked with a wide variety of different clients, including professional athletes, members of the military preparing to deploy, families who have children with special needs, small business owners, and many others. Whether a client’s situation calls for a simple will, a special needs trust, a trust intended to hold real estate, or anything else, John is prepared to advise his clients accordingly.
John also maintains a tax controversy practice, where he works with clients to prepare offers in compromise to negotiate their tax debts, negotiates payment plans, prepares and files federal and state estate tax returns, and represents clients during IRS inquiries and audits.
Additionally, John is an Officer with the Maryland Air National Guard, 175th Wing, based in Baltimore County, Maryland.
John is also a former Adjunct Professor of Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College, where he enjoyed teaching his students federal income taxation. Additionally, John is a former Co-Chair of the Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section and the Tax Section of the Fairfax Bar Association, among many leadership positions he has held in the community.
News & Publications
- Virginia Probate Process in 5 Simple Steps, National Business Institute, March 2023
- Maryland Probate Process in 7 Simple Steps, National Business Institute, February 2023
- A Refresher on the Statute of Limitations for Tax Collections: Federal and Virginia, Virginia State Bar Taxation Law Reporter, Winter 2023
- Estate Planning without Building Back Better, presented to the Virginia Society of CPAs, Northern Chapter, February 2022
- Featured in a two-part series discussion on estate tax exemption on the Probate Nation Show which aired on Fairfax Public Television, July 2021
- Offers in Compromise, Fact vs. Fiction, Presented to the Virginia Society of CPAs, Northern Chapter, May 2020
Affiliations
- Officer, Maryland Air National Guard, 175th Wing
- Member, Fairfax Bar Association
- Co-Chair, Wills, Trusts, and Estates Section (2021-2023)
- Co-Chair, Tax Section (2019-2020)
- Member of the Board of Directors, Young Lawyers Section (2017-2019)
- Member of the Board of Directors, NOVA Foundation (2020-2023)
- Member of the Character Committee, Maryland Court of Appeals, 7th Judicial Circuit
- Alumni Council, The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law (2020-2023)
- Northern Chapter, Virginia Society of CPAs
- Chair, Professional Development Conference, Young Lawyers Conference, Virginia State Bar (Tysons – 2017)
- Active member of the Knights of Columbus Council 8600, Fairfax Station, VA, including service as Grand Knight
- Fairfax County Elections Officer
Awards
- Recipient of National Business Institute’s (NBI) Outstanding Faculty Award, 2023
- Recipient of ABA’s Legal Assistance for Military Personnel - Outstanding Legal Assistance Student Award, 2021
- Recipient of Virginia State Bar’s Significant Service Award, June 2018