The Thursday Report – 8.29.13 – The Power to Disassociate, Essential Trust Drafting and a Probate Quick Reference Guide
Legal and tax journalism at its worst.
3 days until Labor Day. Time to catch up on your Thursday Report reading.
Ken Crotty’s LLC Clinic – The Power to Disassociate
Phil Rarick’s Fantastic and Informative Client Blog Entries: Florida Probate Quick Reference Guide
12 Personal Finance Lessons, Broken Down, In Woody Allen’s ‘Blue Jasmine’ a Forbes Blog by Deborah Jacobs
Essential Trust Drafting Considerations – Let’s Not Forget What We Learned in Elementary School, Part 1 of a 2 part article by Tom Ellwanger
Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements: An Interview with noted divorce attorney, Ky Koch and Judge George Jirotka – Part 4 of a 7 Part Series
Seminar Spotlight: Sandra Diamond Shines as a Speaker for the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council
Internet Tip of the Week: How to Help Your Clients Get Free Credit Reports
We welcome contributions for future Thursday Report topics. If you are interested in making a contribution as a guest writer, please email Janine Gunyan at Janine@gassmanpa.com.
This report and other Thursday Reports can be found on our website at www.gassmanlaw.com.
Ken Crotty’s LLC Clinic – The Power to Disassociate
Practitioners need to be aware of the changes the new Florida LLC Act makes to the ability of a member to dissociate from an LLC. In many cases, Operating Agreements will need to be revised to take these changes into account to better protect the LLC and its remaining members. Although an LLC’s Operating Agreement may not prevent a member from dissociating, the Operating Agreement may contain provisions that cause the dissolution to be wrongful and provisions that govern the obligations owed by the dissociated member to the LLC.
Current Florida LLC law does not allow a member to dissociate from an LLC prior to dissolution of the company unless the Articles of Organization or the Operating Agreement allow the member to dissociate. This default provision has been changed under Section 605.0601 of the new Florida LLC Act which provides that a member may dissociate from an LLC.
A member that expresses the intent to dissociate as provided under F.S. 605.0602(1) may do so even if the dissociation was wrongful. In addition to willful dissolution, F.S. 605.0602 lists several other instances in which a dissociation occurs, including, but not limited to: (1) an event stated in the Operating Agreement, (2) the expulsion of a person as a member, (3) the death of an individual, and (4) the incapacity of a member in a member-managed LLC.
A member’s dissociation is considered wrongful if: (1) the dissociation is in breach of an express provision of the Operating Agreement; or (2) the member dissociates before the LLC is wound down and the dissociation occurs by (1) the person’s express will, (2) a judicial order pursuant to F.S. 605.0602(6), (3) pursuant to F.S. 605.0602(8) (dealing with the bankruptcy of a member in a member-managed LLC), or (4) dissociation of the member by willful dissolution F.S. 605.0602(2).
If a member wrongfully dissociates, the member remains liable to the LLC and other members for any liabilities owed by the member before dissociation. F.S. 605.0601(3) The member is also liable for any damages caused to the LLC as a result of the dissociation and may be liable for damages caused to other members as a result of the dissociation subject to the provisions of F.S. 605.0801.
A dissociated member is no longer a member of the LLC. F.S. 605.0102(40)(b). F.S. 605.0603 also lists additional effects of dissociation on the member. If a managing member of an LLC resigns or otherwise ceases to be a manager, he or she will continue to be a member and will not be deemed to have dissociated from the LLC simply by reason of no longer serving as a manager. F.S. 605.04072(6). It is important to note that if a member transfers some or all of the member’s LLC interest to a third party, then the person who transferred the interest may still vote on LLC matters as if the person was a member of the LLC unless the person has dissociated in accordance with F.S. 605.0602(5)(b).
Pursuant to Section 605.0105(3)(i) of the new Act, the Operating Agreement of an LLC may not limit the ability of a member to dissociate. Section 605.0105(3)(i) of the new Act provides that the Operating Agreement may require that the dissociating member give notice to the LLC as described in Section 605.0602(1). If a member dissociates, the Operating Agreement or Articles of Organization of the LLC may still provide that the membership interest may not be assigned before the affairs of the LLC are wound up and the LLC is dissolved. F.S. 605.0601(4).
The obligations of the LLC to a person who has dissociated governed by the Operating Agreement. F.S. 605.0107(2). If the continuing members of an LLC amend the Operating Agreement after a person has dissociated, then such amendment will be binding on the dissociated member with respect to a debt, obligation or other liability owed by the LLC or its members to the dissociated person. F.S. 605.0107(2)(a). The amendment will not be binding on the dissociated person if the amendment imposes a new debt, obligation or liability on the dissociated person. F.S. 605.0107(2)(b).
A dissociated person is still entitled to receive distributions from the LLC in proportion to those received by the members on the basis of the agreed value stated in the LLC’s records until the company dissolves and winds up its affairs. F.S. 605.0404(1). Similarly, the profits and losses of the LLC must continue to be allocated between the members and the dissociated person on the basis of the agreed value. F.S. 605.0404(5). A person who has dissociated may still be entitled to receive information about the LLC. See F.S. 605.0410. Such person may exercise such right through an agent or legal representative.
Phil Rarick’s Fantastic and Informative Client Blog Entries: Florida Probate Quick Reference Guide
Our friend Phil Rarick of Rarick, Beskin & Garcia Vega, P.A. in Miami has been kind enough to allow us to provide one of his excellent client communications articles each week until you have read all of them.
Phil has 30 years of experience in both private and public legal work. He is a past President of the Miami Lakes Bar Association and formerly counsel to the National Association of Attorneys General.
This week’s entry is entitled Florida Probate Quick Reference Guide.
This guide has several helpful checklists and discusses:
- The three types of Florida proceedings
- The time frames and attorney fees connected to each proceeding
- Six Critical Deadlines
- Ancillary Probate for non-Florida decedents who own Florida property
- Homestead: the most confusing issue for many
Read More by clicking here: Florida Probate Quick Reference Guide
Have you considered writing articles like this for your clients and for those in your community?
Phil sets a great example for this.
Visit his website at www.rbgvlaw.com
12 Personal Finance Lessons, Broken Down, in Woody Allen’s ‘Blue Jasmine’ a Forbes Blog by Deborah Jacobs
Deborah Jacobs
Deborah L. Jacobs is a lawyer and award-winning journalist specializing in legal topics. In her best-selling book, Estate Planning Smarts, she draws on more than 15 years of writing about the stressful issues that surround estate planning. Her articles have appeared in The New York Times, Bloomberg Wealth Manager, BusinessWeek and many other publications. She is currently a senior editor at Forbes, where she writes a popular blog about personal finance for baby boomers.
Jasmine needs a good shrink (and better medication than just xanex), but some financial planning and legal representation would not have hurt either. She could have moved to Florida and been a retired millionaire instead of sticking it out in New York and losing everything. Check out Deborah Jacob’s great Forbes blog article on this interesting and educational story. Click here for the blog.
We thank Deborah Jacobs for sharing her insightful piece with us. Deborah’s contact information is as follows:
Deborah L. Jacobs
579 Fourth Street
Brooklyn, NY 11215-3008
Essential Trust Drafting Considerations – Let’s Not Forget What We Learned in Elementary School, Part 1 of a 2 part article by Tom Ellwanger
Trusts and estates lawyers are virtually all different in the form documents from which they work, but they are all similar in the pride they take in those documents and the hostility with which they greet any attempt to force them to use alternative forms.
This attachment is understandable. A lawyer’s forms often reflect the lawyer’s deepest feelings about how his or her job should be done. No two lawyers approach the law exactly the same way. So, no two lawyers are likely to use exactly the same forms.
This is true even within the same law firm. The notion of efficiency suggests that trusts and estates lawyers within the same firm should use the same forms. Firms have spent thousands of attorney hours, representing millions of dollars in unbillable time, developing forms for everyone to use.
Sometimes the powers that be can, by sheer force of personality, extract universal promises to use the identical forms. But, it doesn’t matter. Starting immediately, changes will creep in, little by little, until within 30 days no two lawyers will be using the same forms. (If you need confirmation on this point, check with any associate or paralegal who has the misfortune of drafting estate planning documents for different partners.)
The disagreements rarely arise because somebody’s forms are “wrong.” We are not talking about Will forms which neglect to include a residuary clause. Instead, we are seeing the effects of a psychological truth: obsessive-compulsive disorder selects for success in most of the learned professions, nowhere more so than in the law, and nowhere more in the law than in the estate planning arena.
Background
I became a tax lawyer despite a somewhat unusual background: virtually useless English degree; low-paid small-town journalism job; well-paid but dead-end legal writing job; comparatively low-paid entry-level position in insurance defense.
All of this, followed by 30+ years of practice in the trusts and estates area, has led me to some general theories about drafting estate planning documents. In this article I will set them out, followed (if my strength holds out) by examples of how I have applied them to revise my own standard forms.
Some of my theories will seem pretty obvious. Some of them will no doubt seem a little odd, or even more than a little odd. Although 30-plus years of practice does have a way of destroying one’s health, optimism, and youthful exuberance, the flip side is that it can alleviate to some extent the fear of appearing stupid. So, here we are.
One caveat about this article:
I learned two things in my first week of practice. One was that my job required, at all costs, sounding like I knew what I was talking about. I have not yet shaken this bad habit. Therefore, do not confuse my forcefulness in expressing a conclusion with the amount of confidence I have in it.
(The other thing I learned my first week in practice? That people would lie to get money.)
These are my principles. If you don’t like them, I have others.
Groucho Marx
What I want my documents to do
I hope that my documents help keep me from getting sued. So, I hope that my forms do what my clients want them to do; I hope that they produce valid trusts, enforceable anywhere in the country outside of Louisiana; and I hope that they do not produce horrendous tax consequences of the unanticipated variety.
I further hope that my forms will not hinder the achievement of my desire to live a reasonably profligate lifestyle—something which requires turning a profit on estate planning work.
We lawyers can only charge so much for estate planning work, and there are only so many hours in a year when we feel like doing it. Which means that I hope my documents can help overcome two serious limitations I face: (i) the amount of time I can spend extracting information from clients, and (ii) the amount of time I can spend imparting knowledge to clients and dragging decisions out of them.
Problem 1: not enough information
Ideally my documents will work relatively well even if I don’t have every piece of information which I would need to have to do a comprehensive job of estate planning. This is important, because I will never have that much information.
Yes, I could have my clients fill out a questionnaire designed to elicit the date I need. I have traditionally used such a questionnaire. Unfortunately, a questionnaire designed to get me even 75% of the information I need would run 20 pages or more, far past my own attention span, not to mention the attention span of a typical client.
Even a 20-page questionnaire might not be enough. A recent case permitted the reformation of estate planning documents because the attorney thought the client’s grandchildren would be included in the phrase “lineal descendants.” Which they normally are; but not where they have been adopted away from the client’s child, who was a natural parent, which is precisely what had happened. Who would think to ask a client if any of her descendants have been adopted away? Not me. Getting to that level would probably require a 50-page questionnaire.
And, however I obtain it, the little bit of information I do obtain could easily be outdated within the week–when an S election is made for the family business, the triplets are born, old granddad finally drowns in his Old Granddad, or one spouse finally figures out how to read the other spouse’s email.
This means that my documents need to carry out the wishes of my clients even if I don’t know nearly enough about those wishes. This is important, because with clients of ordinary means, I will never know anywhere near enough about those wishes. Time is money. If they don’t want to spend the money—and they don’t—then I don’t want to spend the time. Under the circumstances, the best I can do is guess what is likely to be important and focus on that.
Problem 2 “Not Enough Education” will be discussed next week.
Pre-Nuptial and Post-Nuptial Agreements: An Interview with noted divorce attorney, Ky Koch and Judge George Jirotka – Part 4 of a 7 Part Series
This week we cover the important topics of how much disclosure is enough disclosure, whether both parties need to have lawyers, and questions to ask the lawyer or spouse you are not representing to document appropriate disclosure and circumstances by video taped interview or written correspondence.
- Part 1 presented on Thursday, August 8, 2013, the reader was introduced to the present overall status of prenuptial agreement statutory law and case law, and talks about prominent malpractice traps and how to get clients prepared for what they can encounter in the prenuptial agreement universe. Click here to be directed to the Thursday Report for August 8, 2013.
- Part 2 on Thursday, August 15, 2013, discussed the important topics of how much disclosure is enough disclosure and whether or not both parties need to have lawyers. Click here to be directed to the Thursday Report for August 15, 2013.
- Part 3, on Thursday, August 22, 2013, discussed questions to ask the lawyer or spouse you are not representing to document appropriate disclosure circumstances by video-taped interview or written correspondence. Click here to be directed to the Thursday Report for August 22, 2013.
- Part 4, Today, August 29, 2013, the article discusses Castro v. Castro and Belcher v. Belcher, and what they mean for clients and lawyers who are involved in the pre and post nuptial agreement planning.
- Part 5, On Thursday, September 5, 2013, a discussion of alimony and lawyer fee obligations that may not be waivable in pre-nuptial or post nuptial agreements, and offset clauses and other ways to handle these.
- Part 6, On Thursday, September 12, 2013, Bifurcation – whether you can require the validity of the pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement be litigated or also before having to also litigate what the result could be if it is or is not enforceable.
- Part 7, On Thursday, September 19, 2013, How to keep marital and asset information confidential in a divorce scenario, arbitration, and the Roddy v. Roddy case.
Below is the next part of the interview:
The fourth part of this interview will cover the vitally important cases of Castro v. Castro and Belcher v. Belcher, and what these cases mean for clients and lawyers who are involved in pre and post nuptial agreement planning.
Alan Gassman: That’s really useful – thank you very much. Can we discuss Casto v Casto?
Judge Jirotka: Casto v. Casto was a case that was decided in 1987. In other words, it predates the current statute. It was an interesting case in the sense that it dealt with a version of a premarital agreement called a “postnuptial agreement.” For our purposes, I think we can consider them both to be the same. Both spouses had been married before.
In fact, one could say that one or the other was a serial marryer. There were no children born of the marriage. That’s an important fact to keep in mind because another issue that you cannot preclude in a premarital agreement is anything to do with children’s finances, specifically child support.
Ky probably wouldn’t put it in there. Good lawyers would not put it in there. You can put it in there but it’s not going to be enforceable. We have a situation where this couple had married in 1964. They divorced in 1966. Remarried in 1967.
Ky Koch: Obviously a marriage made in heaven.
Judge Jirotka: Right, and the husband was a fairly well-to-do shopping center developer if I understand the story correctly. The wife was a stay-at-home wife, and there were no children of the marriage. Approximately 10 years after the remarriage, in 1977, they entered into a postnuptial agreement. Probably we can ascertain that something was wrong to begin with because the petition for dissolution of marriage came about 12 months later.
Ky Koch: There was an agenda going on.
Judge Jirotka: The postnuptial agreement, much like a prenuptial agreement, attempted to lay out what each spouse would get to keep if the marriage went awry. The wife would get to keep the parties’ Fort Lauderdale home. She’d get a $100,000 cash settlement.
The husband would make mortgage payments for a certain period of time.. The wife would receive certain what we would call incidental benefits. Most importantly, each party would waive any right to alimony, support or further distributions. If the parties had any property in their individual ownership, they would continue to own that separately and each party would pay their own attorney’s fees in any divorce proceeding.
As I mentioned, about 12 months later the husband filed for divorce. Tried to claim in a very short form filing petition for dissolution of marriage because of the postnuptial agreement and that the matter could be very readily settled. Like any case, the wife was allowed to respond, and lo and behold she did, seeking among other things the ability to invalidate the agreement. She also counterclaimed for attorney’s fees, costs, alimony, etc.
Her grounds for asking that the agreement be set aside were not unusual grounds – duress, overreaching, unfamiliarity with husband’s assets and income, etc. It went to an evidentiary hearing.
Ky Koch: This litigation went on for quite a long while, and Justice Overton wrote this opinion after almost four years of litigation and various appeals. Ms. Casto was no stranger to this process. This was actually divorce number five for her.
The evidence was very clear that Ms. Casto had knowledge of the assets possessed by her husband, but that she had no knowledge, nor was there reasonably available to her information, to establish the value of those assets.
Lack of disclosure is what caused the agreement to be set aside. During the prenuptial agreement she had talked to two different lawyers, but she was never told the value of the assets. As you might imagine for a five-time divorcee, she was quite depressed the week before signing this postnuptial agreement.
Judge Jirotka: And I think also in the postnuptial agreement there may have been very generic reference to the properties owned by husband. There was the ranch in Idaho statement.
Alan Gassman: Oh, very vague.
Ky Koch: Now the two lawyers that Mrs. Casto had been to see both told her “Don’t sign the agreement.” Mr. Casto was not happy about this, and keep in mind now this was a postnuptial agreement so they were married about 10 years. According to Mrs. Casto, her husband told her that she would lose the home, lose all the furniture if she did not sign the agreement.
He would never give her a complete financial affidavit. She better find a lawyer who would let her sign the agreement or else. In my opinion this gets Mr. Casto into the divorce hall of fame. The husband was suggesting that he would blow up the house and and perhaps threatened her in a Mafia manner.
Alan Gassman: Beautiful.
Ky Koch: The trial court invalidated the agreement, saying that Mrs. Casto was not adequately advised as to her husband’s assets and income, that she did not have competent assistance in counsel, and that the agreement was unfair and inequitable to the wife. Now those three things are real important as we’ll get to Justice Overton’s opinion in just a minute. We’ll see that item A was and still is a valid basis to set aside an agreement. Items B and C not so much.
The trial court awarded to Mrs. Casto about $1,500,000, paid in installments. Then we get to the appeal and Justice Overton’s ruling that a spouse may set aside or modify an agreement by establishing that it was reached under fraud, deceit, duress, coercion, misrepresentation or over reaching. They found in this situation that those aspects apply in terms of the postnupital agreement arrived at in the Casto case.
Regarding ground 2B, that the challenging spouse must present in evidence the parties’ relative situations, including their ages and educational opportunities- things of that nature. The trial court must find that the agreement is disproportionate to the means of a defending spouse.
Judge Jirotka: And then the burden shifts.
Ky Koch: And once that burden shifts, the rebuttal must show that there was full and frank disclosure at the time of the signing of the agreement as to the assets, and in determining debts of the parties, or that the other spouse had a general and approximate knowledge of the reasonable means of the other spouse. Now why you would ever draft an agreement relying solely on general and proximate knowledge by the challenging spouse is beyond me. There’s no reason that should ever appear in an agreement as the basis for financial disclosure. Certainly I think if you are drafting an agreement you want to say that we’ve attached all the disclosure. There has been actual disclosure here and in addition there’s been a general and proximate knowledge of the terms of the relationship. They’ve lived together. They’ve known each other’s circumstances for quite some time.
Judge Jirotka: In other words, your advice is to travel under the first bullet not the second one?
Ky Koch: Absolutely. Okay, so what all of this means, and what Justice Overton’s opinion in Casto means and what our new Statute says to everybody in the State of Florida is still able to make a bad deal for themselves and just because this is a bad deal, whether a bad deal at the time you sign it or a bad deal at the time you’re going through the divorce – doesn’t matter. A bad deal is not a ground by itself to vacate or modify the prenuptial agreement.
Number two, if an unreasonable agreement is freely entered into, it is enforceable, period. And by the way this is a very well written opinion so if you’re ever in a situation where you are defending the validity of a pre- or postnuptial agreement, I highly recommend to you a very careful read of this. It’s very specific and will be very instructive. Justice Overton also said that erring in not having a lawyer at all is not on its own a basis to set aside an agreement. Judge, is there anything you would add on the Casto case?
Alan Gassman: So we go to Belcher v Belcher?
Judge Jirotka: There is no way that you can cut off a spouse when you are still married to that spouse from support or alimony, etc. is the different issue. Spouses are supposed to support each other. Therefore, you cannot specify in a prenuptial agreement that if the rubber hits the road, that you cannot cut off your then current spouse from support and alimony. Likewise in the support category, you cannot cut off your current spouse from access to temporary attorney’s fees. What the Lasconi case deals with, the issue of whether the agreement is enforceable or not, is being litigated.
And also as we mentioned, I do not believe this is particularly in Belcher, but it might be. I don’t have that case in front of me exactly. As I mentioned before, child support also is addressed in there.
Seminar Spotlight: Sandra Diamond Shines as a Speaker for the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council on New Florida Law Coverage for Estate Planners and The Bottom Line on Decanting or Amending Irrevocable Trusts – A Hard Act to Follow!
On Wednesday, October 23, 2013 Sandra Diamond will be speaking at the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council Half-Day Seminar.
Sandra will be speaking on the new Florida laws that impact estate planning, amending or decanting existing irrevocable trust, and other recent Florida law developments. Most people do not know that Sandra’s father was a U.S. Congressman, and that Sandra is a long-time member of the Florida Board of Governors. Go to the dictionary and look for the word pillar and you will find Sandra’s picture.
Barry Flagg will speak on insurance and estate planning.
Sean Casey of Fifth-Third Bank will give an economic update.
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of hot topics for estate planners, including same sex marriage, the new IRS SCIN position, estate tax planning software (with all attendees to receive a free beta version of our new software), and other important topics.
Please come out and support the Pinellas County Estate Planning Council. The event will be held from 8am until 12pm. To register for the event or more information please click here or email agassman@gassmanpa.com
Internet Tip of the Week: How to Help Your Clients Get Free Credit Reports
When clients come to you for estate planning are you telling them how to get a free credit report? Or, better yet, are you getting one for them?
Think about making this part of the suite of services you offer. It should take your secretary no more than ten minutes to print out a credit report on your client if you have their information and their consent.
The three national credit reporting agencies, TransUnion, Experian, and Equifax, are required to provide one free credit report upon request every twelve months, though these free reports do not include a credit score.
To access the credit reports, visit https://www.annualcreditreport.com/cra/index and select your state. Information such as current address, previous address, social security number, and birth date will be required. Once you are ready to go into each credit reporter’s portal, you will need some personal information in order to advance to the reports. This can differ per reporter and per visit, but the questions will always be culled from a person’s credit, banking, and residence history. Once a person’s identity is confirmed you can view all three reports for free.
Applicable Federal Rates
Please click here to view a chart of this month’s, last month’s, and the preceding month’s Applicable Federal Rates, because for a sale you can use the lowest of the 3.
Seminars and Webinars
WHAT CLIENTS ARE AND ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR LONG TERM CARE INSURANCE
Date: Thursday, August 29, 2013 | 5:00 p.m.
Presenter: Rob Cochran
Location: Online webinar
Additional Information: To register for the webinar please click here.
NEW STANDARDS FOR EXPERT WITNESSES
Date: Wednesday, September 4, 2013 | 5pm (30 minute webinar)
Presenters: Briggs P. Stahl, CPA and Diane Womack, CPA
Location: Online webinar
Additional Information: To register for the webinar please click here.
AVOIDING THE TRAPS IN EMR/TECH CONTRACTS….NOW YOU TELL ME I’M STUCK WITH THIS FOR 5 YEARS!
Date: Tuesday, September 10, 2013 | 5:00 p.m. and Thursday, September 12, 2013 | 12:30 p.m. (Each webinar will last 30 minutes)
Presenter: Sandra Greenblatt, Board Certified Health Lawyer
Location: Online webinar.
Additional Information: To register for the Tuesday, September 10, 2013, 5pm webinar please click here. To register for the Thursday, September 12, 2013, 12:30 p.m. webinar please click here.
BP CALCULATIONS FOR CPAS: TRICKS & TRAPS SEMINAR WITH JOHN GOLDSMITH AND ALAN GASSAMAN
Date: Monday, September 16, 2013 | 6:00 p.m.
Location: Holiday Inn Express, U.S. 19 & Gulf-to-Bay Blvd, Clearwater
Additional Information: Each attendee will receive written materials and a wine tasting and light hors d’ oeuvres will be served. To register for the event please click here.
NIP & TUCK: MAKING THE CALL ON OFFICE-BASED SURGERY
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Presenter: Cheryl White, RN, BS, MSHL, LHRM, LNCC, MSCC, DFHRMPS and Lester Perling, J.D., MHA, PhD, SOB
Location: Online webinar
Additional Information: To register for the webinar please click here.
NORTH SUNCOAST FICPA MONTHLY MEETING
Date: Wednesday, September 18, 2013, 4:30 – 6:30 p.m.
Speakers: Alan Gassman and Christopher Denicolo will speak on The Florida CPA’s Guide to Planning with Physicians and Medical Practices
Location: Chili’s in Port Richey
Additional Information: To attend this seminar please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
WEDU ESTATE PLANNING SEMINAR
Gassman Law Associates meets Big Bird – Sesame Street vs. Wall Street?
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of ASSET PROTECTION – ESSENTIAL KNOWLEDGE AND HOT TOPICS
Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013 | 7:30 am – 11:30 am
Location: WEDU PBS Berman Family Broadcast Center
Additional Information: If you would like to sign up for this seminar please click here.
THE 444 SHOW – STAND YOUR GROUND LAWS
Date: Thursday, September 26, 2013 | 4:00 p.m. (50 minute webinar)
Location: Online webinar.
Presenters: Kym Rivellini and Denis deVlaming
Additional Information: This webinar qualifies for 1 hour of continuing education credit and costs $30.00. To register please visit www.clearwaterbar.org
LUNCH TALK – THE POWER OF POSITION MARKETING FOR ATTORNEYS
Date: Monday, October 7, 2013 | 12:30 p.m.
Location: Online webinar
Presenter: John Graden
Additional Information:To register please visit www.clearwaterbar.org
MEET & GREET COCKTAIL HOUR WITH DR. SRIKUMAR RAO
Noted author and nationally recognized speaker, Dr. Srikumar Rao will be joining us for a cocktail party on Wednesday, October 9, 2013 at 6pm in the evening. We will begin with light hors d’ oeuvres followed by a talk by Dr. Rao on GOOD THING – BAD THING – WHO KNOWS? CHANGING YOUR IMMEDIATE AND LONG-TERM RESPONSES TO EVENTS AND CHALLENGES.
DATE: Wednesday, October 9, 2013
Location: Holiday Inn Express, U.S. 19 & Gulf-to-Bay Blvd, Clearwater, Florida
Additional Information: To register for the event please click here.
INTERACTIVE HALF-DAY WORKSHOP WITH DR. SRIKUMAR RAO
On Saturday, October 12, 2013 we are co-hosting an interactive workshop with Dr. Srikumar Rao on the subject of ENHANCED EFFECTIVENESS AND ENJOYMENT OF YOUR PROFESSIONAL AND PERSONAL LIFE – 5 TOOLS YOU CAN START USING IMMEDIATELY.
Date: Saturday, October 12, 2013 | 1:00 – 6:00 pm with an optional 7:00 – 8:00 p.m. question and answer session.
Location: Holiday Inn Express, U.S. 19 & Gulf-to-Bay Blvd, Clearwater, Florida
Additional Information: To register for the event please click here.
NOTRE DAME TAX INSTITUTE
Jerry Hesch and Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of INTERESTING INTEREST QUESTIONS, PLANNING WITH LOW INTEREST LOANS, PRIVATE ANNUITIES, DEFECTIVE GRANTOR TRUSTS, AND PRIVATE AND COMMERCIAL ANNUITIES
Date: Wednesday, October 16 through Friday, October 18, 2013
Location: Notre Dame College, South Bend, Indiana
Additional Information: Professor Jerry Hesch’s Notre Dame Tax Institute will once again emphasize the importance of income tax planning and implications in addition to estate, estate tax, and related concepts. Also Paul and attorney Barry will be discussing stepped-up basis tools and techniques, including our JEST Trust.
We welcome questions, comments and suggestions for the presentation that we are assisting Jerry in preparing and presenting.
Please click here to register for the event and for more information.
PINELLAS COUNTY ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL HALF-DAY SEMINAR
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of HOT TOPICS FOR ESTATE PLANNERS, including same sex marriage, estate tax planning software (with all attendees to receive a free beta version of our new software), and other important topics.
Sandra Diamond will speak on the new Florida laws that impact estate planning, amending of decanting existing irrevocable trusts, and other recent Florida law developments.
Barry Flagg will speak on insurance and estate planning.
Sean Casey of Fifth-Third Bank will give an economic update.
Date: Wednesday, October 23, 2013 | 8:00 am – 12:00 p.m. (60 MINUTE PRESENTATION)
Location: TBD
Additional Information: To attend the meeting or to receive information on joining the Council please click here or email agassman@gassmanpa.com
2013 MOTE VASCULAR SURGERY FELLOWS – FACTS OF LIFE TALK SEMINAR FOR FIRST YEAR SURGEONS
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of ESTATE, MEDICAL PRACTICE, RETIREMENT, TAX, INSURANCE, AND BUY/SELL PLANNING – THE EARLIER YOU START THE SOONER YOU WILL BE SECURE
Date: October 25 – 27, 2013 | Times TBD
Location: TBD
Additional Information: Please contact agassman@gassmanpa.com for additional information.
DECODING HEALTHCARE SEMINAR
Alan Gassman will be moderating the Decoding Healthcare Seminar hosted by Fifth Third Bank.
Speakers will include John Harding, President and CEO of Adventist Healthcare Systems, Stephen Klasko, Dean and President of USF Health College of Medicine, David Lewis, CEO of United Healthcare of Florida, Nancy Templin, CFO of All Children’s Hospital and a mystery speaker (other than Colonel Sanders) to be identified.
We sincerely thank Fifth-Third Bank, President Brian Lamb, Ryan Sloan and the Tampa Bay Business Journal for hosting this important public “town hall” discussion that will hopefully lead to improvement of our healthcare systems in the Tampa Bay area.
Date: Tuesday, October 29, 2013
Location: Grand Hyatt, 2900 Bayport Drive, Tampa, Florida
Additional Information: For more information on this event please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (ICLE) HEALTH LAW SYMPOSIUM – AN ALL DAY SEMINAR
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of WHAT HEALTH LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW
Date: Friday, November 1, 2013 | 9am – 5pm (Mr. Gassman speaks from 1:10 pm until 2:10 p.m.)
Location: Seton Hall Law School, Newark, New Jersey
Additional Information: Seton Hall University in South Orange, New Jersey was founded in 1856, and they have remodeled since. Today, Seton Hall has over 10,000 students in its undergraduate, graduate and law school programs and is in close proximity to several Kentucky Fried Chicken locations.
NEW JERSEY INSTITUTE FOR CONTINUING LEGAL EDUCATION (ICLE)_SPECIAL 3 HOUR SESSION
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of WHAT NEW JERSEY LAWYERS NEED TO KNOW ABOUT FLORIDA LAW – A 3 HOUR OVERVIEW BY ALAN S. GASSMAN
Date: Saturday, November 2, 2013
Location: Wilshire Grand Hotel, West Orange, New Jersey | 9am – 12pm
Additional Information: Please tell all of your friends, neighbors and enemies in New Jersey to come out to support this important presentation for the New Jersey Bar Association. We will include discussions of airboats, how to get an alligator off of your driveway, how to peel a navel orange and what collard greens and grits are. For additional information please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
SALT LAKE CITY ESTATE PLANNING COUNCIL’S FALL ONE DAY “TAX AND DEDUCTIBILITY OF YOUR SKI TRIP” INSTITUTE
Alan Gassman will be speaking on the topic of PRACTICAL ESTATE PLANNING, WITH A $5.25 MILLION EXEMPTION AMOUNT
Date: Thursday, November 7, 2013
Location: Hilton Downtown Salt Lake City, Utah
Additional Information: Please support this one day annual seminar conveniently located near skiing and tourism opportunities. If you would like to attend this event or receive the materials please email agassman@gassmanpa.com
THE FLORIDA BAR – REPRESENTING THE PHYSICIAN
Date: Friday, January 17, 2013
Location: The Peabody Hotel, Orlando, Florida
Additional Information: The annual Florida Bar conference entitled Representing the Physician is designed especially for health care, tax, and business lawyers, CPAs and physician office managers and physicians to cover practical legal, medical law, and tax planning matters that affect physicians and physician practices.
This year our 1 day seminar will be held in the Peabody Hotel near Walt Disney World, which is world famous for its daily “march of the ducks” through the lobby (wear easy to clean shoes) and maybe we will have peking duck for dinner.
A dinner for the Executive Committee of the Health Law Section of The Florida Bar and our speakers will be held on Thursday, January 16, 2013, whether formally or informally. Anyone who would like to attend (dutch treat or bring wooden shoes) will be welcomed. Your tax deductible hotel room to start a fantastic week near Disney, Universal, Sea World and most importantly Gatorland can include a room at the fantastic Peabody Hotel for a discounted rate per night, single occupancy.
1st ANNUAL ESTATE PLANNER’S DAY AT AVE MARIA SCHOOL OF LAW
Speakers: Speakers will include Professor Jerry Hesch, Jonathan Gopman, Alan Gassman and others.
Date: April 25, 2014
Location: Ave Maria School of Law, Naples, Florida
Sponsors: Ave Maria School of Law, Collier County Estate Planning Council and more to be announced.
Additional Information: For more information on this event please contact agassman@gassmanpa.com.
NOTABLE SEMINARS PRESENTED BY OTHERS:
MEDITATION, Science, Spirituality, Sustainability – An Experimental Workshop by the Bridge and Maulik K. Trivedi, M.D.
On Saturday, September 28, 2013 from 10 am to 1pm the Bridge, a not-for-profit organization that promotes ecocentric living, social justice and personal development is providing a 3 hour workshop on Meditation. The session will be administered by integral psychiatrist and Yogi, Dr. Maulik K. Trivedi and will be accompanied by accomplished sitar player, Douglas Werner.
Date: Saturday, September 28, 2013 | 10am – 1pm
Location: Carrollwood Cultural Center, 4537 Lowell Road, Tampa
Additional Details: The cost for attending this workshop is $45 and you can register by clicking here or call 813-416-3069 for more information.
THIRD ANNUAL FEDERAL TAX INSTITUTE OF NEW ENGLAND
Date: September 27, 2013
Location: Hartford Marriot Farmington Hotel, Farmington, Connecticut
Sponsor: Connecticut Bar Institute
Additional Information: Chairman Frank Berall will be using part of an earlier Thursday Report article on same-sex planning in his presentation. You can also catch an early dose of Jerry Hesch’s talk on Income Tax Ideas for Estate Planning here before the Notre Dame Tax Institute in October, and Bruce Stone will be speaking on Assisted Reproductive Technology Children. For more information or to register please visit the Institute’s site here.
48th ANNUAL HECKERLING INSTITUTE ON ESTATE PLANNING SEMINAR
Date: January 13 – 17, 2014
Location: Orlando World Center Marriott, Orlando, Florida
Sponsor: University of Miami School of Law
Additional Information: For more information please visit: http://www.law.miami.edu/heckerling/
16th ANNUAL ALL CHILDREN’S HOSPITAL ESTATE, TAX, LEGAL & FINANCIAL PLANNING SEMINAR
Date: Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Location: All Children’s Hospital Education and Conference Center, St. Petersburg, Florida with remote location live interactive viewings in Tampa, Sarasota, New Port Richey, Lakeland, and Bangkok, Thailand
Sponsor: All Children’s Hospital
THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA TAX INSTITUTE
Date: February 19 – 21, 2014
Location: Grand Hyatt, Tampa, Florida
Sponsor: UF Law alumni and UF Graduate Tax Program
Additional Information: Here is what UF is saying about the program on its website: “The UF Tax Institute will provide tax practitioners and other leading tax, business and estate planning professionals with a program that covers the most current issues and planning ideas with a practical, informative, state-of-the-art approach. The Institute’s schedule will devote separate days or half days to individual income tax issues, entity tax issues and estate planning issues. Speakers and presentations will be announced as the program date nears to ensure coverage of the most timely and significant topics. UF Law alumni have formed the Florida Tax Education Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit corporation, to organize the conference.”
Thank you to our law clerks that assisted us in preparing this report.