By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Hiring, training, and managing employees have certainly not been easy things to learn when it comes to owning my own law practice. I say it time and time again, but these are the things that we never learned in law school, but yet seemingly take up a great deal of time (and expense) if not done well. One common mistake that I am guilty of making in the past, but that I’ve seen come up quite a bit lately…
How Law Firms Are Harnessing the Power of AI in Marketing
By Foster Web Marketing With the rapid advancements in 2023, law firms are increasingly recognizing the transformative potential of artificial intelligence (AI) and applying it to their marketing and lead-generation strategies. These innovative strategies may be new, but they’re powerful. And the firms that embrace them have been able to quickly gain a competitive edge, streamline their processes, and drive more profitable growth with fewer resources. Below, let’s take a look at some of the ways law firms are harnessing the power of AI in marketing and putting themselves on the cutting edge of this emerging trend. Understanding AI in…
Three-Year-Old Tiffany Oshins Interviews Daddy About Domestic Asset Protection Trusts
By Tiffany A. Oshins and Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) Three-year-old student Tiffany A. Oshins (“Tiffany”) recently sat down with her father, estate planning attorney Steve Oshins (“Daddy”). Tiffany interviewed Daddy about asset protection planning and Domestic Asset Protection Trusts. Below are highlights from the interview. [Daddy helped Tiffany with a lot of her spelling.] Tiffany: I overhear you talking about asset protection planning all the time. How do you start this conversation with prospective clients? Daddy: Many of them come to me specifically for asset protection planning. So the conversation is simple with them because they already have that…
How to Work Around California’s Anti-ING Trust Legislation
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) It finally happened. California passed SB 131 in its 2023 legislative session which, among other things, sadly contains a provision treating all so-called Incomplete Non-Grantor Trusts (“ING Trusts”) as grantor trusts taxed to the settlor. This takes away a key tool planners have used for many years to reduce California state income tax on taxable income not sourced to California. The legislation is effective retroactive to January 1, 2023, so many California residents were wrongly punished for following the law that existed prior to the date this legislation passed. It remains to be…
Most Estate Planning Websites Are Designed to Fail
By Tom Foster, Owner and Founder of Foster Web Marketing The websites for most estate planning law firms suffer from a common problem. It’s a problem that is completely obvious to visitors and potential clients, but it often goes undetected by the lawyers that own the website. In the lawyers’ eyes, their websites appear to be attractive and contemporary, with all the bells and whistles needed to attract, convert, and retain their ideal clients. However, in the eyes of their visitors, their websites are falling flat. So, what’s going on? What is this problem that’s so pervasive that it affects…
5 Commonly Overlooked Uses of Life Insurance
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law Now that estate taxes apply to less than 0.2% of Americans, I have had life insurance agents (as well as financial planners, CPAs, and attorneys) ask me whether there’s any need for life insurance anymore in clients’ planning, beyond the still standard needs for replacing the income of a head of household or funding a business partner buy-sell agreement. Over my 40+ years of experience in advising clients on estate, tax, and financial planning, I have seen and utilized…
SECURE 2.0 Act Enhances Special Needs—See Through Trust Planning
By Edwin P. Morrow, III, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CFP®, CM&AA® and Nancy H. Welber, J.D., ACTEC Thanks to the generosity of Leimberg Information Services, we are pleased to provide you this recently published article on LISI. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Section 337 of the Secure 2.0 Act, effective in 2023, provides a welcome, though very limited in scope, enhancement to special needs trusts designed to receive retirement benefits and qualify as see through trusts under the Secure Act provision for applicable multi-beneficiary trusts (AMBTs). The new provision provides that most charities can now be remainder beneficiaries after the death of a disabled…
The Top 35 Overlooked Best Practices for Executive Assistants
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach and Kirsten Allen, Executive Assistant Working for our boss, estate planning attorney Philip Kavesh, we combined have over 28 years of executive assistant experience. Throughout this time, we have been able to gain numerous best practices and good habits for providing administrative support to a busy executive. Also through our time in interfacing with many busy attorneys, we have interacted and even worked side-by-side with our fair share of assistants that either lacked the skills, experience, knowledge, training, or personality to be able to properly support their bosses. So we have seen what works…
5 Reasons Estate Planning Websites Attract the Wrong Clients
By Foster Web Marketing You’ve launched an awesome website for your estate planning firm. You’re getting loads of traffic. You’re eagerly waiting for your perfect clients and referral sources to knock on your digital door. But—wait a minute—why are you getting so many inquiries from folks that aren’t a great fit for your firm or seem to be looking for legal services you don’t offer? If you’re scratching your head and questioning the value of your investment, I don’t blame you. But I also know it’s also a problem that can be solved when you dig deep into your website…
SECURE Act 2.0 Offers Longer Stretch for Conduit Trusts, But Contains Traps for Surviving Spouses
By Edwin P. Morrow, III, J.D., LL.M., MBA, CFP®, CM&AA® Thanks to the generosity of Leimberg Information Services, we are pleased to provide you this recently published article on LISI. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Section 327 of the SECURE Act 2.0, effective in 2024, will provide over $1.1 billion in new tax benefits for those in the know, but traps for the unwary. The downside is that the changes may actually be quite harmful in certain situations for surviving spouses inheriting retirement plans, causing an earlier required beginning date and higher required minimum distributions (“RMDs”) than under current law, if the new…