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  • Why Work With Us

     

    “Clients want clarity and advisors that see the big picture. We differentiate ourselves by turning a world overwhelmed by technical information and data into knowledge that can be understood by the client. We listen carefully to understand your unique needs and vision in order to craft our guidance. Our powerful skills are enhanced from networking and alliances with other experts.”

    Every year hundreds of high net worth individuals attend our free lectures on estate planning and gift tax planning. Most have done little or no planning, have plans that are out of date, or have gaping holes that will prevent them from achieving their wealth transfer goals. We have never met a person of substantial wealth for whom we could not bring something of value to the table. With laser like focus, we assist you in evaluating how various estate planning techniques, gift tax planning techniques, and the use of life insurance to pay estate tax can substantially increase the wealth transferred to the people you care about and favorite charities. We explain and outline planning techniques in plain English.

    Our Value Proposition

    By working with us you will:

    The Professional Landscape For Estate Tax Planning and Gift Tax Planning

    Our experience tells us that many people are not receiving the full range of the sophisticated advice that some attorneys, CPAs, and large financial institutions are capable of providing in the areas of estate planning, gift tax planning, and life insurance to pay estate tax. The biggest complaint we hear is that these professional are not proactive. We are frequently asked “Why didn’t my estate planning attorney tell me this?” The discussion below may provide some insight why this is happening.

    Attorneys as Estate Tax Planners

    There are some great estate tax planning attorneys out there; but the chances of you finding one on your own are slim. And how would you know the difference? Let’s categorize estate tax planning attorneys:

    Basic Estate Tax Planning Attorneys

    The $2,500 Special: Many estate planning attorneys focus on drafting basic documents. For some people, that is all they need. We call it the “$2,500 Special”. The ones that do well financially tend to draft a lot of basic documents, putting in just a few hours of time, with limited customization. Once in a while they work on something sophisticated or refer it out.  Be warned – if you are a person of substantial wealth, that $2,500 may be the most expensive fee you will ever pay.

    Sophisticated Estate Tax Planning Attorneys Charging an Hourly Rate

    If you are a quick study, there are some excellent estate planning attorneys who will charge you an hourly rate. The rate can run $300-$600 per hour, or more. Considering the potential estate tax and gift tax savings from working with a sophisticated estate planning attorney, the rate is reasonable, assuming you follow through with the recommendations.  The problem is that many people do not want to spend $10,000-$20,000 exploring ideas they may never implement. It is a big deterrent to exploring estate tax planning and gift tax planning ideas.  These estate planning attorneys will give you all the time in the world as long as you keep paying the fee.  It can become very expensive, in a hurry, if you struggle understanding more complex financial structures or are indecisive. This not a criticism, it is reality. The good ones deserve to be well compensated, especially if you have a large estate and corresponding estate tax.  Life insurance is generally not their strong suit. In general, they have no financial incentive to recommend life insurance to pay estate tax as part of the estate tax planning solution. In fact, they know that because life insurance to pay estate tax is so simple, many people choose life insurance in lieu of the more complex solutions.

    Sophisticated Estate Tax Planning Attorneys Charging a Flat Fee

    These estate planning attorneys make their money by charging you a flat fee for a particular technique. If you are doing a number of techniques, the bill can easily be $20,000 – $50,000, or a lot more. If your estate is large, working with a sophisticated estate tax planning attorney on a flat fee basis can be worth every cent. These estate tax planning attorneys maximize their revenue by putting in as little time as possible; both in explaining a particular strategy in the early stages and continuing throughout the engagement. They will usually limit the amount of free time before requiring you to sign an engagement letter and pay a retainer. Even then, the fixed fee arrangement may limit the number of consultations without an increase in the fee. This not a criticism, it is reality.  Like the hourly rate attorneys, the good ones deserve to be well compensated, especially if you have a large estate and corresponding estate tax.  You need someone who will spend the necessary time to explain what can seem very complicated to the layperson before committing to a large fee.  Life insurance is generally not their strong suit. In general, they have no financial incentive to recommend life insurance to pay estate tax as part of the estate tax planning solution. In fact, they know that because life insurance to pay estate tax is so simple, many people choose life insurance in lieu of the more complex solutions.

    The CPA as an Estate Tax Planner

    Most CPAs are generalists – not tax experts. This is especially true when it comes to estate tax planning, gift tax planning, and life insurance to pay estate tax. That is why the larger firms have dedicated tax departments. But even the tax departments of the larger firms are usually much better at income tax planning than they are at estate tax planning, gift tax planning, and strategies involving life insurance to pay estate tax. Many CPAs are buried doing compliance work; they rarely have the time to study what is going on in the world of sophisticated estate tax planning and gift tax planning. So while you may justifiably trust your CPA, do not expect much in the way of sophisticated advice or ideas in estate tax planning, gift tax planning, and using life insurance to pay estate tax. This is not a criticism, it is reality. As in the case with estate planning attorneys, life insurance is generally not their strong suit. In general, they have no financial incentive to recommend life insurance to pay estate tax as part of the estate tax planning solution; although some states now allow CPAs to sell life insurance.

    Financial Institutions as Estate Planners

    Did you ever meet someone from a bank, trust company, or brokerage firm that was not a Vice President, Senior Vice President, Director, or Manager of something?  In many situations the titles have become meaningless.  Yes, these institutions have some outstanding talent at the national levels that specialize in estate tax planning and gift tax planning. However it is unlikely that you will ever have the opportunity to work with them unless you are someone with fabulous wealth. The person you end up dealing with is an asset gatherer who may only have rudimentary estate tax planning skills.  Many of these asset gatherers have been with other large organizations over the course of their careers for one reason or another. These organizations are only as good as the people assigned to you. Mergers, acquisitions, cutbacks, etc, all have an impact. Someone leaves and another takes their place. You may not have the stability, continuity, or sophisticated estate tax planning talent you think.

    More On Our Estate Tax Planning Value Based Fee Structure…

    We use a value driven compensation model that encourages prospective clients to explore estate planning opportunities. If you work with us, you will not be obligated to pay us a fee for any of the estate tax planning work and coordination with the attorney of your choosing. We are normally compensated through your purchase of life insurance to pay estate tax that becomes part of the estate tax planning process. You are not obligated to purchase any insurance. If it makes sense for you, then buy it; if it doesn’t make sense for you, then don’t buy it. We do not expect you to do anything that you feel is not in your best interest. All we ask is your serious consideration. We have done business this way for over twenty years and it works out well for everyone.

    If you decide not to purchase any life insurance to pay estate tax, it will be up to you whether to pay us a fee. There is no legal obligation. We will make a suggestion to you based on whether our estate tax planning ideas have provided a substantial benefit to you and your family. We are compensated for our knowledge, not our time. We can have a frank discussion as to what might be appropriate if it becomes necessary, but the decision will be completely up to you whether to compensate us separately if you decide not to purchase life insurance to pay estate tax.

    We are not attorneys. Although Brian Singer is a CPA (Inactive-California), it is not his intent to become your CPA. Our strength and role is conceptualization. We take great pride in being able to reduce complicated estate tax planning principles to understandable techniques for the layperson. We provide a framework for the client to decide which are most suitable.

    Our services are intended to enhance, clarify, facilitate, and coordinate the tax advice provided by the estate tax planning attorney.  We do not draft or review documents. Final responsibility for the tax aspects rests with the attorney of your choosing. Most tax planning techniques require careful drafting by a highly competent estate tax planning attorney with specialized knowledge.  An estate tax planning concept that might work when competently drafted, could fail as a result of mistakes made in the documents prepared by an attorney not proficient in these areas. We can introduce you to high level estate planning attorneys at the appropriate time, if necessary.

    Wherever you are located, email us at info@ebsresponsiblewealth.com to arrange for a free
    consultation. Our common sense approach to estate planning and life insurance to pay estate tax will help you get to where you want to be.

    FREE ESTATE PLANNING ARTICLES, FULL-LENGTH VIDEOS, AND BLOGS!!

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    Internal Revenue Service Circular 230 Disclosure
    Pursuant to Internal Revenue Service Circular 230, we hereby inform you that any tax advice set forth herein with respect to U.S. federal tax issues was not intended or written by E. Brian Singer, Shaun Singer, EBS Group, EBS Responsible Wealth, or EBS Business & Investment Group, Inc., to be used, and cannot be used, by you or any taxpayer, for the purpose of avoiding any penalties that may be imposed on you or any other person under the Internal Revenue Code.

    Our role is to help you evaluate planning techniques that can reduce your future estate tax and gift tax, and increase the wealth transferred to your family. Brian Singer is not an attorney. Although he is a CPA (Inactive-California), it is not his intention to become your CPA. He no longer engages in the practice of public accounting. This and any other analysis or discussion is not meant to address all the issues and risks as you might find in a technical legal analysis. That task, if necessary, and if you are willing to pay the fee, is the responsibility of your attorney. Brian Singer attempts to take complicated tax principles and reduce them to understandable techniques for the layperson, in plain English. Any discussion and/or written analysis are meant to give you an overview of the anticipated benefits to be derived by employing specific techniques.  Final responsibility for the tax aspects rests with the attorney of your choosing. All techniques require careful drafting by a highly competent tax attorney with specialized knowledge.  A concept that might work when competently drafted, could fail as a result of mistakes made in the documents prepared by an attorney not proficient in these areas. The appreciation rates, investment earning rates, tax rates, valuation discounts, and other factors are hypothetical assumptions.  The benefits from implementing any technique will ultimately be better or worse than described depending upon variation from the assumptions. There are no guaranteed results; either in an economic analysis or in application of the tax law. We hope you will decide to use our services. Any planning we propose is incidental to the purchase of insurance. Since insurance is used to pay estate tax, the less tax you will owe, the less insurance required. The planning is essential in the determination of your insurance needs. You are in no way obligated to purchase any insurance. If it makes sense for you, then buy it; if it doesn’t make sense for you, then don’t buy it. You are not expected to do anything that you feel is not in your best interest. We may choose to disengage at any time.

    Copyright © 2011 EBS Responsible Wealth