John Sare is a partner in the tax-exempt organizations practice and the trusts and estates group of Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP. Mr. Sare has extensive experience in the representation of museums, colleges, private foundations and other types of exempt organizations. This work includes advising charities on the issues and options they face with respect to their endowment funds and other types of restricted gifts. Mr. Sare has significant experience representing tax-exempt organizations in connection with inquiries and investigations conducted by the New York State Attorney General’s Office.
Mr. Sare also advises individuals and fiduciaries on legal issues involving works of art, charitable giving, estate planning, and the administration of estates and trusts. He taught the Seminar in Law and the Visual Arts at the Columbia University School of Law from 2001 until 2011 and is a co-author of Estate Planning for Artists and Authors, published by Tax Management, Inc. (2004) and Splendid Legacy: Creating and Re-Creating Your Family Foundation published by the National Center for Family Philanthropy (2002). He has also written and spoken about the New York Non-Profit Revitalization Act of 2013 and the Uniform Prudent Management of Institutional Funds Act and the New York version of it.
In addition to the articles listed below, Mr. Sare is a co-author of several publications, including “Underwater Endowments: Understanding Your Options” (2009), “Impact of the New Form 990 on Conflicts and Disclosure Policies” (2008), and “New IRS Form 990 Changes the Landscape for Public Disclosure by Exempt Organizations” (2008).
Mr. Sare has spoken frequently on art and museum topics, including on artist-endowed foundations at the University of Miami Heckerling Institute and on multiple subjects at the ALI-ABA Conference on Legal Issues in Museum Administration, including Gift Restriction Case Law Overview (2012); Gift Horses, White Elephants, and the Donors Who Send Them (2011): and The Law of Cy Pres and Equitable Deviation (2004).