Publications
Navigating The Evolving US Estate Planning Landscape
Estate planning has evolved into a vibrant field marked by substantial transformations in recent years. These changes are propelled by updates in legislation, technological advancements, and shifts in societal norms. As a trust and estates attorney, I closely monitor these trends and understand the significance of staying abreast to offer superior service to my clients. Here are the key topics in contemporary estate planning and the advantages of engaging with either large or boutique law firms.
Why Having A Chief Of Staff For A Family Business Helps Avoid Disasters
The whole blame nor the whole praise for the failure or success of family businesses lies with the leadership or the collective family business organization. Leadership must understand that there are flaws within the family business organization; and, a leader is willing to undertake the institutional risks to fix those flaws.
Many times it requires more than just an Alpha leader but also a Beta leader, or a chief of staff from outside the organization, such as lawyer , accountant or other professional who is able to execute on the changes as they are needed
The Basics: Estate Planning In Confusing Times
Estate Planning is a process -- a process of maintaining and protecting your control of assets during your lifetime, and transferring your assets to your beneficiaries at death. The steps in the Estate Planning process are:
Family Business Sanity Check
Forbes: How Not To Tear A Family Business Apart
A May 2017 article in the Buffalo News by Lou Michel described the case of Aida Corey, her family and Permalink Products, a successful upstate New York manufacturer. It is well written and I strongly recommend you read it. In sum, Aida, who inherited the business from her husband, clearly was both suffering from some form of mental illness and was taken advantage of by non-family advisor who was in a position of influence.
Forbes: Cut Through The Fog: Ten Tests For A Family Business’ Succession Plan
How many know that your estate planning is the strategy to achieve your goals for growth, control, protection and succession?
An estate planning strategy of complexity for the sake of tax savings and starving the family for income to avoid debt will not achieve your goals in the future, since it has nothing to do with preserving the company as a going concern. Tactics used by professionals, such as the use of Family Limited Partnerships, are all about tax and debt avoidance. The estate plan will render your client’s strategies ineffective if your goal is to transfer control of the company intact in the future. Being able to test whether the estate plan works in your overall strategy both before and during implementation allows you to avoid much of the cost and delays of change after implementation.