The Curious Case of the Exponential Growth of the NING Trust to Save State Income Taxes

By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) It’s the year 2017.  The tax world seems to be relatively similar to that of 2016.  But one tax-saving technique seems to have certainly taken on a life of its own this year.  This technique is called a NING Trust. In prior years, although there were plenty of individuals creating NING Trusts, this technique was relatively unknown throughout the estate planning industry.  However, it seems that 2017 has been the Year of the NING as many tax practitioners have noticed the exponential growth of this strategy!  Suddenly, a technique that hadn’t yet gone…

Why Every Estate Planning Attorney Needs a “Coach” and Key Features Their Coaching Program Should Have!

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…