Life insurance has long been a tool for Estate Planning attorneys. Years ago, when the exemption amount was lower, attorneys suggested the purchase of life insurance to provide liquidity for an estate if the individual expected to have an estate tax liability at death. With the current exemption amount of $12.06 million, far fewer individuals […]

The Covid 19 pandemic has redefined the ways we live and work. It has caused millions of people to reassess their relationship to their jobs and has unmasked the deep unhappiness that many Americans have with the inherent structure of employer/employee relations. In fact, the “Great Resignation” has been dominating headlines since 2020 and most […]

Many Estate Planning attorneys build estate plans around trusts. Trusts offer great flexibility both during life, for example during a period of disability, and after the death of the grantor by providing asset protection, remarriage protection, asset management, and other benefits which might not be otherwise available. The income tax consequences of a trust depend […]

It feels like not too long ago we were just in San Diego for the 2021 Fall Summit, but as it so happens — time has flown by and we’re gearing up to see everyone for the 2022 Spring Summit in Austin, Texas in just a couple of months. We could not be more excited! […]

As many of us remember, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) sent shockwaves through the Estate Planning community with its significant changes to the rules regarding distributions from Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”).  To recap, the SECURE Act repealed the maximum age at which a taxpayer could contribute to […]

Although it may not be the powerhouse it once was, Facebook is still a formidable marketing tool, especially for certain target audiences. You can increase brand awareness and grow your online community organically and their advertising platform can also be a great resource for finding prospects. The majority of users click on an average of […]

The advent of websites like “Legal Zoom” may lead you to believe that you can create your own estate plan without the assistance of a qualified Estate Planning attorney. You may believe or have heard that writing your intentions on a piece of paper might suffice as a Will. When you write your testamentary intentions […]

We are feeling the love this month and wanted to share, so we’ve made three training sessions available to download for a limited time! These transformational recordings cover a wide range of topics including successful consultations, marketing, and even accounting best practices for managing your books. The first session “Paving the Road to Successful Consultations” […]

Although Individual Retirement Accounts (“IRAs”) have become ubiquitous in the Estate Planning world, they are relatively young having been created in 1974 with the passage of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. Recently, the Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act of 2019 (“SECURE Act”) made significant changes to the rules regarding IRAs including […]

Was 2021 a great year, a bomb year, or something in between? Do you know? There’s only one sure fire way to tell and you guessed it, the proof is in the P&L. Members all across the country have been submitting their most intimate financial information from 2021, and the Academy has been sitting down […]