With today's $15 million estate tax exemption, relatively few clients face traditional estate tax concerns. Yet financial advisors are increasingly expected to guide estate planning conversations that go far beyond tax minimization. In this session, expert Marty Shenkman will explore the evolving 'menu' of estate planning priorities: protecting wealth from lawsuits and divorce through asset protection structures; strengthening revocable trusts to address aging and health challenges; leveraging non-grantor trusts for income tax benefits; reviewing and repurposing existing or outdated trusts; and designing flexible plans that provide both asset protection and client access. Advisors will leave with practical insights and tools to elevate their estate planning conversations and deliver more value to clients.
In this continuing education session, learners will review 2 Nerd’s Eye View blog articles: Don’t “Avoid Probate”: Reframing Estate Planning Success Around Managing (Not Escaping) The Probate Process and Gifting Strategies That Allow Business-Owner Clients To Save (Millions Of) Dollars In Estate And Income Taxes.
In the first article, David Haughton reframes probate as a normal and often necessary component of estate administration rather than a failure of estate planning. He emphasizes that advisors can use estate planning to focus on coordinating estate administration and managing client expectations, rather than probate avoidance.
In the second article, Anna Pfaehler explains how business-owner clients can use strategic gifting of business interests to reduce estate and transfer tax exposure, particularly by shifting future appreciation outside their taxable estate. She highlights key techniques such as timing gifts before liquidity events, leveraging valuation discounts, and structuring ownership to preserve control while maximizing tax efficiency.
This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Factor Investing And Its (Behavioral) Persistence: Facts and Fiction About The Zoo Of Factors and Instant-Issue Term Life Insurance: What Are The Costs Of Low-Hassle Coverage, And When Are They Worth It?
Ongoing monitoring meetings get boring. Advisors and clients alike are not thrilled to be having the same meeting again and again where there is nothing new or exciting to report. Yet, when clients hit the 'fine' phase of the client-advisor relationship, this can be the perfect time to start having 'flourish' conversations and bring some fun back to the client-advisor relationship and transform the boring monitoring meetings. Join us and learn about thinking of the three phases of the client advisor relationship as fix, fine, flourish and the questions to ask clients that move them from fine to flourish which ends up brining the advisors back to where they are happiest, at fix.
First Employee Compliance Obligations, Negligent Investment Advice, and Complying With The Information Request Letter
In this session, learners will review two Nerd's Eye View blog articles: Hiring Your First Employee: What You Need To Know To Cover Your Compliance Obligations, When Are Advisors (Financially) Liable For Negligent Investment Advice? (And Who Pays For It), and The SEC Playbook For Newly-Registered Advisers: Preparing For The SEC Examination And Complying With The Information Request Letter. In the first article, Jacqueline Hummel walks advisors through the critical considerations and compliance obligations when hiring their first employee. Topics such as whether to hire an independent contractor or employee, registration requirements for investment advisors, and determining how new hires will be supervised are discussed. In the second article, Ben Henry-Moreland reviews the legal precedence for advisor liability when providing advice to clients and discusses the implications on firms and individual advisors for negligence. In the third article, Chris Stanley provides a detailed overview of the process of going through an SEC Examination and highlights best practices for preparation for newly registered investment advisers.
This quiz includes the following articles: Form U4: Common Missteps And Best Practices For RIAs; and RIA Code Of Ethics: Important Nuances To Note In Relatively Straightforward Requirements
This quiz will include a review of the following articles: Framing Prospect Conversations Around What Motivates Them Today (And Not Their Future Goals) and Discovery Meeting Framework: 6 Questions To Help Prospects Who Are Resistant To Change