About Jonathan

As Chair of the Tax, Trusts & Estates practice at Wells, Jaworski & Liebman, Jonathan Kukin has practiced exclusively in the trusts, tax and estate planning area since 1987.  Prior to joining the firm in mid-2025, he co-chaired the tax, trusts & estate practice at one of northern New Jersey’s leading law firms. He also co-founded Kukin & Bieg, a boutique practice that focused on estate planning, tax and corporate law.

Jonathan represents small and mid-size companies, particularly entrepreneurs, with a specific focus on family-controlled, closely-held businesses. He has also handled real estate commercial leases for growing companies. His legal expertise includes corporate planning, corporate transactions, charitable planning and comprehensive estate planning and he has negotiated many transactions on behalf of professional and commercial clients.

Jonathan says: “In estate and tax planning, an attorney needs to understand the global issues within the family, including practical issues of physical difficulties, mental incapacity, addiction-related, as well as family dynamics. While protecting your client, a better result occurs when you include a sense of legal objectivity.  Personally, for me, it goes far deeper. I treat all my clients as if they were members of my family and often find myself literally unable to sleep until I have handled the issues that are crucial to a client.”

Jonathan lectures frequently on estate planning for high-net-worth individuals, Medicaid planning for senior citizens, and business planning for new and experienced business owners, and is a frequent in-house lecturer for accounting and financial planning firms.  Recently, he has given seminars on family limited partnerships, practical estate planning for the life insurance professional, charitable giving, and estate planning for the small business owner.

Jonathan clerked with the Second Circuit Court Appeals Staff Counsel Office, which is in the forefront of alternative dispute resolution on the Federal appellate courtlevel, and he has remained active in the alternative dispute resolution field, applying these skills while handling client matters.

Jonathan is extensively involved with community affairs, currently serving as past President of Congregation Rinat Yisrael.  He previously served on the executive board of the Moriah School and on the boards of the SAR Academy in Riverdale and the Cardozo School of Law.