Wealth and Law

We’ve talked a lot already about proposed tax law changes in the U.S. later this year. From potential changes to the federal estate and gift tax exemption amounts to capital gains rates, there’s a lot that Congress is debating. Our friends to the North (up in Canada) are also looking at potential tax law changes as well. On this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel chat with Paul Taylor to discuss the proposed tax changes in the U.S. and Canada and the potential impact those changes could have on cross-border planning. Paul Taylor is a partner in the Ottawa office of Borden Ladner Gervais LLP.  Paul’s practice focuses on trust, estate, and incapacity planning and administration as well as corporate law.  Paul has a wide range of trust, estate, and incapacity experience, including planning for individuals with high value and complex assets, working with clients to provide for beneficiaries with disabilities, and preparing, amending, and interpreting trusts for aboriginal groups.  Paul’s corporate law experience includes the implementation of corporate structures as part of tax and other planning. You can learn more about Paul here. You can contact Paul at PTaylor@blg.com.

Cryptoassets are all the rage in 2021. From Bitcoin to NFTs (non-fungible tokens), many individuals and families now own cryptoassets–and depending on when they acquired the asset, the value could be massive. With cryptoassets still a new topic, there are many questions about how wealth and estate planners can help plan for clients owning these assets. This week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel sit down with Matt McClintock, a well-known cryptoasset attorney, to discuss all things crypto. We get into how to plan for clients who own Bitcoin, NFTs, and more. Matthew T. McClintock lives in Evergreen, Colorado, and focuses on the areas of estate planning, long-term trust design and implementation, inheritance preservation planning, planning for bitcoin and other cryptoassets and cryptocurrencies, strategies to enhance client privacy, and domestic and international asset protection. Matt frequently speaks publicly and writes about these topics, emphasizing their impact on individuals, families, and businesses. Matt is a member of the Colorado Bar Association, the Wyoming Bar Association, the Alaska Bar Association, the American Bar Association Real Property, Trust and Estate (ABA RPTE) Section, and WealthCounsel.  He also volunteers on the board of directors for Team Evergreen, the largest nonprofit cycling club in Colorado. You can learn more about Matt here: https://evergreenlegacyplanning.com/about-us/

LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok–there’s so many social media platforms these days, but how do you market yourself and your business on each one? This week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, we bring on Ieva Ernestovska, the Founder of SpurOn Media, to discuss how to best use social media to market yourself. Ieva is a marketing expert for professionals and gets into her best tips for how to promote your personal brand and business on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Instagram. You can learn more and contact Ieva through LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ievaernestovska/?originalSubdomain=nl.

This week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel sit down with Martin Shenkman to discuss how to build a modern estate planning practice in today’s world. They discuss the role of technology in business and marketing and what steps someone should take to modernize their practice. Martin Shenkman is an attorney in private practice in Fort Lee, New Jersey and New York City. His practice concentrates on estate and tax planning, planning for closely held businesses, and estate administration.  Martin is a regular source for numerous financial and business publications, including The Wall Street Journal, Fortune, Money, The New York Times, and others. He has appeared as a tax expert on numerous public and cable television shows including The Today Show, CNN, NBC Evening News, CNBC, MSNBC, and CNN-FN. He is a frequent guest on radio talk shows throughout the country and has a regular weekly radio show on Money Matters Financial Network. Martin is also a well-known author, having published 42 books and more than 1,000 articles. You can learn more about Martin here: https://shenkmanlaw.com/.

Hit me baby one more time–it’s another Britney Spears episode! There’s been a lot of movement in the Britney Spears conservatorship since we last spoke about this in March (if you didn’t catch that last episode, you can do so here). Since our last conversation about Britney’s conservatorship, Britney personally testified in court, she was able to hire a new attorney, and a petition was filed to remove her father as conservator. So on this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, we break down each major event from an estate planning attorney’s perspective. We focus in on Britney’s testimony, the petitions that have been filed thus far, and give our predictions as to what might happen later this year. If you are enjoying the podcast, please SUBSCRIBE and leave a REVIEW, and if you want to learn more about Brent and Rachel go to https://wealthandlaw.com/team/.

We love talking about philanthropy and how individuals and families can incorporate charitable giving into their estate plans. As we’ve mentioned previously on the Wealth & Law Podcast, there are numerous ways that individuals and families can give to charity besides simply writing a check. One great way to give to charities is by setting up a donor advised fund. We bring on Erin K. MacDonald this week to talk all about donor advised funds. We get into what a donor advised fund is, how to set one up, the differences between a donor advised fund and a private foundation, how donor advised funds can fit in with an individual’s estate plan, and what possible changes the future may bring to donor advised funds. Erin is a partner in the Trusts and Estates Department of Karnopp Petersen. She regularly counsels clients in the areas of estate planning, probate and trust administration, tax planning, and charitable giving. Erin believes that building a good relationship with her clients is essential in order to address the needs of her clients, their families, and their futures. Erin is a Fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC), and a Member of the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar’s Estate Planning and Administration Section. She is a Member of the Oregon State Bar’s Estate Planning and Elder Law Sections, Central Oregon Estate Planning Council, Oregon Women Lawyers, Cascade Women Lawyers, and Deschutes County Bar Association. Erin actively participates in the local community as a board member of the Central Oregon Community College Foundation and the Laboratory for the American Conversation at OSU Cascades. She is also an Advisory Board member of the Central Oregon Estate Planning Counsel, U.S. Bank’s Central and Eastern Oregon Region, and Assistance League of Bend. You can find Erin on Twitter @erinkmacdonald and can learn more about her work at https://karnopp.com/team/macdonald-erin-k/.

Can you believe it that the year is already half over? This year, we’ve seen a lot of focus on a few main issues that have been popping up for our clients. So on this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, we break down the popular issues that we’ve been handling so far this year. We get into international estate planning, prenuptial agreements, business succession planning, conservatorships, and making big gifts. We’d love to hear if you are seeing the same issues pop up, leave us a comment and tell us what main issues you’ve been seeing. If you are enjoying the podcast, please SUBSCRIBE and leave a REVIEW, and if you want to learn more about Brent and Rachel go to https://wealthandlaw.com/team/.

With the world starting to open up, individuals and families are starting to get out and travel again (finally!). So, this week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel sit down with Danielle Desir to discuss all things related to personal finance and travel. Danielle gives us her top tips for how to be a financially savvy traveler. Danielle Desir is a blogger, podcaster, speaker, and author who is frequently quoted in the media. Danielle travels the world and runs the affordable-travel and personal finance blog ThoughtCard.com. She is also the host of The Thought Card Podcast, a biweekly podcast empowering financially savvy travelers to make more informed financial decisions – travel more, pay off debt, and build wealth. She aims to help financially savvy travelers explore what’s possible and accomplish their travel and money goals sooner. In 2018, Danielle founded WOC (Women of Color) Podcasters, a community of over 3,500 members. This is the first community of its kind dedicated to amplifying the voices of women of color podcasters from around the world. Then in 2019, Danielle co-founded a virtual podcast summit called Podthon. Podthon features diverse speakers from around the world. In 2019, Danielle wrote her first book, Iceland: Nature, Nurture & Adventure, an Iceland travel guide sharing how to plan an affordable, adventurous, and culturally enriching trip to the Land of Fire and Ice. In 2020, she published two additional books Affording Travel: Saving Strategies For Financially Savvy Travelers and Traveling With A Full-Time Job. You can learn more about Danielle here: Website: https://danielledesir.com/ Travel Blog: https://thoughtcard.com/ Podcast: https://podcast.thoughtcard.com/

On this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel sit down with Steve Gorin to discuss buy-sell and cross purchase agreements. They get into the similarities and differences between the two types of agreements, why one may be more tax-efficient than the other, the life insurance transfer for value rules, and common traps to be on the look out for. Steve Gorin in a Partner at Thompson Coburn LLP. Steve crafts estate plans for individuals, keeping in mind their financial security and desire to save income and estate tax. In his work for businesses, Steve helps owners plan for the eventual sale (to co-owners, employees, or third parties) or transfer (to family members), and provides a legal framework for an orderly transition while strategically saving income, transfer, and FICA taxes. Drawing on his background as an accountant — and his still-current CPA license and Chartered Global Management Accountant credential — Steve structures businesses to achieve business objectives and save income or estate tax. He has helped fledgling businesses organize, thriving businesses restructure to save hundreds of thousands of dollars of income tax when planning a transition to the next ownership group, and mature multi-million or billion-dollar businesses plan tax-saving transfers to the next generation. Over the course of his 30-year career, Steve has amassed a deep knowledge of nearly every aspect of tax strategy for privately held businesses and freely shares that knowledge with others in the field. His quarterly newsletter, “Business Succession Solutions,” is considered essential reading for hundreds of CPAs and attorneys, who describe it as “a fantastic contribution to the field.” Steve also maintains a blog, Business Succession Solutions, intended to help business owners — and those who advise or support them — consider smart tax strategies. Steve is a highly visible member of the ABA’s Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Section and the American College of Trust & Estate Counsel, which regularly directs its members to Steve’s quarterly newsletter. He has represented both groups in comments to the IRS, the U.S. Treasury, and tax lawmakers. You can learn more about Steve here: https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/people/steve-gorin. You can sign up for Steve’s newsletter here: https://www.thompsoncoburn.com/insights/blogs/business-succession-solutions/about.

Planning for retirement is one thing. But planning during retirement is another. This week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel are joined by Trey Andrew to discuss financial planning and retirement. They get into: Ways to bring in income during retirement,Utilizing the investment bucketing approach,Managing transitions in life, andWhich important investment decisions may be binding. Trey Andrew is a Wealth Advisor at Carson Wealth who focuses on his clients’ short-term needs and long-term goals. Since 2009, he has been engaged in various personal and professional real-estate investments, property management services, and small businesses ventures. He has served clients throughout the country in virtually every stage of life and career. Prior to joining Carson Wealth, Trey almost exclusively focused on the unique challenges and opportunities that face our nation’s physicians (e.g., their contracts, compensation, practices, partnerships, loans, benefits, tax-efficient investment needs, asset protection concerns, and risk management strategies). Trey has a bachelor’s degree and two master’s degrees as well as holds the Registrations 7, 66, and Life and Health licenses. Trey is the current president for the Southern Arizona Financial Planning Association and an active member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council.  Trey is a volunteer with the Society For Financial Awareness, Christian Business Men’s Connection, and has committed much of his time, effort, and resources to working with at risk youth. Trey’s experiences have given him a unique passion for coming alongside those who are, have been, or are preparing to be caregivers. You can learn more about Trey here: https://www.carsonwealth.com/team-members/trey-andrew/. Trey can be contacted at: (520) 751-4300.