Columns

Estate and Gift Tax Developments
Gal N. Kaufman, Melissa A. May, Patrick M. Schoshinski, and Todd I. Steinberg

Speaking Out:
"Branding For Wealth Strategy And Planning Executives
How to weave key brand messages into everyday conversations or presentations"
Catherine M. Shaw
Branding for Wealth Strategy and Planning Executives begins by defining why branding is an important element in your firm’s growth in the marketplace.  The article discusses ways in which executives can implement basic communications techniques that will increase their firm’s presence and better define their businesses in clients’ minds.  This will aid in their decision process by you being a clearer choice for their planning and strategy needs. 

Features

Never Spend Principal?
Alice S. Paik and Edward K. Dunn, III
Never spend principal.  Perhaps no other precept of investing has been passed from generation to generation so solemnly, and for good reason.  Restricting spending to current income (primarily interest and dividends) can avoid a lot of trouble in an equity-oriented account, particularly in down markets. 

Encouraging and Helping Your Clients to Provide for Pets in Estate Plans
The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS)
Your clients want the very best for their pets. They want to know that you as an estate planner can help them provide for the dog, cat, horse, or bird who is much more than simply property to them.

Beyond Traditional Estate Planning: Addressing The Personal Impact Of Inherited Wealth
William Soskin, Attorney/CPA
Traditional estate planning involves minimizing estate taxes, reducing administrative costs and drafting documents to accomplish non-tax goals.  However, well-written documents do not assure clients that their heirs will use transferred wealth constructively and lead meaningful, happy and fulfilling lives.  The transfer of substantial wealth will have a significant impact on the recipient.  A critical question a transferor needs to ask is what can be done to maximize the possibility that the recipient will not be adversely affected by this wealth transfer or, conversely, how wealth can enhance the well-being and behavior of the inheritor.  This article explores how parents and other transferors can better make the transfer of wealth a constructive and positive event.

The Path Of Altruism : A Reflection On The Nature Of A Gift
James E. Hughes, Jr., Esq.
This article discusses differences between “gifts,” which enhance the human and intellectual development of others, and “transfers,” which may initiate the downhill slide of another in the state of victimhood known entitlement.