By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant Having spent the last 13 years working side-by-side estate planning attorneys throughout the country – – with various levels of experience and types of practices – – it is very clear to me that just about every single estate planning attorney that is running his or her own practice needs coaching. The truth is, just about any business owner could benefit from some kind of coaching. I went to one of the top 50 universities in the U.S. and I got my degree in Business Administration. None of the courses that I took through college…
The Client ISN’T Always Right – Tips on When and How to “Fire” a Client
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Some of the first jobs that I ever had were in the retail and customer service industries. I can recall, in much of the training that I received, being told the old adage that the “customer is always right”. Having run my own practice now for over 36 years (we’ll be celebrating our 37th Anniversary next month!), I can tell you that, although the old saying is usually true (or at least should be your guiding principle), there are…
California Supreme Court Weakens Protection for Spendthrift Trusts
By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, CM&AA® In Carmack v. Reynolds (Frealy), released March 23, 2017, the California Supreme Court, asked by the Ninth Circuit to clarify a point of California law applicable to an ongoing bankruptcy case on appeal, held that California law does not limit a bankruptcy trustee to 25% of distributions from a third-party created spendthrift trust, but includes any past distributable amounts “due and payable”. Most estate and tax professionals were probably unaware that a bankruptcy trustee could even include 25% of a trust’s distributions in a bankruptcy estate, much less more. Under most…
7 of the Most Common Life Settlement Situations
By Daxton Fryer, Senior Life Settlement Broker A life settlement can be a great alternative to accepting the insurance company’s surrender value, if any, for a policy that is about to be lapsed or surrendered. While there are many reasons a policy may be terminated, certain scenarios are the most common. Keeping an eye out for these situations is one more way for you to help your clients. 1. The sale of a business or other illiquid asset. A policy bought for a buy-sell agreement or estate liquidity may become unnecessary. Compounding the problem is that the business was typically paying for…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins – Chapter III (First-Tier Trust States)
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Testing his theory that in every man dwells a good and an evil force, the reserved Dr. Jekyll develops a formula that separates the two, turning him into an argumentative estate planning attorney named Mr. Oshins who tells it like it is. Dr. Jekyll soon realizes he is becoming addicted to his darker self as he unleashes his opinions on the estate planning industry. In Chapter II, Dr. Jekyll tackled the issue of whether Foreign Asset Protection Trusts are better than Domestic Asset Protection Trusts. In Chapter III, Dr. Jekyll tackles the issue…
What Can You Sell to Existing Clients?
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law In last month’s newsletter, I discussed an often overlooked marketing strategy that many estate planning attorneys are missing – – bringing back in existing clients for a review of their plan. The topic seems to have resonated quite a bit with our readers and my fellow colleagues, several of whom took us up on our offer to schedule a consultation with our Executive Director, Kristina Schneider, to go over how to put together a review process in place for…
Supreme Court: No ERISA Protection for “Church-Affiliated” Retirement Plans Run by Hospitals, Health Care Facilities
By Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP®, CM&AA® On June 5, 2017, the Supreme Court issued a unanimous ruling in Advocate Health Care Network v. Stapleton concerning whether ERISA applies to church affiliated non-profits that run hospitals and health care facilities: click here to view. It may erode certain retirement plan protections for employees of many hospitals and health care facilities loosely connected to churches, though the Court did not decide other arguments that may yet ultimately apply ERISA to them. The Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) generally obligates private employers offering pension plans to adhere…
Klabacka v. Nelson: Nevada Supreme Court Makes Historically Significant DAPT Ruling
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) One of Nevada’s advantages has always been that it is the only top-tier Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”) jurisdiction that has no statutory exception creditors, meaning classes of creditors that can bust through a DAPT despite the DAPT’s protection from creditors. Practitioners from competing states have suggested that Nevada DAPT laws are “too protective” and therefore won’t work as advertised. However, on May 25, 2017, the Supreme Court of the State of Nevada, in a unanimous opinion, issued a written ruling for Klabacka v. Nelson, 133 Nev. Advance Opinion 24 (May 25, 2017)…
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Oshins – Chapter II (Foreign vs. Domestic APTs)
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Testing his theory that in every man dwells a good and an evil force, the reserved Dr. Jekyll develops a formula that separates the two, turning him into an argumentative estate planning attorney named Mr. Oshins who tells it like it is. Dr. Jekyll soon realizes he is becoming addicted to his darker self as he unleashes his opinions on the estate planning industry. In Chapter I, Dr. Jekyll tackled the issue of whether Uniform Acts are good or bad. In Chapter II, Dr. Jekyll tackles the issue of which are better –…
FREE WEBINAR – Trusts: Planning and Drafting for Divorce
Speakers: Gideon Rothschild, Esq., Martin Shenkman, Esq. and Rebecca Provder, Esq. Date and Time: Thursday, June 15th, 2017 at 1pm Pacific Time (4pm Eastern Time) Course Description: Trusts are one of the most powerful tools for planning to minimize the risk to assets in a future divorce. However, in order to achieve optimal results for clients, trusts must be drafted and administered in a manner that provides protection. Traditional trust drafting often falls far short of providing the safeguards clients want. What provisions should be used in drafting trusts to achieve better results? What trust planning techniques can be used…