Columnists: Blackman
Estate plan can be your best investment
All estate plans are not created equal. This article is targeted to help everyone who has a completed estate plan in place, but is not 100% delighted with the plan....
Create tax-free wealth while legally sidestepping the IRS
Well, we are about to borrow the fusion concept to create great tax results, while generating a huge amount of cash for your kids and for your grandchildren. We call it the Tax-Fusion concept (T-Fusion for short)....
Turning a negative into a positive
A full-page ad in a national weekly magazine stopped me cold. The ad's headlines said, "Five years after you quit smoking, your risk of stroke is like someone who's never smoked." A bit below the headline were these terse words, "But right now, you’re a stroke waiting to happen." ...
Help your CPA help you
This article is about a simple strategy that few CPAs, lawyers and other professionals know exists. As you are about to learn when this strategy is used, those clients and their families who use it enjoy a huge increase in the amount of their wealth, tax-free, and no additional out-of-pocket cost....
The four-month estate tax cure
My motivation for writing this article is to comment on the don’t-ever-seem-to-get-done work of many real-life lawyers, particularly those who specialize in estate planning. I’ll bet the farm that at least one-half of you reading this column, who did estate planning, can relate to the example that follows (true and unfortunately, often repeated)....
A marriage made in tax heaven
Well, maybe there is something new under the sun. Readers of this column know that your author often writes separate articles about the tax magic of an ILIT (irrevocable life insurance trust) and an IDT (intentionally defective trust). ...
To be or not to be an S corp. … that is the question
Are you a closely held business that operates as a C corporation? If your answer is "Yes,"' then this article is a must to read. If you are already an S corporation, chances are you will learn one or more tax tricks, that most people don't know, that will enrich you or your family instead of the IRS...
A succession planning horror story
This article has a singular purpose: To make sure that not even one business owner/reader of this column, who wants to sell his business to one or more of his kids, falls into the same economic nightmare and tax trap as Sam and Mary...
Proven solution to make your 401(k) plan healthy
Your author is on the warpath: to change a system that has long-been broken, not delivered its promises and skimmed billions of dollars in unearned fees from 401(k)s....
New IRS rules make estate planning easier
The new estate tax law (albeit temporary for only two years: 2011 and 2012) will make estate planning easier, without added complexity. And, best of all, you can be certain of the positive results....
Life insurance policies: a victory or not?
My law school professor, who taught advanced estate planning, often said, "Life insurance, properly structured, in estate planning is the bedrock of beating up the IRS … legally." This article, based on my 50-plus years of experience, shows you why and how my old professor was then and, even today, is right....
Three planning companions for family business owners
Do you own (all or part of) a closely held business? Sooner or later, like it or not, you must deal with what is commonly called the "succession planning problems." Hands down, the reason most readers of this column call me is for help with their business succession plan....
The Wall Street business model is broken
Since the drubbing the stock market (read Wall Street) took during the recent recession, callers, including my estate planning clients, are pleading for investment help. Sorry, this is not my skill. But their constant cries for help motivated me to try and determine if there is a logical, profitable and safe alternative to the current way Wall Street does business....
Asset protection, estate planning: wealth-saving bedfellows
The typical reader of this column hates paying taxes. Beating up the IRS — legally — is often their favorite indoor sport....
Succession planning: why so many fear it
FDR, the 32nd president, said in 1933, "Fear paralyzes those who succumb to it." Some things are downright scary. Try taxes … especially estate taxes. Can you guess what area in estate tax planning causes the most anguish? Hands down it's business succession....
Tax-advantaged investment strategies for everyone
Investors are suffering. Interest rates are at historic lows. The stock market, plagued with roller coaster-like volatility, is like a Las Vegas casino. Many readers of this column complain that it feels like they have been fleeced by Wall Street. Most have either totally or partially (usually a large portion of their portfolio) abandoned the equity market....
Estate planning: Mr. Courage leads the way
The story you are about to read has all the ingredients to make you cheer, applaud and cry. Yes, it's an estate planning story. But more than that, it's an inspiring story of one man’s courage. ...
Use tax laws to help economy, not make it worse
Here's a question that as of today does not have a clear answer: Will Congress extend the Bush tax cuts that became law in 2001 and 2003 and are scheduled to expire after 2010? ...
Estate planning for second, third marriages, etc.
From a tax-planning viewpoint, once the first (could be second, third, etc.) marriage ends, the ex-husband falls into one of three distinct categories. Each category requires different economic and tax strategies. Let’s take them one at a time. ...
The risks of an outdated estate plan
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States, said it: "In any moment of decision, the best thing you can do is the right thing. The next best thing is the wrong thing. And the worst thing you can do is nothing."...
Comprehensive system delivers your wealth to your family
Would you invest four hours to stop the IRS from taking one-half of your wealth? Over the years I have asked this question hundreds of times when giving one of my many tax-saving seminars or when a reader of this column calls me. ...
If you are affluent, it’s time to fight back
The United States of America is the greatest country on Earth. It is the greatest country because of "our free society" and capitalism. Capitalism is defined in Webster's Dictionary as the economic system in which the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit. Capitalist has two definitions. Definition No. 1: An owner of wealth used in business. Definition No. 2: Wealthy....
Succession planning for the family business
Two phone calls in the same week from readers gave me reason to write a succession planning article. The first caller told me a succession planning horror story: The caller lost millions to the IRS. The second caller’s story made me want to explode: The caller spent a lot of money on lawyers and still doesn’t know what to do....
Insurance secrets they don’t want you to know about
You’ll be delighted by what you are about to read. The subject — courtesy of flaws in the tax law — is tax-advantaged investment strategies. ...
Eliminating all of your estate tax burden
I'll bet the farm that this article will save many business owners, who want to transfer the family business to their kids, a ton of taxes. Let's set...
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