Episodes

Brent chats with Chris Siegle about Beneficiary Deemed Owner Trusts (BDOTs). They explain how these trusts work and what opportunities they present for planning. They also discuss the potential for future changes in the tax laws, what you might do to plan for those changes, and how BDOTs might fit into that picture. Chris Siegle is a Managing Director and Senior Wealth Advisor in the Scottsdale, Arizona office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. With his strong legal and tax background, he and his tea...

Brent chats with Toni Ann Kruse about qualified personal residence trusts (QPRTs). These trusts are popular in high-interest environments to transfer personal residences among family members. Brent and Toni explain how they work, the income and transfer tax rules, and give planning tips. Toni Ann Kruse is a Partner at McDermott Will & Emery who has a broad-based estate and wealth transfer planning practice in New York. She advises ultra-high net worth individuals and families on estate, gift an...

Brent chats about the many non-probate transfers. He explains the ownership rights, tax treatment, what happens at death, and issues during lifetime. He also explains pitfalls to plan for. In the episode, he describes joint accounts, joint tenancy with right of survivorship, beneficiary deeds, transferable on death, payable on death, and beneficiary designations. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the speaker as of the date noted and not necessari...

This is Episode 200!! Thank you to all the listeners, subscribers, guests, and friends who have made the podcast what it is! In this episode, Brent talks about the importance of good writing. He offers tips on how to write well, and, in particular, how to edit well. He shares the importance of audience, levels of editing, and using lists. He then gives you a checklist to use in formal writing. Good writing is often a sign of good thinking. Learning this skill will help you in all types of commu...

Brent chats with Naomita Yadav about the basics of qualified terminable interest property trusts (QTIP Trusts). They explain the key features, how to use them in planning, and some important foot faults to avoid. Naomita also explains the difference between a QTIP Trust and a SLAT. This is a continuation of our series about the alphabet soup of different irrevocable trusts that may be very important in the lead up to 2026. Naomita Yadav is a partner in the private client and tax team of Wither...

Brent chats with Chris Siegle about how to make non-grantor trusts income tax efficient. They talk about normal QTIP and Bypass Trusts, how those trusts might be made grantor trusts, what powers and authority to think about, and other planning tips. Chris Siegle is a Managing Director and Senior Wealth Advisor in the Scottsdale, Arizona office of J.P. Morgan Private Bank. With his strong legal and tax background, he and his team provide successful individuals, families and organizations with cr...

This is the first in a series of episodes about the alphabet soup of irrevocable trusts that will be critical pre-2026 TCJA Sunset. In this episode, Brent introduces you to Intentionally Defective Grantor Trusts (IDGTs). He explains the transfer tax context, how the trust is formed, its special income tax treatment, and the planning uses for IDGTs. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the speaker as of the date noted and not necessarily of the spea...

Brent chats with Griffin Bridgers about how non-residents of Colorado can plan when they own real estate there. They discuss the income and capital gains treatment of the property. They also talk about how to do proper estate planning in that context. Finally, they describe the relevant federal tax issues. Griffin is a Wealth Strategist for Mosaic. Griffin uses his 13 years of experience as a tax and estate planning attorney at small, medium, and large firms to advise and educate Mosaic’s clien...

Brent chats about the many different Charitable Remainder Trusts, from CRATs, CRUTs, NICRUTs, NIMCRUTs, to Flip CRUTs. He explains the taxation, typical ways they are used, and how they function. He also explains some of their technical requirements so you understand what they can and cannot do. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the speaker as of the date noted and not necessarily of the speaker’s firm or its affiliates. If you are enjoying the ...

Brent chats about the challenge of large IRAs, especially for wealthy individuals. He discusses how to plan for estate tax on those accounts, the Secure Act changes, and the tax costs to understand. He then explains Roth conversions, when they make sense, and how traditional and Roth accounts might be stretched through a Charitable Remainder Trust. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the speaker as of the date noted and not necessarily of the speak...

Brent chats about the top things he is discussing with clients and projects he is working on currently. He discusses the Corporate Transparency Act, reviewing older trust documents and updating them, and reviewing older family entity documents. He talks about the merits of addressing those issues now. Then he shares projects he is working on currently, including the podcast, an Article being published in April in the Colorado Lawyer, and other articles and speaking engagement he is preparing. T...

Brent chats with Alicyn McLeod about all the bad tax advice circulating on social media. They talk about why it is appealing, though ultimately wrong, and what tax professionals can do to counter it. Alicyn McLeod is a CPA, CFP® with 20+ years of tax experience. She is the co-founder and CFO of Agate CPA. She is a Georgia native and a graduate of Augusta University where she earned a Bachelors in Business Administration in Accounting and a Masters of Business Administration. Alicyn resides in t...

Brent chats with Shauna A. Wekherlien (the Tax Goddess) about how to do income tax planning with the possible sunset of the Trump tax cuts in 2026. They discuss their thinking on the possibility of the sunset happening, how to view changing laws, and ways to try to have your cake and eat it too. They talk about the constant need to vigilance in tax planning and the frequency of change that makes it complex. Shauna A. Wekherlien, CPA, MTax, CTC, CTS, Tax Goddess is a highly sought-after Certifie...

Brent discusses how the sunset of the estate tax exemption in 2026 will also effect non-citizen non-residents of the US significantly (NRAs). He explains how the estate tax treaties work and how the math under some of the treaties could change in 2026 in a way that makes an NRA who is currently safe from estate tax exposed to estate tax thereafter. He also gives an estate tax planning framework for US citizens, NRA’s in treaty jurisdictions, and NRA’s in non-treaty jurisdictions. The math under...

Brent chats with Karin Prangley and Ross Bruch about the details of crypto currencies in estate planning. They get into how crypto has changed over time, the challenges of managing it and administering it, and specific techniques where it is useful for planning. They also give real life examples and share tips from the trenches. Karin Prangley is a Senior Wealth Planner in the Chicago Private Banking office of Brown Brothers Harriman. She has spent her entire career advising successful individu...

Brent chats with John Stephens about how adding equities can de-risk an investment portfolio. They then talk about how that strategy can be used within the goals an investor has for their life. In the end, money is a tool to live, so they discuss how to think about using investing to support the life you want to live. They also talk about John’s unique journey from practicing physician to financial adviser and how to navigate transitions successfully. John Stephens, MBA, CFA, CFP® is a Sharehol...

Brent chats with Ashley Francis about artificial intelligence and how it can be used to improve your business. They talk about its efficiencies, its limitations (so far), and how it can help take emotion out of difficult tasks. Ashley provides use cases and explains the current environment of AI. Ashley Francis is the owner of the Francis Group, PLLC, a CPA firm that offers sophisticated, personalized tax and accounting services tailored to your needs. Its team of highly qualified experts will ...

Brent chats with Gary Fletcher about the now effective Corporate Transparency Act. They talk about what the act requires in 2024 for existing reporting companies, how to comply, bugs in the system, and what might be next. They give useful tips on how to understand the Act and make sure you and your clients are fully compliant. Gary Fletcher is an attorney and CPA at the firm Nystedt & Fletcher, PLLC in Tucson, Arizona. Gary practices tax accounting and estate planning, and is a Fellow in the Am...

Brent chats with John Briggs, who returns to the podcast to discuss his upcoming book, The 3.3 Rule: The New Workday Standard of Creating More by Working Less. They discuss how John has grown his team, tips on managing people to be effective operators, and how a more balanced day can increase outputs. John Briggs, CPA, is the founder and CEO of Incite Tax and Accounting in Draper, UT. John graduated from Brigham Young University with a Master of Accountancy in Tax. He worked on corporate taxes ...

Brent chats with Victoria Richardson about all things art and collectibles. They swap fun stories about clients’ amazing collections, discuss how to properly value and handle these items, and dig into the IRS view of taxing valuable personal property. Victoria is the Deputy Chairman, Americas Senior Vice President for Trusts and Estates at Bonhams. Bonhams Trusts & Estates team assists fiduciaries with a variety of services including appraisals, auction sales, collection management. Bonhams i...

Brent chats with Julian Zebot about why families tend to fight. It isn’t always just about money. They explore the common reasons for fights, how to resolve them, and typical procedures when courts are involved. Julian Zebot is a Partner at Maslon LLP. He focuses his legal practice on probate, fiduciary, and trust litigation as well as business and commercial litigation, and he chairs Maslon’s Trust & Estate Litigation Group. He has counseled and represented individual and business clients in b...

Brent discusses some of the hottest topics in tax and trust planning. He talks about oral arguments before the US Supreme Court in the Moore case, Senator Wyden’s proposed (again) billionaire tax, and trust planning options in light of higher interest rates. He also dispels a few urban legends relating to guessing about other people’s tax, not taking what others do as what you should do, and how to see things with fresh eyes. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed...

Brent discusses passive foreign investment companies (PFICs). He explains what they are, how they can appear in surprising places, their complex taxation, and gives tactical ideas about how to deal with these assets. This material is for informational purposes only. The views expressed are those of the speaker as of the date noted and not necessarily of the speaker’s firm or its affiliates. If you are enjoying the podcast please SUBSCRIBE and leave a REVIEW, and if you want to learn more about...

This is a throw-back to a past episode where Brent and Rachel Sass discuss the history, structure, mechanics, and incredible utility of trusts. They explain where trusts come from, why they are so helpful in our current system, and how they are used in estate planning. Rachel is a Vice President and Trust Advisor in the Tucson office at Northern Trust. Rachel is a member of the Southern Arizona Estate Planning Council, the Morris K. Udall Inn of Court, and State Bar of Arizona. Rachel is a form...