Buy-Sell Agreements: It takes a Team and a Plan!

Every few weeks I am asked to review an existing buy-sell agreement, and the partners want to know if they have enough life insurance. My response is usually something like, “Probably, but are you protected if something other than death happens to you or your partners?” For reasons unknown to me over the course of my career in insurance and specifically in Executive Benefits, buy/sell conversations always revolve around life insurance. That has always struck me as strange because […]

January 8, 2014 Accounting, Wealth Management Read more...

2013 NET INVESTMENT INCOME TAX FOR INDIVIDUALS, TRUSTS AND ESTATES

Sean Urbany, CPA

In addition to the various tax increases enacted on January 1st of this year as part of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012 (which averted the so-called fiscal cliff), taxpayers should note one other tax change for 2013: the 3.8% tax on net investment income. While it was actually put in place way back in 2010 as part of the health-care law, it went into effect for this year and will apply to individual returns […]

November 18, 2013 Accounting, Tax, Wealth Management Read more...

Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

October 21 – 27 is National Estate Planning Awareness Week, which is designed to raise awareness and provide education around this important financial issue. I’ve had the opportunity to help many families and family businesses preserve their legacies over the past thirty years, and, unfortunately, there are some common estate planning mistakes and misconceptions that seem to come up time and time again.

Think your assets are not significant enough to necessitate a plan? Think […]

October 24, 2013 Accounting, Tax, Wealth Management Read more...

Premarital Agreements: Protecting Family-Owned Business Assets

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Principal

Last week, I had the pleasure of facilitating a webinar with Linda Ravdin, a knowledgeable family law attorney from law firm Pasternak & Fidis. While divorce is always a difficult subject, it can become particularly troublesome when there are concerns about protecting family-owned business assets. Through this webinar, Linda shared a number of insights and strategies that business owners can use to protect their business assets in the case of a divorce.

Properly protecting […]

October 7, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Wealth Management Read more...

STUDENT LOAN INTEREST REFRESH AND DEDUCTING STUDENT LOAN INTEREST

Scott Reddersen

Millions of students returning to college campuses this month received a back-to-school gift from Congress with an interest rate reduction for federal student aid. After rates on new Direct Subsidized Loans had doubled from 3.40% to 6.80% as of July 1st, the Senate and House approved a new system which ties current and future rates to the 10-Year Treasury note. In the short-term, that effectively lowers rates from 6.80% to 3.86% for undergraduate students and from 6.80% to […]

August 26, 2013 Accounting, Tax, Wealth Management Read more...

The Best of Intentions: Implementing Your Succession Plan

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

The New York Times’ You’re the Boss blog recently shared an insightful post on businesses that had no succession plan, and how the children coped when they inherited these businesses.  The second generation of leadership has a lot to say about how these situations have affected their own approach to succession planning.

Many of these leaders are determined to transition more effectively to the next generation.  One comment in particular struck a chord with me:

Jessica […]

July 9, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Wealth Management Read more...

Actionable Tactics for Keeping Emotions in Check Within the Family Business

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

It’s said that one important thing that makes humans different from animals is that we experience emotion.  Although it is typically considered wise to separate emotions from participation in the business world, this is not a realistic expectation.  Nor is it necessarily the better option; some emotions – such as passion, joy, a little fear (i.e., being risk averse) – can contribute positively to the running of a family business.  Can you imagine the […]

June 13, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Wealth Management Read more...

Tips for Establishing and Managing Trust Funds for Young Family Members

Posted in Accounting/Tax, DCFBA Blog, Featured post, Succession, Succession/Estate Planning |Post By Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Principal

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA

Your family business is doing well – so well in fact that you have made a significant amount of money and are concerned about how to preserve it for the next generation.  Maybe as the current CEO you know due to a health issue that you may be gone before your children are old enough to be taught […]

May 30, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Wealth Management Read more...

Divorce Checklist: Financial Information and Documents that Can Aid a Settlement

Joel Susco, CPA

According to the Women’s Institute for Financial Education, each year, nearly 2.8 million men and women go through the emotional and financial trauma of divorce. And, financial survival is one of the most common concerns.

One of the biggest mistakes divorcing couples make is being in the dark about their finances. If one spouse in the marriage has historically been the financial decision maker and records keeper, he/she may have an unfair advantage when it comes time to […]

April 23, 2013 Accounting, Wealth Management Read more...

10 Ways to Ensure a Smooth Leadership Transition

Posting by Geoffrey D. Brown, CPA, Family Business Advisor

There are a number of books written on succession planning and transitions in family businesses, and it is impossible to synthesize all of that information into a short blog.  So, keep in mind as you read this, that succession planning is a complex subject, and this is intended as a high level overview.  In subsequent posts we will discuss particular aspects in greater depth.   Following are 10 suggestions to ensure a […]

April 2, 2013 Family Owned Businesses, Wealth Management Read more...