overview
Liam K. Healy focuses his practice on helping clients maintain compliance with the myriad of state and federal tax laws and regulations that govern individuals and businesses.
Practice Areas
Bio
He has a broad range of experience in business law and business tax matters including choice and formation of business entities, partnership and shareholder agreements, buy sell agreements, franchise agreements, mergers and acquisitions, business succession planning, real estate, tax free exchanges, non-profit organizations and tax audits. Liam has counseled business owner clients through every stage, from formation to the sale of the business.
A particular focus of Liam’s practice is in the area of employee benefits and ERISA. Liam specializes in designing pension and executive compensation plans to benefit business owners and executives. His practice in this area includes plan design strategies to achieve the maximum allowable contributions for the business owner clients, preparation of determination letter applications, audit representation in IRS and Department of Labor audits, drafting and filing correction applications to correct mistakes in retirement plan operation, drafting and reviewing deferred compensation agreements, severance agreements and non-compete agreements, representing employers in multi-employer plan collection and withdrawal liability matters, and advising clients in M&A transactions involving retirement plan compliance. Liam regularly writes and speaks on the practice of tax and employee benefits law.
He is deeply committed to his clients and enjoys longstanding relationships with them and their families spanning multiple generations. Liam’s clients describe him as loyal, committed, knowledgeable, technical, focused and highly responsive to their needs.
When Liam is not counseling clients or digging into the tax code, he enjoys cooking, reading, exercise, competing with his wife in local 5k events and watching Detroit Pistons and MSU basketball. Liam resides with his wife and daughter in Farmington, Michigan.
Articles
- The Ninth Circuit Questions the Sixth Circuit’s Understanding of “Actual Knowledge” in ERISA Statute of Limitations Decision – BenefitsLink Retirement Plans Newsletter (December, 2018)
- 401(k) Tax Notices Must be Updated for Tax Reform – Lexology (August, 2018)
- VCP Change Represents Opportunity for Larger Plans – Lexology (March, 2018)
- Recent Changes Affecting Your 401(k) and Profit Sharing Plan – Lexology (January, 2018)
- In Re Chilton and the Continuing Question of the Inherited IRA Bankruptcy Exemption in Michigan, Michigan Tax Lawyer, Volume XXXVII, Issue 3, Fall 2011
- Back to Basics: Applying Qualified Plan Limits to Non-Calendar Years, Michigan Tax Lawyer, Vol. XXXVI, Issue 1, Winter 2010
- Is it RIP for RAP in Michigan? Notes and Observation on the Michigan Personal Property Trust Perpetuities Act – Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal (Winter, 2008) (with Larry J. Ferguson)
- Powerless: The Problem of Maenhoudt and the Much Needed Michigan Uniform Power of Attorney Act – Michigan Probate and Estate Planning Journal (Summer, 2007)
Speaking Engagements
- ERISA Litigation Update – Oakland County Bar Association Employee Benefits Section (January, 2019)
- 401(a) Plan Submission and Correction Procedures: Overview and Update – Oakland County Bar Association Tax Section – (May, 2018)
- Choosing a Business Entity – Washtenaw County Bar Association Tax Section (April, 2017)
- ERISA Litigation Update – 28th Annual ICLE Tax Conference (May, 2015)
credentials
Affiliations
- Oakland County Bar Association – Chair of the Employee Benefits Committee
- Michigan State Bar Association
- American Bar Association
- Detroit Bar Association
- City of Farmington Board of Review
- International Society of Irish American Lawyers (ISIAL)
Bar and Court Admissions
- Michigan
- United States District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Education
- Detroit College of Law at Michigan State University, J.D.
- Georgetown University Law Center, LL.M
- Master of Taxation
- University of Michigan, B.A.
Insights & News
January 4, 2023
SECURE Act 2.0 Changes Retirement Plan Landscape for 2023 and Beyond
October 26, 2022
A Fair Warning: 401(k) Plan Sponsors May be Hard-Pressed to Defend Addition of Cryptocurrency Investment Option
August 19, 2022
IRS Pilot Program Provides 401(k) Plans Rare Pre-Audit Notice and Correction Window
January 3, 2022
Liam Healy Named Member at Kerr Russell
June 22, 2021
Challenge to IRS Notice does not violate Anti-Injunction Act
June 22, 2021
Supreme Court Upholds Affordable Care Act
June 22, 2021
Employers Must Update 401(k) Documents for “Third” Cycle
May 14, 2021
Mask or No Mask? CDC’s New Mask Guidance
April 7, 2021
Latest COVID-19 Relief Includes COBRA Subsidy – Employer Action Required
January 15, 2021
Second Round of PPP Money Now Available
January 13, 2021
New COVID Act Includes Employee Benefit Changes
January 4, 2021
New Law Extends Paid Leave Tax Credits, Other Relief
September 28, 2020
COBRA Election Notices and Other Deadlines Remain Extended
July 30, 2020
401(k) Plans have until August 31 to Avoid Required Employer Contributions
June 29, 2020
Travel Recommendations for Summer 2020
June 3, 2020
Michigan Stay-At-Home Order Rescinded
May 27, 2020
Employee Benefits Webinar: CARES Act and Other COVID-19 Legislation
May 18, 2020
Opportunities and Obstacles for Contractors in a COVID-19 Economy
April 28, 2020
PPP Receives Additional Funding but Problems Persist
April 27, 2020
Michigan Extends Stay Home Requirement - Some Activities Allowed to Resume
April 24, 2020
Upcoming Webinar on Employee Benefits Amid COVID-19
April 13, 2020
Business Insights for Michigan's Stay at Home Order Extension
April 6, 2020
Unemployment Benefit Provision Under the CARES Act
April 1, 2020
Paid Leave Coverage Update
March 30, 2020
CARES Act Establishes SBA Paycheck Protection Program
March 30, 2020
CARES Act: Summary of Key Business Tax Provisions
March 30, 2020
CARES Act Relief for Individual Taxpayers
March 30, 2020
Executive Order 2020-26 Extends Michigan Tax Deadline
March 27, 2020
COVID-19 Employer Guidance: How to Navigate the Most Common Challenges
March 24, 2020
How the Stay Home, Stay Safe Order May Affect Your Business
March 20, 2020
IRS ExtendsTax Filing Deadline
March 18, 2020
Paid Leave under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act
March 18, 2020
Michigan Employment Security Act EO Amendment
March 17, 2020
Coronavirus/COVID-19 Business Continuity: A Message to Our Community, Clients and Friends
March 17, 2020
Employer Obligations Arising from COVID-19 (Part 2)
March 16, 2020
Families First Coronavirus Response Act
March 16, 2020
COVID-19 Outbreak Prompts Flexibility in Unemployment Insurance Benefits
March 16, 2020
IRS Relaxes Health Plan Rules to Combat COVID 19
March 13, 2020
Responding to Employee Concerns About Coronavirus/COVID-19 (Part 1)
March 2, 2020
What Do Employers Need to Know About the SECURE Act?
January 16, 2020
Employers Sponsoring 401(k) Plans Must be Diligent with Plan Documents
January 16, 2020
IRS Allows Employer Debt as Tax-Deductible Pension Plan Contribution
January 15, 2020
The SECURE Act is effective January 1, 2020
October 22, 2019
Hardship Distributions from 401(k), 403(b) Plans Need Changes
August 22, 2019
Liam Healy Presents on Resolving the Tax and Health Insurance Conundrum for Small Business
June 27, 2019
Royalty Income is Subject to Self-Employment Tax
June 11, 2019
Collective Bargaining and Employment Benefits
Representative Matters
Successful representation of physician practice in IRS pension plan audit
Successful representation of international private foundation in IRS challenge to tax exempt status
Successful representation of claimant in multi-million dollar probate litigation matter resulting in summary disposition at probate court level and settlement at court of appeals
Successful representation of claimant in real estate tax litigation resulting in reduction from $9,000,000 to $3,000,000 taxable value