Author: Mark Shiller

If you’re like most people, you probably think of your estate plan in earnest every 17 years. The first time through might have been when your first child, or more likely second or third child, was on the way. The second is when the kids are on the way out…

On January 1, 2018, pursuant to the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, the estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemption nearly doubled to $11,200,000 per person. If you’ve been following this site, you know that I don’t tend to write on tax topics or techniques — and this…

Estate and trust attorneys see people at their best and at their worst. We see them at the high points of life, but also at some of their darkest times. There’s a blessing in that in and of itself. But it also allows for a unique window into the human…

Estate planning is confusing for just about everyone who doesn’t do estate planning for a living.  While I like to think people enjoy the time I spend with them on the subject and that my “bedside manner” puts them at ease, you can only clear away so much confusion in…

You may or may not know the story of the “Most Expensive Bowl of Soup in History.” It’s an Old Testament story about how an older brother, Esau, sold his birthright (or inheritance) to his younger brother, Jacob. Genesis 25:30-34. For context, the inheritance was to have come from their…

In our work with families of wealth, we focus on deeper aspects of character more than developing skillsets or financial literacy or competency. Frankly, we think the latter is not particularly effective in achieving generational financial success in families. Regardless, that focus naturally leads to discussions surrounding such big questions…

In over 20 years of working with people of means, I’ve seen good results and I’ve seen bad. No surprise there. What does surprise me, however, is the lack of interest that many quality advisors have in identifying and avoiding the root causes of the bad results. One such “bad…

Leo Tolstoy’s novel, Anna Karenina, begins with the oft-quoted statement: “Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.” With the caveat that no family is “100% happy,” there would appear to be a fair amount of truth in Tolstoy’s statement. While the variety that…

Will Rogers once said “There’s no hurry to make a Will. Just see your lawyer the day before you die.” And apparently a lot of people have the same sentiment. Even those who have “made a Will” are not that much closer to ideal planning — because they’ve put off…

Family meetings require thoughtful planning in advance. While family togetherness is beneficial, a productive family meeting will have defined goals and objectives.