Blog for Estate Planning Professionals

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

TAXES—The Tax Magazine®: The Mathematics of Harvesting Losses and Gains

The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. is pleased to share with you a copy the article, "The Mathematics of Harvesting Losses and Gains" by Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished) found in the Family Tax Planning Forum that appeared in TAXES - The Tax Magazine®'s April 2012 edition.  This article presents a model for deciding when it makes sense to harvest losses and explore its planning implications and quantify the power of gain harvesting in 2012. Click here to read the full article.

This article is reprinted and redistributed with the publisher's permission from TAXES - The Tax Magazine®, a journal published by CCH, a Wolters Kluwer business. Copying or distribution of this article without the publisher's permission is prohibited. To subscribe to TAXES - The Tax Magazine® or other CCH Journals please call 800-449-8114 or visit cchgroup.com.

Download Free Charts & Resources from Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished)

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This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Out of the Ashes: CPA Robert Keebler is Leading Keebler & Associates LLP to the Cutting Edge of Tax and Estate Planning

Reposted from Financial Advisor Magazine | By Eric L. Reiner | May 2012

The financial crisis has been blamed for a lot of things. Setting in motion the events that launched a topflight planning boutique isn’t usually one of them.

The Ponzi schemes exposed by the crisis affected clients at the firm CPA Robert S. Keebler was with at the time. As he delved into the tax issues surrounding clients’ losses, Keebler, a nationally known speaker and writer based in Green Bay, Wis., came to a realization. Few, if any, noted experts existed in the obscure world of theft-loss deductions. So he set out to become one.

“I just knew someone had to step up and figure it out,” Keebler says. He invested time in learning the ins and outs of this little-used itemized deduction, then produced seminars and articles on the subject for practitioners.

Keebler is perhaps best known for his work in retirement plans and advanced estate planning, as well as for making private letter ruling requests from the Internal Revenue Service. Certainly he handles plenty of other matters as well, but foraying into the deep recesses of theft losses turned out to be a confidence builder and springboard. “Once we did that, we weren’t afraid to do other things,” he says.

Given such conviction, plus a little career coaching and encouragement from industry icons Sid Kess and Steve Leimberg, he made the inevitable move. In late 2010, Keebler left Top 20 accounting firm Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, where he had been a partner for years, to found Keebler & Associates with key members of his long-standing team. Guess what?

“The phone continues to ring,” says Keebler, 51. Frankly, the 18-month-old firm is doing fine, thank you very much.

In addition to serving the firm’s clients’ needs, “we do a lot of work for financial advisors, CPAs and law firms,” says Keebler, who remains down-to-earth and approachable despite his professional stature. “Most of our referral work comes from people who have heard me speak.” But then that’s always been Keebler’s rainmaking methodology.

How To Find Work In Green Bay And Beyond
“When I came up to Green Bay from Milwaukee in 1990, the only way to bring in work was to go out and teach local professionals like the Green Bay Estate Planning Council. You hoped if you spoke to enough people and showed them you had expertise that they would send you work,” he says. And they did.

As a speaker, “Bob is exceptionally good at breaking down high-level planning so that everybody in the room can understand and apply the ideas in their practice,” says Las Vegas attorney Steve Oshins, a prominent asset protection and estate planning expert with whom Keebler recently conducted a full-day seminar for a national accounting firm.

Keebler claims he was “driven to teach” once he discovered he was good at it, and that propelled him to the next level. Workshops for large insurance and financial-services companies, along with seminars for financial advisors, accountants and attorneys, take Keebler coast to coast these days. He also expands his reach with technology—through podcasts, webinars and teleconferences accessible through www.keeblerandassociates.com. The result is a clientele more national than local.

Skill Set
Like his teaching, Keebler’s writing for CCH, Leimberg Information Services and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants emphasizes clarity and usefulness.

“Bob is able to get ahead of the curve in how to use estate planning tools and techniques and explain what they look like when they are modeled. He is a visionary,” says one of his editors and mentors, estate planning legend Steve Leimberg, namesake and CEO of the tax news and analysis service.

Keebler also holds awards such as the “Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner” designation (there are only 66 such individuals), which bears further testament to his technical prowess. But that alone does not a firm build. The truth is, Keebler is a pretty sharp cookie when it comes to marketing, too.

Staying on the cutting edge is vital to his teaching and writing brand. “So we move very quickly,” Keebler says. For instance, when the IRS recently announced an extension of the deadline for certain estates to elect the spousal portability of the estate-tax exemption, within hours Keebler & Associates blasted an e-mail to practitioners spotlighting the affected clients and steps advisors should take.

“We try to be the first people on the block with the news and how it’s going to apply,” says one of Keebler’s three partners, Stephen J. Bigge.

Inside The Engine Room
Each morning at the firm, another partner, estate-planning attorney Michelle Ward, begins her day with a visit to the Web sites of the IRS and a variety of subscription services. Her purpose is singular: to sift through the myriad news alerts and find the nuggets. “I’ll check to see whether anything relevant to our clients has come out and, if so, I’ll post it to our Twitter account and Facebook, and then pass it on to Bob,” says Ward, who has worked with Keebler since he hired her into the tax profession in 2000.

When Keebler deems a topic worthy of dissemination, he then turns to one of his partners. “We’ll figure out how the pronouncement applies to our client base and do a brief write-up on the rule,” explains Bigge, who Keebler hired right out of school from their shared alma mater, Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wis., in 2001.

Backed By A Power Trio Of Experts
Keebler is the front man, enabled by his three partners’ strong, complementary backgrounds. Ward, an attorney with a master’s in law (LLM), tends to handle the research for private letter ruling requests while Bigge, a CPA, crunches the numbers for Roth conversions, sales to intentionally defective grantor trusts and other strategies clients are mulling.

The other principal, Peter J. Melcher, holds an LLM in tax plus an MBA from the University of Chicago. “Pete does the heavy tax research for white papers and opinion letters,” Bigge says. An executive assistant, Emily Rosenberg, rounds out the five-person operation.

Many accounting firms thrive on audits and tax-return preparation—dubbed “annuity work” by the CPA profession because of these services’ recurring nature—but that’s not the case at Keebler & Associates. There is no audit practice, and preparing returns accounts for only about 10% of total revenues. “Most of our revenues come from either Bob’s speeches or new tax-planning work from existing clients or referrals,” reports Bigge, who doubles as the firm’s chief financial officer.

An Eye On The Future
Despite the shop’s solid performance since inception, Bigge contemplates the future like a good CFO should. “The challenge is continuing to bring in work,” he says. “A lot of times we get called in as a specialist, and once we have resolved the client’s issue or helped him put a plan in place, he moves on and we have to look for our next planning client.”

A potential damper on the firm’s unique private letter ruling business is a recent hike in the fee the IRS charges for some ruling requests. That will make the requests feasible for fewer taxpayers, according to Ward.

In the firm’s estate planning business, a big question mark is what will happen to the federal estate tax exemption. Under current law, it will revert to $1 million per person at the end of the year. That would expand opportunities for estate planners. But if the exemption were maintained at its current $5 million, it would continue to constrain the market. In that case, says Bigge, “we’ll focus more on tax-sensitive retirement planning. That’s really at the intersection of finance and tax, where no one else wants to play.”

Developing drawdown strategies for retirees is one area Keebler has been putting time into lately. “If the client has Roth money, pretax money in an individual retirement account and after-tax money in a personal account, what does he spend first and how does he take it out in the most tax-efficient way? That’s where the action is,” Keebler says, adding, “Everyone is going to need a financial planner because this is so complex.”

Planners, for their part, will need to know more about taxes. “With the compression in tax season—because 1099s are going out later and later—having a 1040 prepared at a CPA firm is becoming more expensive” as accountants attempt to make a full year’s living in a shorter period, Keebler says. “The result is non-CPAs are preparing more income tax returns, and because of the seasonal nature of their businesses, often they are not equipped to do tax planning. So financial planners will have an opportunity to take a larger role in income-tax planning with more middle- and upper-middle-class families,” Keebler predicts.

Plans to grow Keebler & Associates stop at the point where the partners are managing the firm instead of bringing in lucrative speaking fees or national billing rates. From that perspective, an experienced practitioner, rather than a neophyte needing training, could be a more viable addition to the firm.

But no matter where the boutique winds up, it will have taken Keebler a long way from those local speaking gigs 20-plus years ago, even if ascending to the national stage and circulating with some of the biggest names in planning-dom were not his original goals.

“I was never shooting for the stars,” Keebler says. “It just kind of happened.”

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Sources: fa-mag.com

Friday, May 11, 2012

Steve Oshins & the Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust

Reproduced with Permission by and Courtesy of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI).  For information about how to subscribe to LISI, click here.

“After approximately 15 years since the first DAPT legislation passed, not a single DAPT has been tested all the way through the court system.  Most likely this is because such a large supermajority believes that if tested the DAPT will work to protect its assets from a creditor of the settlor.  However, despite the very high likelihood of protection, if there is a way to increase the odds of success even more, then such a strategy should be utilized whenever possible.

The Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“Hybrid DAPT”) is such a strategy, and it is very simple.  The Hybrid DAPT is like a regular DAPT except that the settlor isn’t an initial discretionary beneficiary of the trust, but can be added later.”

We close this week Steve Oshins’ commentary on a strategy he refers to as the “Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust.”  According to Steve, the Hybrid DAPT puts the client in a significantly stronger position than with a traditional Domestic Asset Protection Trust.  As he explains below, this strategy can be used with both an incomplete gift version and a completed gift version of the Domestic Asset Protection Trust. 

Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) is a member of the Law Offices of Oshins & Associates, LLC in Las Vegas, Nevada.  Steve is a nationally known attorney who is listed in The Best Lawyers in America® and has been named one of the Top 100 Attorneys in Worth magazine.  He was inducted into the NAEPC Estate Planning Hall of Fame® in 2011.  He has written some of Nevada's most important estate planning and creditor protection laws, including the law making the charging order the exclusive remedy of a judgment creditor of a Nevada LLC and LP (in 2001, 2003 and 2011), the law changing the Nevada rule against perpetuities to 365 years (in 2005) and the law making Nevada the first and only state to allow a Restricted LLC and a Restricted LP creating larger valuation discounts than any other state allows (in 2009).  He is also the author of the Annual Domestic Asset Protection Rankings which you can download from our Free Resources page.  Steve can be reached at 702-341-6000, x2 or at soshins@oshins.com.  His law firm's web site is http://www.oshins.com. 

Before we get to Steve’s commentary, members should take note of the fact that a new 60 Second Planner by Bob Keebler was just posted to the LISI homepage. In his commentary, Bob reviews the May 4th opinion by the Ninth Circuit in Estate of Morgans, where the issue presented was whether Section 2035(b)’s gross-up rule applies in the case of a surviving spouse's deemed gift of a QTIP remainder. You don't need any special equipment to listen- just click on this link.

Now, here is Steve Oshins’ commentary:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Asset protection has become one of the hottest areas of law and has become the ideal complement to estate planning.  Consequently, the Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”) has become one of the most popular asset protection tools in the planner’s toolbox.  As more states have enacted DAPT legislation, practitioners have started doing more DAPTs for their clients.

FACTS: After approximately 15 years since the first DAPT legislation passed, not a single DAPT has been tested all the way through the court system.  Most likely this is because such a large supermajority believes that if tested the DAPT will work to protect its assets from a creditor of the settlor.  However, despite the very high likelihood of protection, if there is a way to increase the odds of success even more, then such a strategy should be utilized whenever possible.

The Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust

The Hybrid Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“Hybrid DAPT”) is a strategy that should increase the probability that the trust assets will be protected.  And it is very simple.  The Hybrid DAPT is just like a regular DAPT except that the settlor isn’t an initial discretionary beneficiary of the trust, but can be added later.  Thus, the trust is initially set up for the benefit of the settlor’s spouse and descendants, for example, but not for the settlor.  By not including the settlor as a beneficiary of the trust, the Hybrid DAPT is by definition a third-party trust and therefore almost certainly avoids the potential risk of uncertainty of a regular DAPT.

Especially where the settlor is married and has a strong, trusting relationship with his or her spouse, is there any good reason that the settler must have his or her name in the trust agreement as a beneficiary?  It is very simple to indirectly access the trust assets through the spouse.  And the trust agreement should define the “spouse” using a “floating spouse provision” that defines the spouse as the person the settlor is married to and living with from time to time.  This gives the settlor the ability to access the trust assets through a subsequent spouse in the event of a divorce or the death of the settlor’s spouse.

If the settlor has no spouse, then it becomes more difficult to access the assets.  However, since a good asset protection planner will be sure to leave sufficient wealth outside of the client’s asset protection trust, in most cases the settlor won’t have to work through this issue anytime soon.

If the Settlor Is Added as a Beneficiary

In case the settlor needs to be a discretionary beneficiary of the Hybrid DAPT sometime in the future (i.e., if the settlor has no spouse or child that will “share” a distribution with the settlor and the settlor now needs a distribution), the trust agreement provides that the trust protector or independent trustee can add additional beneficiaries, including the settlor.  However, if the settlor is added, then the Hybrid DAPT becomes a regular DAPT and thus risks that the law is still unsettled on DAPTs (even though most people believe that they work).

What happens if the settlor suspects that a creditor attack may be forthcoming?  Or what if the settlor is considering filing bankruptcy?  In either case, very far in advance of the problem occurring, the settlor would ask the trust protector or independent trustee to remove him or her as a discretionary beneficiary. 

§548(e) of the 2005 Bankruptcy Act

It is extremely unlikely that a DAPT settlor will file for bankruptcy, especially if the settlor has an “old and cold” DAPT that is past the applicable state’s statute of limitations period.  In fact, of the hundreds of DAPTs created by the author, not one of those clients has gone through bankruptcy. 

However, in maintaining the philosophy of this commentarythat it is important to build into the structure every safeguard available, it is interesting to note that the Hybrid DAPT most likely does not fit the definition required by §548(e) of the 2005 Bankruptcy Act that would otherwise potentially claw back the assets of a traditional DAPT.  The requirements of §548(e) are as follows:

(1) In addition to any transfer that the trustee may otherwise avoid, the trustee may avoid any transfer of an interest of the debtor in property that was made on or within 10 years before the date of the filing of the petition, if—

(A) such transfer was made to a self-settled trust or similar device;

(B) such transfer was by the debtor;

(C) the debtor is a beneficiary of such trust or similar device [emphasis added]; and

(D) the debtor made such transfer with actual intent to hinder, delay, or defraud any entity to which the debtor was or became, on or after the date that such transfer was made, indebted.

Unless the settlor is added as a discretionary beneficiary of the Hybrid DAPT, Subsection (C) doesn’t apply.  Also, arguably Subsection (A) doesn’t apply either since the Hybrid DAPT isn’t a “self-settled trust or similar device” at the time the provisions are applied.

The Completed Gift Hybrid DAPT

Most DAPTs are designed as Incomplete Gift DAPTs where the sole objective is asset protection.  However, many DAPTs are designed as Completed Gift DAPTs where the settlor is a discretionary beneficiary of a trust designed with the following attributes: 

(i)                It’s a completed gift for gift tax purposes,

(ii)             The settlor is a discretionary beneficiary,

(iii)           The trust assets are protected from the settlor’s beneficiaries, and

(iv)           The trust assets are outside of the settlor’s estate for estate tax purposes at the settlor’s death.

The Completed Gift DAPT strategy was approved by the Service in PLR 200944002 where a resident of a DAPT jurisdiction established the DAPT using the laws of that DAPT jurisdiction. 

However, with respect to a resident of a non-DAPT jurisdiction, although most practitioners are comfortable that this strategy works, whether the trust assets are open to creditors of the settlor is still uncertain, since it is unclear which state law will apply for creditor purposes.  The DAPT will be includible in the settlor’s estate at death if the trust assets are open to the settlor’s creditors.  If this were the case, this would occur under IRC §2036(a)(1) since the settlor would be treated as retaining the ability to run up creditor debts which can be paid out of the trust at the settlor’s death. 

IRC § 2036(a)(1) provides that the value of the gross estate shall include the value of all property to the extent of any interest therein of which the decedent has at any time made a transfer (except in the case of a bona fide sale for an adequate and full consideration in money or money's worth), by trust or otherwise, under which the decedent has retained for life or for any period not ascertainable without reference to the decedent's death or for any period that does not in fact end before death the possession or enjoyment of, or the right to the income from, the property.

The Completed Gift DAPT reduces this risk significantly since the settlor isn’t a discretionary beneficiary of the trust and, thus, it isn’t a self-settled trust.  In an ideal scenario, the settlor will never need to be added as a discretionary beneficiary by the trust protector or independent trustee.  However, if the settlor does need to be added at a later date, since the Completed Gift Hybrid DAPT also gives the trust protector or independent trustee the power to remove beneficiaries, as long as the settlor is removed as a discretionary beneficiary more than three years prior to death, there is no estate tax inclusion since IRC §2035 (the three-year contemplation of death rule) won’t apply.

Down and Dirty

To this date, there is still no case law saying that a DAPT does or does not work to shield the assets from the creditors of a settlor who is a resident of a non-DAPT jurisdiction.  Although all the cases have settled, or the creditors have decided not to sue, the estate or asset protection planner must still consider how to plan if the law does go the wrong way.  Unfortunately, although there will ultimately be case law, whether good or bad, unless the case law goes through the appeal process and is ultimately decided by the highest court, we still won’t have any certainty.  So it is prudent to plan for this uncertainty.

If the settlor has set up a Hybrid DAPT, whether as an Incomplete Gift Hybrid DAPT or as a Completed Gift Hybrid DAPT, if the settlor wants to be sure to preserve a portion of the Hybrid DAPT’s assets if the settlor is being added in as a discretionary beneficiary, the trustee can split the Hybrid DAPT into two separate trusts and the trust protector or independent trustee can add the settlor as a discretionary beneficiary of only one of the two trusts so as not to taint the other trust.

For example, if there are $10 million of assets in the Hybrid DAPT, the trustee might divide the trust into two trusts – the “Clean Hybrid DAPT” which doesn’t include the settlor as a discretionary beneficiary and has $8 million of assets, and the “Dirty Hybrid DAPT” which includes the settlor as a discretionary beneficiary and has $2 million of assets.  Thus, the risk has been transferred away from the Clean Hybrid DAPT to the Dirty Hybrid DAPT (which, again, should be protected, but is potentially being sacrificed in the interests of not tainting the assets in the Clean Hybrid DAPT).  This is nothing more than a risk management decision.

COMMENT:

It is imperative that the asset protection planner create a plan with the highest probability of success.  In most cases, it is possible to significantly increase the protection by simply using a Hybrid DAPT rather than a traditional DAPT.  This commentary describes this structure, and also creates a further structure where the Hybrid DAPT can be divided into a Clean Hybrid DAPT and a Dirty Hybrid DAPT, so that even if the Dirty Hybrid DAPT is unsuccessful, it doesn’t taint the Clean Hybrid DAPT. 

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU HELP OTHERS MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE!

Steve Oshins

TECHNICAL EDITOR: DUNCAN OSBORNE

CITE AS: LISI Asset Protection Planning Newsletter #200 (May 10, 2012) at http://www.leimbergservices.com  Copyright 2012 Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI). Reproduction in Any Form or Forwarding to Any Person Prohibited – Without Express Permission.

CITES: PLR 200944002; Oshins & Keebler on Mortensen:  “No, the Sky Isn’t Falling for DAPTs!”, Asset Protection Newsletter #186 (Oct. 31, 2011); Battley v. Mortensen, Adv. D.Alaska, No. A09-90036-DMD, May 26, 2011 (Original Memorandum) and July 18, 2011 (Memorandum Denying Motion For Reconsideration).

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Sources: Leimberg Information Services & Steven J. Oshins, Esq.

Monday, May 07, 2012

Estate Planning for the Blended Family: The Intersection of the Head and the Heart

By L. Paul Hood, Jr., Esq. & Emily Bouchard

A prospective new client contacts you about working with him and his partner.  Within minutes you learn that they are unmarried with each having children from prior relationships as well as one of their own together.  Do you experience a thrill of excitement at having such a complex and fascinating potential couple to work with, or does this scenario strike fear in your heart?  If you’re like most of the estate planners we work with, fear would be your first response.  Are you aware that your prospective client is most likely afraid as well, but for different reasons?

In Estate Planning for the Blended Family (Self-Counsel Press 2012), we identify and discuss 11 fears that clients can have when it comes to the estate planning process.  These fears include everything from confronting fear of death, to fear of the estate planning process itself.  On the other side of the equation, the biggest concern for the estate planner (or should be if it’s not already) is the likelihood of conflict of interests within the blended family system.

The reality is that estate planners need to be able to manage their own emotions, as well as those of their clients, around these fears and potential conflicts.  It’s not enough to understand the intricacies of estate planning vehicles to avoid taxes and transfer assets efficiently – it’s also necessary to make sure you are addressing the core concerns (and yes, fears) that are part of the process.  These fears prevent people from doing estate planning, or cause them to procrastinate.  Fears lead to avoidance strategies that cause costly and unnecessary delays in estate planning.  More often than not, people tend to avoid the conversations that could move the process along smoothly due to a lack of awareness about how to have the conversations effectively. 

Estate planning for the blended family client can present some of the most challenging work that an estate planner ever does.  One of the reasons why this is so is that most professionals in the field of estate planning aren’t sufficiently trained or experienced in the “human side” of the process, which is the “heart” of estate planning.  Most attorneys, accountants, and financial advisors are trained in the “head” side of estate planning.  The key to successfully navigating the often treacherous waters of estate planning for the blended family is properly balancing the head and heart. 

On Tuesday, May 8th, the first in a series of three teleconferences on Blended Family Estate Planning will commence.  This 90-minute presentation will dive into the key issues of the initial consultation and successful engagement of couples with a blended family. Participants learn how to address emotionally charged issues and fears that keep the planning process from moving forward, as well has how to move when a client shuts you down or shuts you out.  Specifics related to property ownership and distribution will be addressed along with who should be considered for key fiduciary roles.   The training provides a comprehensive introduction to estate planning for the blended family, and in so doing, marries the “head” and the “heart” of estate planning. 

In the second session to be held on Tuesday, May 15th, attention is focused on the lifetime planning options that are available or advisable to blended family couples. 

And last, but certainly not least, in the final session to be held on Tuesday, May 22nd, the various issues that are attendant to testamentary estate planning for blended family clients are addressed, as well as some post-death administration issues.

To sign up for this timely and important series and to receive a complimentary copy of our book, which includes a CD with forms, visit www.ultimateestateplanner.com.

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Emily or Paul at estateplanning@blended-families.com.  You can also contact The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. at 1-866-754-6477.

Emily Bouchard and L. Paul Hood, Jr. © 2012

Thursday, May 03, 2012

Strengthening Your Brand with CPAs

Reposted from RegisteredRep.com | By Matt Oechsli

Houston—“I’ve never had much success with CPAs,” groaned Peter, an advisor in a workshop I was conducting. “Even the CPAs I’ve referred clients to—nothing ever comes back my way. Do you think it’s realistic to develop a true referral alliance with a CPA?”

My short answer was “Yes.” But I recognize that many financial advisors feel Peter’s pain. They refer clients to a handful of CPAs in their community, fully expecting the law of reciprocity to engage, and nothing happens. Few if any referrals come back. Essentially, Peter is asking, “What’s going on?”

As I told this group, when it comes to CPAs, there’s good news and bad news. The bad news is that most CPAs don’t trust the financial services industry and therefore don’t trust financial advisors. The good news is that many elite financial advisors have earned the trust of CPAs in their communities and have developed excellent working relationships with them. Yes, it can be done, and now is the perfect time of year to begin.

With tax season finally behind them, most CPAs are taking a deep sigh of relief and giving themselves some time to relax. What elite advisors are doing is using this period of CPA decompression as a time to organize social outings with the select group they work with. The following are a handful of events that have been used effectively:

• Social dinners: CPA and spouse with advisor and spouse. These are dinners with two couples, with CPAs where a healthy referral alliance is already established, and specific CPAs who are being romanced into a healthy referral alliance relationship.
• Group wine tasting with spouses: CPAs of top 25 clients invited.
• Drinks at a martini bar with spouse: CPAs of top 25 clients invited.
• Saturday afternoon cookout: CPAs and families of top 25 clients invited
• Golf outing: CPAs with a healthy referral alliance, and targeted CPAs (two foursomes; drinks with spouses to follow).

Sure, in some of these post-tax season events you’ll have competitive CPAs in attendance. That’s okay as you’re establishing a blanket of good will. The secret is to follow up and begin building a relationship with every CPA, one-on-one, following the event.

I know what many of you are probably thinking: “How can I call a CPA for a social event when I don’t even have a relationship with him?” And the answer is—easily. This is no different than inviting a prospect you’ve recently met to some fun event you’re hosting, but in the case of CPAs at this time of year, it’s even easier.

First of all, you might find it helpful to think in terms of four CPA buckets:

Bucket 1—These are the CPAs with whom you already have a healthy referral alliance relationship. With this group, you’ll want to make a personal telephone call and invite the CPA and spouse to dinner. The idea here is that they’ve worked hard over the past four months, you appreciate their hard work, and you want to make certain they have a relaxing evening with you and your spouse. It’s important to emphasize: no business, all social.

Bucket 2—CPAs of your top 25 or so affluent clients. For these CPAs, you should plan an event; whether it’s a wine tasting, martini evening or a cookout doesn’t really matter. The key is to make it fun. Here, either you or your assistant (if he or she has a good relationship) calls and personally invites each CPA and spouse to the event. Again, you’re recognizing the hard work they’ve been engaged in over the past four months, you express appreciation for the work they’ve done with your clients, and this is your way of saying thanks. Remember, your objective is to follow up and begin building relationships one-on-one.

Bucket 3—Oh, those thankless CPAs who you’ve given referrals to but haven’t experienced the reciprocity. These rascals in Bucket 3 need a wake-up call over a social lunch. Call and invite them to a lunch with a slightly different twist; now that tax season is over, you simply want to catch up. Yet during that lunch you want to express your appreciation for how well they are handling the clients you’ve referred to them (mention each by name), and after a brief discussion you bring down the hammer by directly asking, “I’m very curious. I’ve sent X referrals to you over the past Y years and I haven’t received even one from you. Why?” You’ll want to soften this to your own personality, but here is where you shut up and watch the CPA squirm. Either you’ll get an apology or an explanation why you’ll never get referrals. This will have one of two outcomes—either you’ll never get referrals and you’ll never give another referral, or you’ll start getting referrals. In which case, this CPA moves to Bucket 1 and it’s time for a social dinner.

Bucket 4—These are those CPAs you’re targeting but have yet to develop any type of relationship. This group requires a bit more homework. You will want to ask CPAs in Buckets 1and 2 if they know these individuals. If so, you’d like to invite them, as their guest, to your upcoming Top 25 CPA event. If not, you should conduct a social media search as you are looking for a connection. If you find a connection with anyone you know, you call the person you know, explain that you want to meet this particular CPA, describe the event, and invite them both, using your connection to invite the CPA you’re targeting.

I recognize that Bucket 4 CPAs are more challenging, but you’ve got nothing to lose. Tis-the-season to socialize with CPAs. Yet, you’ll need a game plan; not all CPAs are equal and not all will allow you to develop a healthy referral alliance relationship.

Yet all you need are three or four good CPA relationships to become a master rainmaker. It will take time, patience, and persistence—but over the next eight months you can significantly strengthen your branding with CPAs.

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Source: RegisteredRep.com
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Monday, April 30, 2012

LISI.com - Practice Pointers on the Core Concern of Blended Family Estate Planning: Joint or Separate Representation

Reproduced with Permission by and Courtesy of Leimberg Information Services, Inc. (LISI).  For information about how to subscribe to LISI, click here.

“Statistics show that approximately 60% of second marriages end in divorce, and almost 75% of third marriages do as well.  These figures loom large in the minds of couples with the “yours, mine and/or ours” scenarios in their step and blended families.

There are pluses and minuses to couples sharing everything regarding their estate planning together, and when it comes to couples with blended families, the minuses can outweigh the pluses substantially. While there is great value in working together in approaching estate planning, it is important to be aware of the cautions against representing both partners in estate planning, especially when it is the second or third marriage or partnership for one of the members of the couple.

When couples who have children from prior relationships contact you about possibly representing them, the first question that should go through your mind is: “Should I represent this couple together or should I only represent one of the partners in the couple?”

The pros and cons of joint representation of blended family couples is the subject of L. Paul Hood, Jr. and Emily Bouchard’s commentary. Paul and Emily have written a book on the subject titled Estate Planning for the Blended Family, (Self-Counsel Press 2012) that will be released at the end of April. Their book will be available on all of the major online bookstore, and order information can be obtained through the following link: http://blended-families.com/estateplanning/

LISI members should also look for their three-part series on blended family estate planning that they are presenting on May 8, 15 and 22 for Phil Kavesh’s The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. The information on how to register for their upcoming teleconference series can be obtained either by clicking the following link: Estate Planning for the Blended Family 3-Part Teleconference Series.

L. Paul Hood, Jr. received his J.D. from Louisiana State University Law Center in 1986 and Master of Laws in Taxation from Georgetown University Law Center in 1988. Paul is a frequent speaker, is widely quoted and his articles have appeared in a number of publications, including BNA Tax Management Memorandum, CCH Journal of Practical Estate Planning, Estate Planning, Valuation Strategies, Digest of Federal Tax Articles, Loyola Law Review, Louisiana Bar Journal, Tax Ideas and Charitable Gift Planning News. Presently, He has spoken at programs sponsored by a number of law schools, including Duke, Georgetown, NYU, Tulane, Loyola (N.O.) and LSU, as well as many other professional organizations, including AICPA and NACVA. From 1996-2004, Paul served on the Louisiana Board of Tax Appeals, a three member board that has jurisdiction over all Louisiana state tax matters.  Paul Hood can be reached directly at paul@paulhoodservices.com

Emily Bouchard is a family, wealth, and money coach, and the managing partner of Wealth Legacy Group (WLG), specializing in the emotional impact of wealth in people’s lives.  She has been working with inheritors in high net worth families since 2004 with a specialty in step and blended family issues.  She is also the director of www.Blended-Families.com and has appeared on the Today Show and NPR, and has been featured in publications such as New York Times and Newsweek.  Along with coaching individuals, couples, and families, she consults with advisors in responding effectively to their client’s emotional needs related to estate planning.  Her book, co-authored with Paul Hood, from Self Counsel Press on Estate Planning for the Blended Family is due out later this month. Emily can be reached at 360.991.9558 or by e-mail to emily@wealthlegacygroup.net.

Here is their commentary:

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:

Statistics show that approximately 60% of second marriages end in divorce, and almost 75% of third marriages do as well.  These figures loom large in the minds of couples with the “yours, mine and/or ours” scenarios in their step and blended families.

There are pluses and minuses to couples sharing everything regarding their estate planning together, and when it comes to couples with blended families, the minuses can outweigh the pluses substantially. While there is great value in working together in approaching estate planning, it is important to be aware of the cautions against representing both partners in estate planning, especially when it is the second or third marriage or partnership for one of the members of the couple.

When couples who have children from prior relationships contact you about possibly representing them, the first question that should go through your mind is: “Should I represent this couple together or should I only represent one of the partners in the couple?”

COMMENT:

Advantages of One Strategy versus the Other

Obviously, most professionals want what is in the client’s best interest.  And there are advantages to both separate and joint representation. 

Some advantages of joint representation for couples on blended families include:

• It is a way to build greater trust and more open communication between the two of them, and possibly with all of the children in their lives.
• It is more cost-effective, since they only have to pay one set of estate planners.
• It can be more efficient for them, as they can work together and divvy up tasks as they prepare to meet with you.

Some pro’s of having separate representation for clients with blended families include:

• Each may have more freedom to speak up about their specific concerns and desires without having to necessarily compromise with their partner.
• The best interests of the individual you represent are the only interests guiding you, and this is an important consideration since there can often be competing agendas, and potential conflicts of interest, often between a step parent and their step children.
• How suited the couple is for joint representation can be discovered in an introductory session with you, which we see also is advantageous for you, even if it is complimentary.  No one wants a problem client, as they are more likely to sue you and less likely to pay you.  Even in these uncertain economic times, sometimes the best decision that an estate planner can make is to not take on certain people as clients.  Taking the time to determine the best route to go up front makes a lot of sense, even if you give a bit of your time away for free.

Without healthy communication between the couple, joint representation could be disastrous. Paul witnessed this first hand with a couple, he in his early sixties, and she in her early fifties.  Outwardly, they looked like a routine couple coming in for estate planning, and Paul agreed to represent the couple together, despite lingering concerns about how much was left unsaid at their introductory session, particularly about the abilities of each of their children, who should serve as their successor trustees, and how much to leave to all the children in their lives.  However, shortly after the meeting, things quickly disintegrated between the partners, so much so that the couple ultimately divorced, in part over the significant differences in their estate planning goals and plans.

To make sure that he complied with the legal rules of ethics, Paul withdrew from representing both of them, and so they had to start over with two new attorneys. There were so many differences between the partners that they would have been better served by each having a separate set of estate planners from the start. The husband wanted their oldest son to serve as executor, while the wife was adamant that her younger daughter was the most capable.  He felt strongly that her “baby” wasn’t ready or capable enough to handle her step-brothers and she wouldn’t command the boys’ respect or cooperation; his wife was just as adamant that his “baby” was neither incompetent nor unable to handle the enormity of the responsibilities.  This couldn’t have been the reason for the divorce, but it was apparently just the straw that broke the camel’s back on a life-long tortured marriage, and it all came tumbling down.

Emily got to witness the other side of the equation, where joint representation created an opening for results beyond what anyone could have imagined.  The advisory team at a well-known bank referred a client couple to Emily after then went two years without signing their estate planning documents.  Their stand-off was a result of a blended family situation, where the husband had two children from a prior marriage and his second wife had two children with him.  He wanted the estate equalized at the time of his death and to be assured that all four of his children received the same amounts. 

She saw things very differently, since his children were not the same as theirs together, being able to benefit (or not as the case may be) from their bio-mother’s estate.  As a result, she wanted her two children to receive the bulk of her estate, including that which she would be the beneficiary of if she were to outlive her husband (which was very likely since she was significantly younger than him).  After four months of family dynamics coaching, they learned some communication strategies that allowed them to address over 30 years of long standing hurts and resentments.  As a result of some in-depth, facilitated conversations, they not only came up with an innovative approach to their estate planning that honored both of their concerns, they also expressed feeling closer as a couple. They then worked effectively with their team at the bank and found an estate planning attorney who specialized in blended family issues who was able to easily incorporate their wishes into their documents.

Signposts for Joint or Separate Representation
In order to make the decision of joint or separate representation a bit more straightforward, there are some signposts that strongly indicate the need for considering separate representation:

• If one partner is childless but the other has children. These people are not in similar circumstances if only one of them has descendants.  Most people want to leave their estates to their children; it’s only natural.  However, childless people don’t have such a tie.  The risk here is where the stated goal of the parent partner is to leave everything to his or her children may be changed if the parent partner is the first to die.
• There is a significant disparity in wealth or income in the couple.  While not always definitive, an income or wealth disparity between the partners can signal an economic imbalance in the couple that could adversely affect the estate planning of the partner who has less.
• One of them is economically dependent on the other. This signpost alone is usually not necessarily of the need to have separate representation.  However, it together with the presence of other signposts discussed in this recording can be a strong signal of the need for separate representation.
• One of them does all of the talking or appears to exert strong influence over the other.  As an estate planner, you should take note of this sort of situation and take steps to delve into what appears to be a problem in communication between the two of them.  The one who is being strongly influenced (or oppressed) will certainly know but may lack the self-will or the perceived freedom to point it out.
• Length of the relationship. Generally speaking, the shorter the relationship, the stronger the suggestion of separate representation. 
• The number of past relationships one, or both of them, have had. Generally speaking, the greater the number of past relationships, the stronger the suggestion of separate representation.
• The two of them were separately represented in a pre-nuptial agreement or property agreement.  If it was important enough to have been separately represented in an earlier agreement, it is probably still important enough to maintain separate representation with respect to estate planning.
• There is a significant age disparity between the couple.  Generally speaking, the greater the age disparity between the couple, the greater is the need to consider separate representation.
• If one of them has a significant secret from the other partner like another child, other assets or another lover.  Secrets can have an insidious impact on relationships and can really put your estate planners in a difficult spot when the secret comes to light. Obviously, clients who are inclined to hold on to secrets aren’t going to be forthcoming, so you’ll have to ascertain this indirectly by reading between the lines and finding points of aggravation where you have violated the boundaries that the secret holding client has set around that secret information. 

Ways to Address These Concerns with Potential Couple Clients
These are not easy points to consider and, the more uncomfortable they make the couple as you bring them forward, the stronger the indication that you all should slow things down.  Give them sound legal reasons for why you think they need to seriously consider separate representation, if that’s what their particular circumstances call for at the time of your initial meeting.  You can assure them that there are ways that they can stay in communication and connection around their planning even as they are represented separately.

Once they are clear about why you are recommending separate estate planners, you can then breakdown the different details to be determined together, such as medical/durable powers of attorney, and show them that they can still share with each other their thinking, and explore the pros and cons of their pending decisions.  You can also note that when conflicts of interest arise, couples who can find places to align with each other, instead of needing 100% agreement, are able to feel more connected as they make their individual decisions. 

With regards to alignment, in Emily’s earlier story about the couple with “yours and ours”, the husband was able to let go of needing 100% equality.  They were able to come up with a strategy that honored the wife’s contribution to their marriage in a monetary fashion. They both agreed that her earning potential was about one sixth of his, and they calculated a percentage that seemed to fairly represent both of their views.  This percentage was then taken into consideration in the difference that their two children together would receive over and above what his two would get.  They were in alignment around the new approach and were able to get there by both letting go of their attachment to having their original views seen as right. In his estate, should he outlive his wife, all four children received the same amounts. She was able to be in alignment with that decision, even though it wasn’t her first choice.

Conclusion
If you determine that separate representation is the best option for a couple, communicate how you see it professionally and with a sense of truly taking care of both of their needs and concerns.  Frame your assessment in ways that show them why this in their best interest and that it is not personal but is based on sound advice.

HOPE THIS HELPS YOU HELP OTHERS MAKE A POSITIVE DIFFERENCE!

CONTRIBUTORS: L. Paul Hood, Jr., J.D., & Emily Bouchard

CITE AS: LISI Estate Planning Newsletter #1954, (April 26, 2012) at http://www.leimbergservices.com/

© Copyright 2012 Paul Hood. Reproduction in Any Form or Forwarding to Any Person Prohibited – Without Express Permission.

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Sources: Leimberg Information Services, Inc. & Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP

Friday, April 27, 2012

Autism Awareness Month: Special Planning for the Future with Autistic Children

April is Autism Awareness Month and The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. has teamed up our fellow colleague, Thomas D. Begley, Jr. and the Begley Law Group, P.C., based out of New Jersey, to help spread awareness for this very special cause. 

A recent report released by the Centers for Disease Control shows a drastic increase in autism diagnoses. One in every 88 children in the United States is diagnosed with a form of autism spectrum disorder, an increase of 78% since 2002. Boys with autism continue to outnumber girls at a rate of 5 to 1.

Since this is such a prevalent disorder that touches so much of the population, it is necessary to ensure that safeguards are in place for your loved one affected by autism.

GUARDIANSHIPS

If, upon reaching age 18, an autistic individual has sufficient capacity, he or she can, and ought to, execute documents, including a will, living will, and powers of attorney. These documents will name a loved one to act as an agent, if necessary, regarding emergency medical decisions as well as routine financial and personal decisions.

For an individual with insufficient capacity, a guardianship will be necessary. Once a child turns 18, the parents no longer retain the legal right to make the decisions that they have been making up to that point. In many cases, the guardianship process can be simple for parents of children on the autism spectrum, but it is still essential in order to ensure that safeguards are in place for the child.

It is also important for parents of children with autism to make sure that their own wills name choices for a successor guardian for their child.

SPECIAL NEEDS TRUSTS

Most parents worry about the well-being of their children once both spouses have passed away. A parent's or grandparent's concern about their loved ones is especially well-founded for special needs children. Leaving an inheritance outright to a child with special needs will jeopardize his or her eligibility for governmental benefits. For example, in order to receive Medicaid benefits, an individual cannot have more than $2,000 of countable assets in his or her name.

In order to rectify this issue, parents and loved ones often establish a third party special needs trust, which is a mechanism through which funds can be made available in order to enhance quality of life while still allowing the child to remain on government benefits. A special needs trust supplements public benefits, such as Medicaid and SSI, without jeopardizing eligibility. The trustee has absolute discretion to expend funds from the trust to purchase things for your child that are not otherwise covered by Medicaid.

It is extremely important to inform relatives about the existence of this special needs trust. Grandparents and other relatives can make lifetime gifts or leave inheritances directly to the child's trust in order to make sure that benefits are preserved.

Even if you are not personally affected by autism, please join us at The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. and the Begley Law Group, P.C., along with millions of other advocates, to continue to spread awareness about autism spectrum disorders and the importance of looking at the special planning needed for these individuals.

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Source & Photo Credit: Begley Law Group, P.C., Susan M. Green, Esq.

Thursday, April 26, 2012

IRS’ 5 Tax Tips for Newlyweds, Divorcees

If you or a client has just gotten married or divorced, the last thing you want is for something to further complicate tax returns–or throw a snag into the processing of a refund.

Name changes can do just that, whether it’s a matter of taking a new name or resuming an old one. Connubial bliss can suffer if the refund doesn’t arrive in time to pay some of those hefty wedding bills–and freedom might not seem so free if finances are impaired when a long-anticipated refund check fails to show up.

Thanks to the folks at AdvisorOne.com, here are five suggestions from the IRS that can help you stay out of trouble, whether you’re once again flying solo or have just tied the knot.

1. Calling a Spouse a Spouse
So you’ve taken the plunge and jumped the broom. The IRS’ computers won’t know, or care, unless you let the Social Security Administration know too–after all, a computer will look at your Social Security number and the name on your joint return and scream “Reject!”–even if you kept your old name and hyphenated it with that of your new spouse.

2. Back to the Future
Divorced? Same problem. If you went back to your old name, don’t forget to let SSA know so that the IRS computers don’t have a nervous breakdown trying to figure out where they know you from.

3. A Rose by Any Other Name
When you’re ready to notify Social Security, you will need to provide them with proof that you are (now) who you say you are. Make sure you have a recently issued document that identifies you as you wish to be known.

4. Gotta Do the Paperwork
Provide the Social Security Administration with that recently issued document, as well as a completed Form SS-5, Application for a Social Security Card, either by mail or in person at your local SSA office. The form is available online at http://www.socialsecurity.gov/, by phone–call 800-772-1213 to request it—or at those handy local offices. Your new card will arrive with your old number and your new name.

5. But What About the Kids?
Suppose you (or your spouse) adopted the kids, and their names changed too. Social Security needs to know about them as well, even if they don’t have SSNs yet. For adopted children without SSNs, the parents can apply for an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number–or ATIN–by filing Form W-7A, Application for Taxpayer Identification Number for Pending U.S. Adoptions, with the IRS. The ATIN is a temporary number used in place of an SSN on the tax return. Form W-7A is available on the IRS.gov website or by calling 800-TAX-FORM (800-829-3676).

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Source & Photo Credit: AdvisorOne.com

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

New Book Helps You Plan for and Protect Your Assets

Orange County, California (March 29, 2012) – There are few things in life more certain than death and taxes and perhaps, in today’s society, Law suits.  However, the fact is few people actually plan for them. 

In the New Book The Ladder of Success: An Asset Protection Planning Primer, Attorney Jeffrey R. Matsen (“Top 100 Attorneys in U.S.” Worth Magazine) has provided a straightforward and elementary description of what Asset Protection really is and demonstrates how it can be effectively implemented by taking various steps, like rungs on a ladder, to truly climb the ladder of success.

“The one constant over the many years of my practice and among the hundreds of different clients I have served is the imbalance of, on the one hand, their profound concern regarding Asset Protection, and on the other, their lack of understanding as to how to implement it,” says Attorney Matsen. “I have dedicated my career to assisting these clients in planning the fortification of their resources to ensure their financial security in the face of taxes, liability and creditor attacks.” 

The Ladder of Success: An Asset Protection Planning Primer explains:

• Why Plan?  The Need for Asset Protection
• The Limitations
• The Operating Business Entity
• Basic Estate Planning
• Bankruptcy Considerations, Exemptions and Marital Planning
• Liability Protective Entities for Investment Assets
• Domestic Asset Protection Trusts and Modular Planning Utilizing LLCs
• The Offshore Asset Protection Trust and the Modular Planning that Accompanies It
• Advanced Estate Planning Techniques
• Special Issues and Strategies for Physicians and Dentists
• Climbing the Ladder and Putting It All Together

Chock full of authoritative information about estate planning and asset protection, The Ladder of Success: An Asset Protection Planning Primer is one book every conscientious person should own.  “Nobody understands the nuances and practicalities of this area better than Jeff Matsen.  His unique ability of making issues clear for clients and their advisors is a gift.  This book is required reading for any layperson or professional who wants to learn more about asset protection and more importantly, take action,” says Bill Deitch, Leading Estate Planning Attorney, Chicago.

“Jeff Matsen is an expert to the experts in the asset protection field.  Those seeking asset protection often share common characteristics—such as wealth, business ownership, real estate ownership, considerable income and estate tax exposures, as well professional practice ownership—and I recommend they read Jeff’s book to protect their families,” states Joseph J. Strazzeri, Fellow, Southern California Institute; Co-founder, Laureate Center for Wealth Advisors. 

Tim Voorhees, JD, MBA President, Family Office Services;  Principal, Matsen Voorhees, Orange County, CA. explains “Because of Jeff’s broad, multi-disciplinary experience, he knows how to integrate protection from lawsuits with protection from taxes. Jeff’s ability to combine creditor protection with tax planning helps clients accumulate more wealth and maximize upside potential.” 

“Jeff Matsen is one of the best estate planning and asset protection attorneys in the country.  His knowledge, wisdom and direct experience have truly made him one of the elite group of top experts in his field. If you are concerned about protecting your assets and want to leave a legacy for future generations, I highly recommend you read this book,” says Stephen Fairley, CEO of The Rainmaker Institute, LLC, The Nation’s Largest Law Firm Marketing Company. 

 Marc Selden, Nationally Recognized Estate Planning Attorney, New York City, states “Jeff is widely recognized in the legal community as an asset protection guru.  In this book, Jeff does a wonderful job of explaining the principles and strategies of complex asset protection planning in a very clear and easy-to-understand way.”

The Ladder of Success: An Asset Protection Planning Primer,  $19.95, Paperback 179 pages, ISBN 978-0-9852041-1-2, is published by Wealth Strategies Counsel, and is available online.  >>ORDER NOW

ABOUT  JEFFREY R. MATSEN
JEFFREY R. MATSEN, JD, received his law degree with honors from the UCLA School of Law and served as a Military Judge with the rank of Captain in the US Marine Corps.  Matsen has been a Professor of Law in Business, Estate Planning and Advanced Taxation. He is a highly sought-after and respected speaker and educator and has published numerous legal articles.  Matsen is the founder of “Wealth Strategies Counsel,” the Estate Planning and Business Transactions Department of Matsen Voorhees and Bohm, Matsen, Kegel & Aguilera, LLP, in Orange County, California.  His practice areas include: Business and Estate Planning, Asset Protection, Probate and Trust administration and litigation, Real Estate and Offshore structures.  Matsen has been designated one of the Nation’s “Top 100 Attorneys” by Worth Magazine, A “Super Lawyer” by Los Angeles Magazine and he is listed in The Best Lawyers in America.  The Nationally Renowned Attorney Rating Service, AVVO, has rated Matsen a perfect “10/10 Superb.” Besides continuing to achieve the highest “AV rating,” he has been designated a “Preeminent Lawyer” by the prestigious attorney rating directory, Martindale Hubble.

This post has been brought to you by The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc., providing practical, tested and proven technical and marketing products to help estate planning professionals throughout the country build their practices.  Connect with us on Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

8 Habits of Highly Productive People

While your co-workers start every day enjoying a cup of coffee together in the break room, you're barely able to find time to call your doctor. While they're taking lunches, you're rushing through another meal at your desk. Sound familiar? Here's the good news: This apparent discrepancy may not mean you've got a bigger workload or that you're a harder worker. Instead, it may mean that they've mastered certain time-saving skills and habits that you haven't-until now. From prioritizing your workload to learning which projects don't need to be perfect, read on to discover eight workplace habits that'll boost your productivity and lower your stress levels.

1. They make it a point to take breaks.
   Americans seem to think that constantly working is synonymous with being productive, but unless your brain is functioning at its maximum level, you may not be getting as much work done as you think. "[Taking breaks] is like hitting the reset button. It helps you empty out your 'brain cache' so you have room to refill it," says Christine Hohlbaum, author of The Power of Slow: 101 Ways to Save Time in Our 24/7 World. First and foremost, she recommends taking lunch every day-and leaving your desk to do it. "When you have a 'working lunch,' it's just not very efficient. At some point you're going to lose attention," she says. Ultimately, eating while you work will cause you to suffer on two fronts: you won't be able to pay attention to your food-a surefire way to overeat-and you won't be giving your work the proper attention it deserves. In addition to a "real" lunch break, Hohlbaum suggests allotting time for other breaks as well. She recommends taking five minutes in the morning, before starting work, and at least a 10- to 15-minute break in the afternoon. Whether you take a short walk, read a book or stare out of the window with a cup of tea, it'll help you recharge and improve your overall productivity. "It's really important to take time off because otherwise your brain will reach a saturation point," Hohlbaum says, explaining that when this happens, it becomes hard to focus on even the simplest task. "At that point, you need to push away from your computer and take a break."
    
2. They start their day off on the right foot.
   According to a recent study at the Fisher College of Business at Ohio State University, if an employee is in a bad mood when they arrive at work-whether because of familial problems or a stressful commute-it can decrease their productivity by as much as 10% that day. So unless you come in to the office every day in a great mood (and who does?), start your day with 5 to 10 minutes of time dedicated to decompressing. "Create a ritual. Maybe it's meeting in the coffee break room or going around the office to greet everyone. It doesn't matter what you do, as long as you foster a sense of connection [with your coworkers]," Says Holhbaum. "Swinging by to say 'hi' to your colleagues when you walk in gives you a sense of focus. When you feel you're part of a bigger effort, you feel more connected to why you're there and that can make all the difference in the world." Re-focusing your mind at the beginning of the day will also create a sense of calm, helping you to disregard outside stressors and zero in on your daily tasks. "If we're actually able to start the day centered, then we'll have a longer tolerance period before we get off track," Holhbaum says.
    
3. They make mindful food choices.
   You are what you eat, and eating a heavy mid-day meal will often make you feel lethargic for the rest of the afternoon. "Consider what you're eating at lunch. If you're having that post-pasta slump at 2 p.m., and need java or cookies to pep back up, maybe you should try a salad or something a bit lighter so you won't lag," suggests Hohlbaum. The key is keeping your blood sugar levels steady throughout the day, according to Kari Kooi, RD, corporate wellness dietician at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, who recommends three light meals and two snacks at regular intervals. "Heavy meals can make you feel sluggish because they require more energy to digest," Kooi says. "[A quality lunch] will consist of a fiber-rich carbohydrate, like water-rich veggies, and a lean protein, like chicken or fish," she says. And what does Kooi suggest you avoid? "A highly processed meal, like some of the frozen meals in the grocery store, will not give you the sustainable energy you need. The less processed the better when it comes to keeping your energy levels up." When you hit that midday slump, Kooi suggests going for proteins like mixed nuts and fruit instead of the usual energy-zapping pretzels, cookies or candy, which cause your blood sugar levels to spike and then drop and may even make you hungrier, according to Kooi.
    
4. They keep a flexible to-do list.
   Making a daily list of to-dos is a great way to stay on top of your work. However, there is one pitfall-it can make you inflexible. "A lot of people feel their day's been wrecked if they have to change their plan, but the most effective people understand that's part of the job," says Vicki Milazzo, author of Wicked Success Is Inside Every Woman. "I always start my day with a plan, but by 9 a.m. I've busted that plan." However, according to Paula Rizzo, a master list-maker and founder of ListProducer.com, it's important to keep some form of a to-do list, no matter how much your day changes. For example, Rizzo begins her days with a master list, which she continually updates throughout the course of the day to note the items that haven't been done or to add tasks as they crop up. Before leaving work, Rizzo will make a fresh list for the next day. The key, she says, is referencing the changing list throughout the day to keep herself on course. "Just putting a little extra work into it will keep you on track."
    
5. They use technology with intent.
   In today's 24/7 all-access world, it's hard to get a handle on technology use. While it's impossible to avoid it altogether, you can be disciplined about how much time you spend perusing the Web. Set aside a specific time, say 15 minutes after lunch, to scroll through your social networking sites or other favorite websites-and stick to it. Or try something like Google Chrome's website blocker, which allows you to set restrictions to your online time by either totally blocking your favorite websites or just restricting the timeframes within which you are allowed to check them. In addition to surfing the Internet, it's important to watch your email habits. Whether you give yourself 15 to 30 minutes at a set time each day to check your personal email, or you allow yourself brief intervals between tasks, Holhbaum says the key is to be very mindful of the time you're spending checking your non-work inbox. "Have a very clear distinction between what's personal and what's work. If that's a part of your 'OK I need to zone out for a little bit' time, that's fine. But you need to be clear and be mindful of what you're doing." Even work-related emails can become a distraction if not properly managed. Ask yourself if email is the best method of communication, or if you're better off calling the person. "Sending 100 emails isn't [always] going to be the most productive thing. And as we know, emails beget emails. They're like little rabbits," Hohlbaum jokes. "If it's a one-way communication, for example forwarding an airplane itinerary, you don't need to have any answer [so email works]. But if you want detail or you know the person won't respond right away by email, pick up the phone," she says.
    
6. They balance their workload.
   Different tasks require different levels of concentration, which you can use to your advantage. Start by identifying-and placing-the tasks you have into two categories: weeds and intensive work. Weeds are small, manageable things such as handling email, phone calls and minor organizational tasks. Intensive work is anything that requires an extended period of concentration, such as management tasks, preparing presentations, writing or editing. "Miscellaneous routine tasks are like weeds in your garden; we all have them, and no matter how often we try to get rid of them, they never go away," says Milazzo. "Yet they do have to be handled, and pulling a few weeds can provide a restorative break from more intensive work." Milazzo recommends splitting up long sessions of intensive work with regular 15- to 30-minute intervals of weed pulling. This way, you'll accomplish a variety of tasks while not burning out on one type of work.
    
7. They put perfectionism in its place.
   While turning in perfect work has been encouraged since kindergarten, that attitude can be counterproductive if it's not managed. It's important to pick your battles. "Women, by nature, are somewhat perfectionist," says Milazzo. "So we need to distinguish what requires perfectionism," she says. Of course you want to put your best foot forward in all situations, but if you're strapped for time, prioritize. If, for example, you're writing an informal memo or email to a co-worker, give it a quick look and spell-check it, but resist the urge to re-read it three times over. If, on the other hand, you're creating a brochure for your company or preparing an important presentation, then that's the time to put all of your perfectionist tendencies to good use.
    
8. They know how to say "no."
   It's easy to get distracted or overwhelmed at work. But one of the secrets of highly productive people is that they learn when and how to say "no." For starters, say "no" to whiners, complainers and distracting people. One way to do that, according to Rizzo, is by wearing headphones. "That sends the message that you're busy and it drowns out the noise as well," she says. When it comes time to say "no" to the boss, tread lightly but firmly. You don't have to spell out n-o per se; rather, ask her to prioritize what's most important given what's on your plate. "When an employee does that, the boss usually comes to their senses and they get it," Milazzo says. "You don't want to make your boss the enemy; you want your boss to know you're there for the company, and that you're there for them. If they know that, they're more likely to listen to what you say."

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Source: WomansDay.com by Alexandra Gekas
Photo Credit: Thinkstock