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 43 years, I can tell you that, although the old saying is usually true (or at least should be your guiding principle), there are times when the client is not right and,…
This Is the Worst Problem That Many Domestic Asset Protection Trust Jurisdictions Have
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) I have assembled state rankings charts for many years showing which states are best for various types of trusts. With so many different charts and so many different variables, one variable stands out as being disregarded, or maybe even completely missed, by estate planners — the requirement in many of the states’ Domestic Asset Protection Trust (“DAPT”) statutes for the transferor to execute a new Affidavit of Solvency for each and every transfer to the DAPT. At first blush, one would think that this is merely a public policy requirement. We certainly don’t…
How You & Your Assistant Can Work Better Together
By Kristina Schneider, Practice Success Coach 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 to develop potential new business. …
Current State of the Corporate Transparency Act
By Griffin Bridgers, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation) UPDATE AS OF FEBRUARY 27, 2025 In certain geographic locales, it is often said that if you don’t like the weather, you should just wait 30 minutes. Such seems to be the nature of the Corporate Transparency Act. Less than 24 hours after this newsletter was published, FinCEN issued a press release on February 27 stating that there will be no fines, penalties, or enforcement actions for any failure to file or update BOI information by the current deadlines (March 21, 2025 or, if later, 30 days after filing or a change). As part…
Heckerling 2025 Reports from the ABA
The 2025 Heckerling Institute was held in-person (and virtually) in Orlando on January 13-17 and marked the conference’s 59th year. The Phillip E. Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning is the nation’s premier conference for estate planning professionals, offering unparalleled educational and professional development opportunities for all members of the estate planning team. Over the course of the conference’s five days, numerous timely topics of interest to estate planners of all designations—including, but not limited to, attorneys, trust officers, accountants, charitable giving professionals, elder law specialists, wealth management professionals, and nonprofit advisors. As they have done for many years, the American…
Fight Back Against “Commoditization” and Low-Priced Competition
By Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), CFP®, ChFC, California State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law The estate planning profession, and in particular the basic Living Trust-centered practice, has been hammered by new challenges. There’s the proliferation of Internet “zoom” document providers and do-it-yourself trust kits (Suze Orman and the like). There are non-attorney trust mills increasingly grabbing market share (often in violation of the state statutes prohibiting the unauthorized practice of law). And there are bargain-priced, low-end attorneys (many of whom have jumped aboard the Living Trust craze from other areas of the law)…
Keeping Your Law Firm’s Digital Presence Current in a Fast-Moving World
By Foster Web Marketing Just like your wardrobe, your law firm’s digital presence needs regular updates to stay current. But unlike fashion, where the stakes might be a few awkward glances at a networking event, falling behind in the digital world can cost you valuable clients. You wouldn’t show up to meet a potential client wearing a suit from 1995. Yet many estate planning attorneys are essentially doing just that with their websites—presenting their professional services in an outdated digital package that makes potential clients think twice about reaching out. The world of web technology is changing at breakneck speed,…
Do You Hate Marketing?
By Kristina Schneider When it comes to the idea of marketing, most lawyers cringe. For many lawyers, marketing seems tacky, unprofessional, and perhaps even “beneath” them. They didn’t study for countless hours and pay thousands of dollars to get all those degrees and credentials behind their name to then be bothered with the idea of marketing. But, here’s the reality. If you run your own practice, you are a business owner. And, if you’re a business owner, marketing is essential to the success and, frankly, the survival of your practice. Marketing your business doesn’t mean you have to go out and…
Will the Federal Estate and Gift Tax Exemption Drop In Half at the End of 2025?
By Steven J. Oshins, Esq., AEP (Distinguished) I provided a similar analysis in a LinkedIn post in December of 2024. This article will expand that post, and with a similar conclusion. 2025 Tax Act? The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 doubled the federal estate and gift tax exemption with inflationary increases thereafter. With Donald Trump winning the presidential election and the Republicans winning control of both the Senate and the House, it is extremely likely that there will be a 2025 tax act that will include, among other things, an extension of the current federal estate and gift…
Top Mistakes Attorneys Make Marketing Their Seminars
By Kristina Schneider Many estate planning attorneys think that seminars don’t work—for a variety of reasons. Some of these reasons may be valid, but the most common reason that I find when I talk to estate planning attorneys is they say, “I tried it and they didn’t work.” It’s then that we begin to have a discussion about how they went about marketing it and as we begin to look into things further, it is clear to me why they don’t think that seminars work. Worse yet, for some attorneys, I have found that when we actually reviewed the return…