This episode of The Practical Planner was recorded live at the 59th Annual Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning in Orlando, one of the premier conferences for estate planning professionals. Anne Rhodes and David Haughton attended in person and shared insights with co-host Thomas Kopelman, who joined virtually, about why estate plans often stall, the latest developments in irrevocable trusts, and the enduring value of conferences for building relationships and gaining expertise in the estate planning and wealth management fields.
In this episode of The Practical Planner, our hosts dive deep into the complexities of deed transfers. They discuss how to transfer properties into trusts, the importance of title searches and the common mistakes that can create headaches and legal issues down the line. They also touch on navigating state-specific challenges and how to guide clients considering transferring property into a trust.
Charitable giving can provide crucial immediate tax benefits, but it can also be a powerful tool in estate planning. Hosts Thomas Kopelman and Dave Haughton discuss the various tools available for charitable giving, including donor-advised funds (DAFs), Charitable Remainder Trusts and Charitable Lead Trusts. They emphasize how to use tools like these to optimize charitable giving for tax efficiency. They also discuss why it can be important to include children in charitable decisions and how to minimize the tax burden on heirs through strategic planning that maximizes charitable contributions.
In this episode, hosts Thomas Kopelman, Anne Rhodes, and David Haughton explore how recent election results could shape estate tax planning through 2025 and beyond. They emphasize the importance of flexibility in navigating uncertainty in tax laws and political environments. The discussion includes the potential sunset of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, why advisors must stay informed and adaptable and how to approach flexible planning for ultra-high-net-worth clients.
This week, Adam Nash, CEO and co-founder of Daffy, joins host Thomas Kopelmen for a special charity-focused episode of The Practical Planner. Giving to charities isn’t just about supporting causes you care about, it can provide immediate and long-term tax deductions. Adam and Thomas discuss how donor-advised funds (DAFs) work, how they allow you to better support your favorite charities and the financial and tax benefits of having one place. They touch on the role of automation in making charitable contributions easier, how to find the right charities to support and how to leverage the tax benefits of giving back.
It’s important to take the time to decide how to leave your assets to your children, or other minors in your life. That’s the takeaway message from hosts Thomas Kopelman and Dave Haughton in this week’s Practical Planner episode, where they focus on the reasons for structuring how children receive assets but the considerations that go into it, such as their long-term motivation and well-being. They dig into the reasons why leaving it outright may not be best, and why choosing a trust can be a valuable tool to plan for children’s financial future. The explore different options for structuring trusts, such as naming a trustee to manage distributions or staggering distributions based on age or yearly terms. Reddit thread Thomas mentions at 8:55: https://www.reddit.com/r/Asmongold/comments/1ehx7ug/a_redditor_spent_their_inheritance_on_intel_this/
Estate planning isn’t just about what happens after you die. It’s also about knowing how to best pass on your wealth during your lifetime, especially your children. In this episode, hosts Thomas Kopelman and Dave Haughton discuss different ways to play for your children’s future. The explore various types of accounts, including UTMA accounts and 529 plans, detailing the pros and cons of each. They also discuss gifting, including how to help with large expenses like student loans and housing, and when to utilize trusts.
If you’ve wondered if your client needs a Credit Shelter Trust, this episode details their value in estate planning. Hosts Anne Rhodes, Thomas Kopelman and David Haughton discuss why Credit Shelter Trusts are designed for estate tax planning, specifically to preserve the estate tax exemption for spouses. They go into the different ways Credit Shelter Trusts can be structured and the potential downsides of using one. They also touch on Survivor’s Trusts and why flexibility in estate planning is so important. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Dasarte Yarnway is well known throughout the wealth management community as the Founder of Yarnway Wealth Management and Head of Community at Altruist. In this episode, he joins co-hosts Thomas Kopelman and Dave Haughton to discuss his approach to holistic financial planning and why estate planning is the backbone of any financial plan. He shares his RIITE (Retirement, Investment, Insurance, Taxes, Estate Plan) planning process with clients and how he educates his clients on why these are the critical pieces of a financial plan He also details how he coaches his own clients into knowing what they should be looking for in their financial plan and estate plans to empower them and deepen the client-advisor relationship. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Gifting can be a great strategy to transfer wealth but the tax implications and exemptions are often misunderstood. Tax-free strategies for gifting to family or loved ones may actually be broader than most think. Hosts Thomas Kopelman and David Haughton discuss both the ways someone can gift as well as strategies for minimizing potential taxes on those gifts. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Host Thomas Kopelman is joined by Dave Haughton, Senior Corporate Counsel at wealth.com, who’s stepping for Anne Rhodes as ongoing co-host temporarily, to discuss what happens after someone creates their estate planning documents. Dave details the three key steps to know, especially for advisors guiding their clients, including the critical piece of needing physical documents and getting them notarized—and why online notarization may not be the best solution. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Anne and Thomas are joined again by Chris Nason, partner at McDermott, Will and Emery LLP, to discuss the intracacies of how trusts operate, focusing on SLATs an Marital Trusts. Chris dives deep into SLATs, how they work, the benefits of having one and when having one may make sense. They also debunk a conversation that has been taking social media by storm about a certain trust structure that can help you avoid all taxes, and discuss why it's unlikely to work despite it going viral. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Chris Nason, a partner at McDermott, Will and Emery LLP, who focuses on tax and estate planning, and Stanford University Trust and Estate Planning teacher, joins Anne and Thomas in this episode to provide some background on The Tax Cut and Jobs Act of 2017 and how advisors can help their clients create estate planning and tax strategies before it’s benefits are set to sunset at the end of 2025. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Justin Castelli, Founder of RLS Wealth, joins hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman to talk about how his approach to financial planning has shifted to focus on life planning by placing a focus on his clients’ life goals and values at the center rather than focusing on the numbers first. By helping clients figure out what their authentic life looks like and how to achieve it, he believes it brings more clarity to the estate planning process. Check out this episode to hear how he helps clients figure out what’s most important in their lives and how that helps them plan for what happens when they pass. For any questions, email us at practicalplanner@wealth.com. Follow us on Instagram at @practicalplannerpodcast to stay up-to-date with our podcast!
Curious when it makes sense to have a Marital Trust? Hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at [wealth.com](http://wealth.com) and Thomas Kopelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and Co-founder of AllStreet Wealth discuss the three main reasons to set one up, including: - Concerns over how your spouse may use your assets - Tax planning purposes, including the the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax - Asset protection They dig into each reason and get into specifics of situations when having a Marital Trust can be beneficial.
Estate planning can be difficult due to tough conversations you may need to have and make. This can be exacerbated by certain cultural and generational expectations and taboos. Anna N’jie-Konte, CFP®, President and Director of Financial Planning at Re-Envision Wealth, joins this episode to share how financial advisors can help their clients approach these conversations and why having them now can be beneficial for all their family and loved ones.
Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG, joins hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com and Thomas Kopelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and Founder at AllStreet Wealth, to share her personal story and how major life events led her to view estate planning in her life—that it’s not just something the top 1% do when they’re older but is also about giving loved ones peace of mind and clarity. She discusses how selling the company she and her husband, Ryan Russell built (Twenty Over Ten) was acquired by FMG, led them to taking estate planning seriously due to the financial windfall. But when the unimaginable happened and her husband was diagnosed with cancer, estate planning took on a whole new meaning for her and her family. You can buy her husband’s book, which she discussed in the episode, on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1804090840?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_F0F592E6F9AJY05AHNZ5.
Jennifer Rozelle, Owner and Attorney at Indiana Estate & Elder Law and host of the Legal Tea podcast, joins hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman to discuss what advisors need to know when helping their clients figure out what to do with their real estate assets. They touch on common mistakes to avoid, gifting strategies and why it’s often about helping clients have conversations they’ve been avoiding.
Your client has set up a trust, now what? Hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman dive deep into what assets should go into a trust and what assets should not or, more often, what assets can't go into a trust. They cover real estate, businesses, international assets, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, bank accounts and more. And why the key may be what your state's threshold for probate is, known as "petition for small estate." They also tackle beneficary designations and more, sharing key insights for financial advisors.
Hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman discuss how advisors can help their clients manage and reduce fees related to estate plans. The conversation highlights that, often, the biggest assistance and advisor can provide is to prepare their clients ahead of meeting an estate planner while also helping set expectations. While this can help streamline their time with an estate planner, they stress that quality is always paramount.