Download Printable Article By Kristina Schneider, Executive Assistant (UPDATED JULY 2015) Trust in the workplace is always a difficult, but necessary, part of running a successful practice. A lot of estate planners, regardless of his or her professional designation, struggle with this concept. Although just about every single one of these professionals could benefit from having some kind of assistant or other administrative support, they have difficulty in trusting others to take on important tasks. Unfortunately, estate planners are only ever making any real money if they are either meeting with clients or doing some kind of marketing or networking…
Training Associate Attorneys & Staff
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law | Volume 2, Issue 4 (April 2014) Over the past couple of months, we covered the importance of properly hiring and incentivizing your associate attorneys and support staff in order to build and maintain a successful estate planning practice. Now, we will address training. As I’ve stressed in all other aspects of your practice, you must have processes, procedures, forms and systems for everything that happens in your law firm on a daily basis. This includes your marketing, client…
Training on Standalone IRA Beneficiary Trusts
We are holding one of our most popular technical training teleconferences on the IRA Inheritance Trust® tomorrow with our President, estate planning attorney and IRA Inheritance Trust® creator, Philip Kavesh. This teleconference is always one of our most well-attended and popular programs for those looking to add this unique and niche area of planning to their estate planning practice. See below for more information: The Traps and Tricks of Properly Drafting IRA Trusts Speaker: Philip Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, CA State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Date: Wednesday, March 5, 2014 Time: 9am…
The End of the Great Migration Into Bonds (Part 3 of 3)
Allocation Risk Budgeting for Equities By Jeffrey Dunham, Financial Advisor | Volume 2, Issue 3 (March 2014) This is the final installment of The End of the Great Migration into BondsSM article series. In January, we began the series with a discussion about a turnkey marketing campaign that provides FINRA-reviewed sales and marketing tools designed to allow financial advisors to focus on the vast amount of assets currently held in bonds. Last month, we examined “Allocation Risk Budgeting for Income”, which is a way to show your prospects and referrals how you might manage the risk they are taking within their fixed income…
Understanding Portability
By Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished) | Volume 2, Issue 3 (March 2014) An interesting provision within the Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010 (“2010 Tax Relief Act”) allows an executor of an estate of a married decedent the option to transfer any unused estate tax exemption amount to the surviving spouse.[1] Thus, for example, if a decedent used only a portion of his or her estate tax exemption, the estate could elect to have the remaining portion pass to the surviving spouse, giving the surviving spouse a larger estate tax exemption.[2] Although this portability…
Robert Keebler’s Net Investment Income Tax Bundle Package
Many professionals have expressed a desire for further assistance with the 3.8% Net Investment Income Tax (“NIIT”) and completion of new IRS Form 8960. In recent weeks, we have enlisted the help of nationally renowned CPA and tax expert, Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished) to present on several topics on NIIT. You can spend hours deciphering Internal Revenue Code Section 1411, the final regs and the instructions for Form 8960. But, as tax professionals, we know that your time is limited and you may not have time to wait to get the help that you need right away…
Robert Keebler on Rev. Proc. 2014-18 (Plus Free PDF Download)
From the Desk of Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished). Rev. Proc. 2014-18 provides the procedures for filing a late 706 to obtain portability. This procedure will be a real “lifesaver” for an executor who missed the filing requirement. Rev. Proc. 2014-18 also provides a simplified method for the executor of an estate for a spouse in a same sex marriage who died before DOMA was ruled unconstitutional to obtain an extension of time to file for “portability.” If you would like to download a PDF of a presentation that was given for the AICPA, please complete the form…
The Importance of Periodic Life Insurance Policy Reviews
By Martin M. Shenkman, CPA, MBA, J.D. | Volume 2, Issue 2 (February 2014) Everyone who owns an insurance policy should be certain to conduct insurance reviews. A recent study found that in 75% of cases, the person insured could have reduced their premium outlay by an average of 40%, or increased their coverage by an average of 40% for the same outlay. These changes occur because insurance policies have evolved over time. Mortality rates have improved, people are living longer, and since insurance companies are going to pay claims later, newer policies will be cheaper than older policies even…
The End of the Great Migration Into Bonds (Part 2 of 3)
Allocation Risk Budgeting for Income Overview By Jeffrey Dunham, Financial Advisor | Volume 2, Issue 2 (February 2014) As The End of the Great Migration into BondsSM continues, fixed income investors may experience detrimental consequences to their bond investments as interest rates rise. For investors who depend on the distributions from their bond funds, the challenge will be maintaining a proper level of income while providing relative protection of their principal. In last month’s issue of The Ultimate Estate Planner’s newsletter, we introduced you to a turnkey marketing campaign designed to allow financial advisors to focus on the vast assets currently held in…
Top Ten Asset Protection Mistakes Attorneys Make
By Steven J. Oshins Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Asset protection has become one of the hottest areas of practice, especially over the last decade. Although asset protection planning should be a fixture in every estate planner’s repertoire, there are still many asset protection opportunities that are missed. This article describes ten asset protection opportunities that are often overlooked. Asset Protection Mistake #1: Not discussing asset protection planning. Nearly every estate planning attorney makes a will and revocable trust discussion a given in every estate planning meeting, yet asset protection is often merely an afterthought. For many attorneys, unless the client or…