It’s easy to make decisions in your firm based on what you think your clients want, or on what the other firms in your community are doing, but how do you know what your clients really want from your firm? The best way to find out is to ask them. Here’s an exercise your firm can […]

Samuel Goldwyn once said, “An oral contract is as good as the paper it’s written on.” But is this always the case? The truth is a legal document can be binding and effective even if it isn’t perfectly drafted and neatly printed up on expensive paper.Would you believe a will can be valid if it’s […]

A July 2010 survey by Thomson Reuters found that 57 percent of Americans have made their end-of-life care choices known.  This is significantly more than in previous surveys.  As you might expect, more people over the age of 65 have taken this step.  In fact, nearly three-quarters of people over 65 have done so, as opposed […]

What would a permanent repeal of the estate tax do to the nonprofit sector? At first blush, it might not seem like estate taxation and philanthropy have much of a link. But there’s a strong connection. Built in to the federal estate tax is a deduction for charitable bequests. Plus, charitable donations made during a […]

In marketing, as in the rest of life, timing is everything. In our search for clients, it’s easy to forget about a prospective client who has a first meeting with you and doesn’t immediately retain you. What do you do? Move on and never contact them again. It seems easier and more fruitful to keep […]

American Academy Members sometimes use an odd “verb” when discussing the effectiveness of their estate planning initial consultations with us and with each other. It is not uncommon to hear someone say, “Were you Ganeshing?” or “I was totally Ganeshed!” The nationally known coach we have relied on for effective consultation training is a Sandler […]

The last couple of years have brought the topic of the federal estate tax to the forefront like never before. Not only has there been debate over what Congress should do. The polarizing subject of the fundamental fairness of the tax itself has also taken center stage. Here are some reasons in support of the […]

What is it about our pets that make them such a part of our lives?  Could it be their unconditional love for us?  The fact they are there when we can’t sleep and we need someone to talk to, or when we want to get something off our chest and they are always in the […]

We all feel like there’s no time left in the day to fit in one more task or responsibility. But most of us probably only function at a fraction of our real capacity. Why is this? How do you even figure out what your capacity is? Your Unique Ability The first step in examining and […]

When it comes to passing on wealth to the next generation, people seem to fall firmly into one of two camps: either they want to leave all the riches they’ve accumulated during their lifetimes to their children, or they adopt the worldview that inherited wealth, in and of itself, is not necessarily a good thing. […]