Episodes

Brent chats with Doug Nelson about what has happened in the markets during the first few months of 2022, how to find the right advisors for young investors, and educating youth about starting and persisting in personal finance. Doug is an advisor and shareholder at TCI Wealth Advisors. Doug has received numerous national recognitions based upon his belief that investment success involves integrating clients’ lifestyle goals with their investment plans. During the last decade, Worth, Barron’s, a...

Brent discusses the limits of Grantor Retained Annuity Trusts (GRATs). He talks about existing statutory and case law limitations on their use and the IRS view in CCA 202152018 that potentially creates additional risk for practitioners. He also offers practical solutions to plan for these limitations.

Brent talks with Gary Fletcher about Arizona’s SALT deduction workaround, how to plan for it, and the life and death of Proposition 208. They also discuss Arizona’s Proposition 208 workarounds that are still the law. 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 American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). Gary can be reached at (520) 881-3900, gfletcher@nflegal.com...

Brent discusses some of the highlights from the 2022 ACTEC Conference, including Build Back Better, Secure Act, Smaldino, Levine, CCA202152018, Corporate Transparency Act, and racial inequality.

Brent discusses the war in Ukraine, some of the issues and arguments that have arisen during the crisis, and how to help refugees from Ukraine and elsewhere. Resources for finding organizations helping refugees can be found at: https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/us-resettlement-partners.html https://rcusa.org/members/ https://www.charitynavigator.org/index.cfm?bay=content.view&cpid=4665#group-331 https://www.globalgiving.org/projects/ukraine-crisis-relief-fund/

Brent chats with Patricia Annino about special considerations in estate planning for women. They discuss empowering women with education, getting them involved in the planning process, and keys to success. Patricia Annino is a partner in Rimon’s Trust and Estates Group. A nationally recognized authority on estate planning and taxation, Ms. Annino has more than 30 years of experience serving the diverse needs of families, individuals, and owners of closely-held businesses. She can be found at h...

Brent and Reetu Pepoff discuss racial inequities in estate planning in the United States. They talk about the root causes of the issue, the wealth and planning gap, and what advisers can do to actively combat these problems. Reetu Pepoff is an Assistant General Counsel and Senior Vice President within the Legal Department at Northern Trust Chicago. Her role includes all aspects of advising Northern’s fiduciary practice, with particular focus on avoiding conflicts of interest, supervising litiga...

Brent chats with Frazer Rice about how to preserve generational wealth. They discuss strategies for communicating with clients about money, establishing a solid plan, and things advisors can do to maximize success. As a Regional Director for Pendleton Square Trust Company, Frazer focuses on building relationships in the Northeastern United States. Frazer is the author of “Wealth, Actually: Intelligent Decision-Making for the 1%”, and host of the “Wealth, Actually” podcast. His wealth management...

This week, Brent chats with Lily Styrmoe about sustainable investing and ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) investing. They discuss what these terms mean, changes in the market, performance of investments in this space, and ways to evaluate funds and companies from a sustainable investing perspective. Lily Styrmoe is a CFP, CSRIC, and Financial Advisor at TCI Wealth Advisors. Lily graduated Magna Cum Laude from Northern Arizona University with a degree in Environmental Studie...

This week Brent discusses charitable remainder trusts. He covers how they are structured, what types of assets can be contributed (or not), how they operate, and their taxation. He also discusses different types of CRTs, from plain vanilla to Flip CRTs and net income with makeup CRTs.

This week on the podcast Brent discusses how volatile markets, combined with low interest rates, can be a terrific time for wealth planning. He explains how asset valuations and interest rates work relative to each other for maximum wealth transfers in GRATs, sales to irrevocable grantor trusts, CLATs, and preferred partnerships.

What’s happening in the markets this year? This week, Brent and Rachel sit down with Doug Nelson on the status of the investment markets over the last quarter and what we may expect in the coming months. Doug gets into rising interest rates, hedging against inflation, and remembering your goals and overall financial plan. Additionally, Doug gives advice for anyone who wants to get into a career of financial planning and how to find your passion in the field. Doug is an advisor and shareholder a...

A new year calls for tuning up your finances! This week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel sit down with Melanie Simons, the CEO of ReFrame Wealth, to discuss her top tips for getting on top of your finances for the new year. We discuss looking at your spending reports, grading your team of advisors, and more. Melanie Simons is a founding member and CEO of ReFrame Wealth. Melanie believes that exceptional service and sound advice should be a standard in all financial planning relatio...

With the hot real estate market, we’re constantly hearing from clients about investing in real estate. So this week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel bring in Eric Freeman to discuss how to get into real estate investing. We get into acquiring funding, being tax efficient, and holding your real estate in an LLC. Eric Freeman is a Tax Senior Manager for BeachFleischman PC and has been with the firm since 2012. Eric has a Master of Accounting with a focus in tax. He has spent most of ...

This week Brent, Rachel, and Deborah get together to share a few New Year’s Resolutions that they suggest for anyone wanting to be better organized financially, personally, and as a company. Their suggestions include learning the importance of “expense ratios,” updating your estate plan, starting to plan for the 2026 tax changes, and polishing up your non-profit entity. They also discuss the importance of perspective in setting goals. Ultimately, they want people to be kind to themselves and to...

Over the weekend, the Build Back Better Act was dealt a devastating blow when Senator Manchin announced that he would not vote on the Act before the Christmas deadline. So what’s the fate of the Build Back Better Act and will we still see tax changes in the near future? On this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, Brent and Rachel chat with John Strohmeyer to discuss the future of the Build Back Better Act and what clients should be doing while the proposed changes are in limbo. John Str...

The Britney Spears conservatorship is finally over…or is it? On this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, we’ll catch you up on all that’s happened in the highly publicized conservatorship proceedings and what may still be to come. If you are enjoying the podcast, please SUBSCRIBE and leave a REVIEW, and if you want to learn more about Brent and Rachel go to https://wealthandlaw.com/team/.

There’s just a little more than three weeks left before the the end of the year–can you believe it? We know you’ve got a lot on your plate already with holiday shopping, family gatherings, etc., so on this week’s episode of the Wealth & Law Podcast, we’ve put together a list of five easy things that you can do before the end of the year that will benefit you for years to come. We take a look at making charitable gifts, maxing out 401K plans, taking required minimum distributions from retirement...

This week on the podcast we share a few of our favorite highlights from the past 88 episodes. You will hear about vacation homes, trusts under the SECURE Act, planning in Mexico, Colombia, and Canada, forming a successful financial plan, and crypto currencies.

This week, Brent and Rachel are joined again by Darren Case to discuss how they are planning around the proposed federal tax changes. There have been many changes in the last two months so they break it all down and how they see the year ending. Darren is a shareholder in the law firm Tiffany & Bosco, PA, in Phoenix, AZ. He assists families and individuals in the areas of estate planning, probate, and tax, and is the Co-Author (with Brent Nelson and TJ Ryan coincidentally) of the Arizona Estate...

Brent and Rachel chat with Shauna A. Wekherlien, CPA, MTax, CTC, CTS (aka the Tax Goddess) about some of our favorite tax planning tips to SAVE TAXES before the end of the year. We discuss simple steps (like funding retirement accounts), expensing purchases, and more complex steps that take time to structure but can lead to significant savings. Shauna is the owner of Tax Goddess Business Services, PC. She is a Certified Public Accountant (AZ), has her Master’s Degree in Taxation from Arizona St...

Here we go again–another round of new tax proposals! The House recently released the newest version of the Reconciliation Bill (AKA the Build Back Better Act), which is quite a bit different from the original proposals released back in September. So this week on the Wealth & Law Podcast, Rachel Sass and Deborah Plum discuss how this version of the Bill is different from its previous version, what changes are still in and what’s out, and what we’re doing for clients in spite of these changes. If...

This week Brent and Rachel chat with the incredible Carolyn McClanahan, M.D., CFP, about how to protect our loved ones and clients from Elder Abuse. We focus on the financial side of things. The conversation gets into discussing the issue, its prevalence, and practical ways it can be addressed. Carolyn focuses on financial planning. She completed her undergraduate degree at Mississippi University for Women, medical school at the University of Mississippi, and residency in Family Medicine at Vir...

Brent and Rachel discuss several themes circulating in the media (conventional and social). First, they discuss the proposed Billionaire Tax and how it appears to look a lot like the existing PFIC rules. Second, they discuss the review of GRATs, IDGTs, valuation discounts, and CLATs used by Phil Knight, as discussed in Businessweek https://www.bloomberg.com/features/how-billionaires-pass-wealth-to-heirs-tax-free-2021/. After recording, the Senate Finance Committee released the text of the billi...