By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach Over the past few years, particularly following the pandemic, we have seen a lot of changes in the employee market and computing both a fair and competitive wage. Regardless of where you are located, inflation and increased competition for competent employees have come to the forefront. Whether you are thinking about your current employees or are thinking about hiring, you may be curious about what exactly is reasonable or fair compensation for either support staff or associate attorneys. Here are a few tips that we use to determine fair compensation. LOOK AT SOME INDUSTRY…
Poll Results: Which Is the Best Trust Jurisdiction?
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) In a one-week LinkedIn poll conducted in March of 2023, I asked thousands of people primarily made up of estate planners and financial planners: “Which is the best trust jurisdiction?” Among 5,104 “impressions” (number of times users see the poll question), there were 123 total votes. The permitted responses were limited to Nevada and South Dakota simply because these are so clearly the two best trust jurisdictions and therefore there was no reason to dilute the votes by including additional options. Results The results were as follows: *Nevada …
Are You Spending Too Much Time (and Money!) to Bring In New Clients?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law I recently conducted not one, not two, but three different coaching consultations in a single week with fellow colleagues who all expressed to me the same major challenge in their practice. If three firms, in such a short period of time, happened to share this same issue with me, then I thought there must be others out there who must be grappling with it too! Hence, this article. All of these firms complained about spending far too much time…
9th Annual Non-Grantor Trust State Income Tax Chart Released!
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Different states have different rules as to what creates a “resident trust” that is subject to taxation in that state. States may tax a trust based on the residency of the settlor or testator, based on whether there is a resident trustee or beneficiary or whether there is administration in that state, or for a combination of these factors and/or other similar factors. So it isn’t as easy as simply situsing a trust in a state with no state income tax. You have to look at the state taxing statutes that may apply….
7 Common Mistakes When Dealing with Challenging Employees
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Dealing properly with employees is yet another key challenge to running a smooth-operating practice. And, once again, this is the kind of stuff we never learn in law school or any other continuing education course. Unfortunately, I have made all of the following mistakes and have had to learn the hard way. By reading this article, I hope that you will now be adequately warned and can hopefully either avoid making the same mistakes or even able to rehabilitate…
Is Your Office a Safe Place for People to Work?
By David Giuliano, Business Coach For over 40 years I have worked in the business world and I’ve learned many lessons. One of the most important aspects of business success is a work environment where people feel safe, can communicate honestly, and grow as a whole. Having an unsafe environment causes the most damage to the owner of the business. This might seem like a no-brainer, but the truth is in this day and age, it’s extremely hard to maintain a healthy work environment, but very necessary to do so. My work has shown me that if we can address…
Reduce Your Number of No-Shows and Cancellations with a Proper Confirmation Process
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach Having worked with numerous estate planning professionals over the years, one of the issues that a lot of people have struggled with are appointment and seminar no-shows and cancellations. One of my first questions is always, “What does your confirmation process look like?” For some, they don’t have any process in place at all. For others, they have a mixture of an e-mail that is sent or a phone call the day before. While something is better than nothing, there is always room for improvement to help reduce the number of no-shows and cancellations….
A Funny Thing Happened on the Way To… (Some of My Craziest Seminar Stories from Over the Years)
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law If you have ever attended one of my presentations, you already know that one of my favorite things in life and throughout my career has been presenting educational seminars on estate planning. What you may not know, however, are some of the unusual stories and occurrences I have experienced in doing over 3,000 seminars over the past 35 plus years. I’ve had so many funny, odd and not-so-funny events happen on the way to, during and after seminars that…
When the Prospective Client Says, “How Much Does It Cost?”
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) The cost of the legal work will at some point become part of the up-front discussion with a prospective client. Many such prospective clients hear how much the legal fees are and roll their eyes as though they are being suckered. I’ve had many conversations go something like this: Prospective Client: How much does it cost? Attorney: We charge $30,000. Prospective Client: That much? I was quoted $5,000 by another attorney. Attorney: That was to prepare a Revocable Trust. I’m trying to do advanced estate planning for you which should save your family…
Update on Washington State 7% Capital Gains Tax
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) One of the most anticipated tax cases in some time has begun its way through the courts. On January 26, 2023, the Washington Supreme Court heard arguments in Chris Quinn v. State of Washington which is a case examining the constitutionality of the Washington State 7% capital gains tax. The Washington capital gains tax was passed by the Democrats and signed into law in 2021. There’s a $250,000 exemption for individuals and married couples, so only the capital gains in excess of $250,000 are subject to the tax. Capital gains taxes would not…