Posts by Kristina Schneider
Why I Waited to Get My MBA (and Why I’m So Glad I Finally Did!)
I used to be the kind of student who thrived on straight A’s. In high school, I loaded up on AP and Honors classes and genuinely loved learning. So when I got into Pepperdine for undergrad, it felt like the next natural step. What I didn’t expect was how difficult it would be to become fully independent and put myself through school.
Read MoreShohei Ohtani and the Choice of Trustee
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Anybody who follows sports knows about Shohei Ohtani’s former best friend and interpreter (Ippei Mizuhara) stealing more than $16 million from Ohtani’s bank account to fund his gambling addiction. Ohtani is the modern-day Babe Ruth on the baseball field, but he clearly has bad taste in friends, at…
Read MoreThe Beneficiary Controlled Trust*
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The Beneficiary Controlled Trust name was first introduced to the estate planning industry by my father and me in our two-part article, “Protecting & Preserving Wealth into the Next Millennium,” published in the September and October 1998 issues of Trusts & Estates magazine. [Portions of this article were…
Read MoreWhich Jurisdictions Are Best in 2024?
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) It often makes sense to situs clients’ trusts in a trust jurisdiction where there is no state income tax, where the trust assets are protected from creditors and divorcing spouses, where estate taxes can be avoided forever or close to forever, and where there is flexibility to make…
Read MoreDomestic Asset Protection Trusts: Why the Huber Case is a Million Percent Wrong
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished)In Waldron v. Huber (In re Huber), Waldron v. Huber (In re Huber), Case No. 11-41013 (Bankr. W.D. Wash. Nov. 25, 2013), the court (in dicta) ruled that the law of the residency of the settlor of a Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”) applies rather than the law chosen…
Read MoreIt’s You! Hi! You Might Be the Problem! It’s You!
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach I am not going to sugarcoat this article and it may rub some people the wrong way. This is a topic that has the power to be life-changing and transformative to your life and your practice, but it depends on what you do with this information. I recently had…
Read MoreDo Client Maintenance Plans Really Work?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Two of the major issues confronting estate planning attorneys are the commoditization of our “products” and increasing low price competition thanks to the do-it-yourself kits and internet trusts. One way to combat these issues…
Read MoreThe Outstanding Success of an Estate Planning Attorney’s First Year in Practice
Interview of Attorney Leigh Cowdenby Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach I had the opportunity to meet Leigh Cowden virtually through a Facebook group she formed called Lawyers Doing Seminars. I followed a lot of her success and she gave me the opportunity to share some of our own seminar marketing tips with the group on…
Read MoreAdvisors Who Don’t Use Out-of-State Trusts: What Their Clients Get
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Most advisors stick to using their own home state’s trust laws and fail to take advantage of other states’ more favorable laws. This would be like forming business entities in your home state rather than going to traditional best states such as Nevada or Delaware. This analogy should…
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