Minefield, Mapped Out – Avoiding Common Succession Planning Missteps
Succession planning isn’t rocket science: if my launch booster is chosen over your design, you’re unlikely to alter the thrust...
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For Want of a Will – Prince’s Chaotic Legacy
I was standing on the shore of Lake Minnetonka, when the gender-neutral naiad of the artist formerly known as Prince, who watches...
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I Will Survive – Succession Planning Keeps Businesses Alive
Two times, Apple survived the loss of its visionary founder, Steve Jobs. In both cases, the company not only survived, it thrived...
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Moths Always Find a Flame – The Appeal and Clear Drawbacks of Earnouts
A gal I once knew said it true: there’s an inverse proportion between quality and popularity. She was talking about music, the...
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Success is a System – The Secrets of Fruitful Family Business Governance
Our word for today is Muditā – that’s Sanskrit, I’ll have you know, and it means the feeling of joy one experiences over another...
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No Country for Rich Executives – Final Regs Issued on ATEO Executive Compensation Tax
You caught me listening to the Moody Blues. Writing about taxes brings a man so very low. It’s a Tuesday afternoon, so I sought out...
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High Noonish – Biden’s Capital Gains Death Tax Proposals Take Shape
Misinformation, disinformation, phony news, anonymous sources – there’s a Spanish battlefleet right off our coast! If William...
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Biden’s Plan to 86 the 1031 – Will It Send Real Estate Reeling?
In times of confusion and discomfiting change, we look to great minds for direction and comfort. As an old Concord boy, my go-to is...
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It’s a Family Affair – Split-Dollar Life Users Should Take Heed of Court’s Ruling
Oh, how I enjoy a dysfunctional family story. My parents are gone now and it’s been years since we’ve all gotten together, brother...
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Will the Ship Go Down If You Do? Succession Planning Back in Focus
Succession planning, long term and short, for companies of all sizes: everywhere, the pandemic has sounded the warning. This plague...
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Loophole or Lifeline: Should the Step-Up in Basis Step Down?
What is the source of jobs and wealth? If we listen to Andrew William Mellon, captain of industry, banking, art collecting and...
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I Want to Believe – Can Secure Act 2.0 Make Retirement Planning Compelling?
I’m the slowest to join. Laggard to jump, rough to convince. In the hallway at a major Russian news agency, my boss Tracy was...
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It’s Still Up to You – Biden Proposes Billions for LT Care Reform
Let’s talk about something we’ve ignored for too long: the long-term healthcare crisis. Before we begin, I just need to pull myself...
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Count Up Your Blessings – Most Retirees Can Dodge a Capital Gains Tax Boost
Is extreme income inequality a bad sign for society? I think it is, and most would agree with this simplest of statements. Yet...
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Early Uprisers – Farmers and Real Estate Industry Oppose 1031 Changes
I don’t care how mellifluously John Denver sings it – life on the farm is nothing like laid back. At least not these days. Farmers...
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Ganging Up on Gains: Biden Hopes to Strike Down the Step-Up
President Joe Biden wants the Internal Revenue Service to receive an additional $80 billion in funding over the next ten years. The...
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