August 2013
Volume 1, Issue 4
Life Insurance from the Estate Planning Attorney's Viewpoint
by Steven J. Oshins, J.D., AEP (Distinguished) 
Estate planning attorneys are often known for "killing" life insurance sales.  Since the attorney owes the client a duty to do what is in the client's best interest, if the attorney truly believes that the client does not need the insurance policy, then the attorney is arguably satisfying his or her ethical responsibilities to the client.  However, the attorney often automatically says "no" to the client's detriment.  Perhaps the problem is that many attorneys just don't understand the different life insurance products.  And human nature is often such that if you don't understand something then you are negative towards it.

>>READ MORE

RELATED EDUCATION
Mr. Oshins did a 60-minute presentation for us entitled, "The ABC's of ILITs".  If you missed it, you can download the handout materials and the audio recording. >>MORE INFO
What's Wrong with Variable Annuities?
by Richard Gilman, CFP� 
After the stock market crash in 2000 and "Great Recession", investors have justifiably become more concerned about their retirement. Many people no longer trust Wall Street.  Having suffered through dramatic market swings, they are unwilling to keep putting their savings at risk. They worry about exploding health care costs and outliving their money. They know they need to do something - - but what? 

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Tax & Economic Implications of the DOMA Decision
by Robert S. Keebler, CPA, MST, AEP (Distinguished)

rkeebler

Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) provided that in determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, the word "marriage" meant only the legal union between one man and one woman as husband and wife, and the word "spouse" refers only to a person of the opposite sex who is a husband or a wife. On June 26, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court invalidated this section of the Act in United States v. Windsor. The decision has far reaching planning implications for married same-sex couples whose marriage is recognized under applicable state law, affecting the income tax, gift tax, estate tax and social security and employee benefits. This article summarizes some of the key ramifications of the decision.

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RELATED EDUCATION
On July 9th, Mr. Keebler did a very special 60-minute program entitled, "Planning After the Landmark DOMA Decision - - The Impact on Income and Estate Tax Planning".  If you missed it, you can download the handout materials and the audio recording. >>MORE INFO
Is the JEST Trust a Joke?
by Alan Gassman, J.D., LL.M. (Taxation), Florida State Bar Certified Specialist in Wills, Trusts & Estates, AEP (Distinguished), and Christopher J. Denicolo, J.D., LL.M.

Can a married couple in a non-community property state establish a joint revocable trust that will facilitate obtaining a date of death stepped-up basis on the death of the first dying spouse, and the full funding of a credit shelter trust (to the extent of the first dying spouse's estate tax exemption) that can benefit the surviving spouse and descendants without being subject to federal estate tax on the surviving spouse's death?

 

After extensively researching these issues and reviewing alternative structures, we have designed a joint trust planning technique, entitled the, "Joint Exempt Step-Up Trust"  (or "JEST" for short).

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RELATED TELECONFERENCE
Join Mr. Gassman & Mr. Denicolo for a very special 60-minute teleconference entitled, "The Joint Exempt Step-Up Trust: Wealth Protection and Income Tax Benefits for Non-Community Property State Clients", on Wednesday, August 21, 2013 at 9am Pacific (12pm Eastern).
  >>MORE INFO
Free Checkup Meetings Generate Lots of Revenue!
by Philip J. Kavesh, J.D., LL.M. (Tax), CFP�, ChFC, CA State Bar Certified Specialist in Estate Planning, Trust & Probate Law

In our last article, we discussed the "free service package" alternative to an annual maintenance fee program.  The package included a free attorney checkup meeting every three years.  

 

You may be wondering, "How do you get your existing clients to come back in for these checkup meetings and actually generate additional revenue from them?"

 

6 Ways to Better Manage Your Interruptions
by Kristina Schneider & Megan DeLaGarza, Executive Assistants

kristina schneider megan delagarza Interruptions at the workplace are inevitable.  From clients, coworkers, e-mails and phone calls, to personal interruptions and anything else that can possibly happen, you are bound to be interrupted.  In fact, statistics show that the average employee spends an average of two hours per day dealing with unnecessary interruptions and then recovery time, trying to refocus and get back on track.  And, even more startling, the cost of managing these interruptions at the workplace costs the U.S. economy $588 billion per year!

 

While interruptions cannot be avoided all of the time, they can be better managed.  Here are six helpful tips that we have found to better manage our interruptions and make for a much more efficient (and pleasant!) work environment.

 

 

Laminated IRA Charts from Robert Keebler 
We have a number of Robert Keebler's client-friendly IRA, Roth IRA and other tax planning charts available in laminated, full-color print so you can distribute to your prospects and clients.  >>MORE INFO 
WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR NEWSLETTER?  CALL FOR ARTICLES
We are looking for estate planning professionals of all designations - - attorneys, financial advisors, life insurance agents, CPAs and any other kind of professional advisor that is servicing the estate planning needs and concerns of consumers - - to contribute articles to our newsletter.  Our newsletter offer a variety of timely, practical and helpful advice to fellow estate planning professionals all across the country and across the board.  If you are interested in writing an article for us, please e-mail your bio/CV and suggested topic to Kristina Schneider at [email protected].
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� 2013 The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. This newsletter and its content are the copyrighted materials of The Ultimate Estate Planner, Inc. and the individual authors.  This newsletter is intended for estate planning professionals and may not be appropriate for distribution to consumers.  All rights reserved.