In an effort to help fellow advisors better understand the 3.8% HealthCare Surtax, nationally renowned CPA, Robert S. Keebler, has issued the examples below to help you. John, single, has $100,000 of salary and $50,000 of net investment income. The 3.8% surtax would not apply (MAGI <$200,000). Mary, single has $225,000 of net investment income and no other income. The 3.8% surtax would apply to $25,000 of income (excess of $225,000 MAGI over $200,000 “threshold amount”). Terry and Tina, married filing jointly, have $300,000 of salaries and no other income. The 3.8% surtax would not apply (no net investment income)….
California Forum for Independent Collaborative Advisors – July 23-24 in San Diego, CA
For those of you in the southwestern region of the U.S., we thought you may be interested in attending this upcoming event held by SCI (Southern California Institute). California Forum for Independent Collaborative Advisors This California educational event concentrates on the new topics that have materialized in California’s laws, and new wealth planning strategies and techniques developed over the previous year. This condensed two-day program presents a variety of topics for Advisors, and provides tools to help them protect their clients and recognize possible liabilities. Click Here to View Agenda Monday, July 23rd 12:00 Registration 12:30 – 5:10 General Sessions;…
How Will Health Care Ruling Impact Advisors?
The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the health care overhaul could have a broad impact on wealthy investors’ wallets with a new 3.8% increase on investment income. The increase, which is one of the bill’s funding mechanisms, is set to take effect in January. “The top rate on long-term gains is 15%. Next year, we know it’s going to go up by at least 3.8%,” says Tim Steffen, director of financial planning at Robert W. Baird & Co. “For higher income individuals and couples, their investments just became more expensive.” That new rate, according to Steffen, will be imposed on…
IRS Issues Long-Awaited Portability Guidance
On June 15, 2012 the Internal Revenue Service issued temporary regulations (T.D. 9593) and proposed rules (REG-141832-11) on the portability of a deceased spousal unused exclusion amount applicable where the death of the first spouse occurs on or after Jan. 1, 2011. Here are the highlights. Election Required Portability must be elected on a “timely filed” Form 706, which, regardless of the size of the estate, is a return filed within nine months of death or, if an extension has been granted, the last day of the extension period. The IRS has required that the portability election be made on…
Attorney Disbarred After Trying to Sell Annuities to Elderly Client
Reposted from WealthManagement.com & Trust & Estates | By Gregory Monday & John T. Brooks According to the Florida Supreme Court, an attorney’s activities fall under ethical disclosure rules whenever he participates in a business transaction with a client, even if he’s not a principal (for example, buyer or seller) in the transaction. In The Florida Bar v. Doherty,1 the Florida Supreme Court disbarred an attorney for attempting to sell annuities to an elderly client without notifying the client in writing that the attorney would receive a commission in the transaction. Although many of us would never broker the sale…
Asset Protection Jurisdictions Compared: Fine-Tuning the DAPT with Steve Oshins
By Robert L. Moshman, Esq. | The Estate Analyst Since 1997, 13 states have enacted laws permitting self-settled trusts. Including Colorado, which has had a highly questionable statute on its books since long before the other states, there are a total of 14 states with some form of domestic asset protection trust (DAPT) laws. Each of these DAPT jurisdictions has taken its own approach, and there are critical variations. To some extent, the 14 states have jockeyed for competitive edge to position themselves as attractive havens for trust funds. Here, we have consulted Nevada attorney Steve Oshins, an authority on…
Managing Your Priorities and Offer for Personal Coaching Session
Reposted from WealthManagement.com | By Matt Oechsli Los Angeles—“We’ve got so much going on in our practice, everybody is working, but I don’t really know if we’re prioritizing properly,” Michael explained. “Do you know of a simple way in which we can get a handle on this?” In the busy world of a successful financial practice, it’s easy for everyone to get caught up in the reactive whirling dervish of day-to-day affairs. The telephones are ringing all day, support personnel have been trained to answer the telephone by the third ring at the latest, they attend to whatever the client…
Testamentary Planning & Administration for Blended Families
A prospective new client contacts you about working with him. Within minutes, you learn that he wants you to also work with his partner, and 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 is the first response, and, in most instances, the prospective client is afraid as well, but…
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….
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…