Q. What are some of the challenges your clients face?
Wealthy individuals have a lot to protect. As people accumulate more wealth, the issues and considerations associated with preserving and protecting that wealth become more complex. As a result, they need help constructing, implementing and following a plan. The more complex the plan, the more there is to track and manage.
Q. What is your approach to helping clients solve these challenges?
I work with high earners and wealthy families, as well as partnerships, trusts and business entities, to identify their needs and plan their strategies. Typically this goes far beyond taxes. I focus on preserving and transferring wealth, as well as protecting assets. Often I collaborate with other financial advisors and professionals in estate tax planning. I also serve as the firm’s specialist in collaborative divorce. At the end of the day, I give my clients the peace of mind of knowing that someone is looking out for the complicated web of business and asset protection entities they have created.
Throughout my career, I have sharpened the skills needed to interpret and articulate the components of a complex arrangement, enabling me to quickly and accurately assess and communicate complex financial and accounting issues. I love to teach and share knowledge.
Q. What is your favorite client success story?
A few years ago, I reviewed a tax return that was prepared by an in-house tax preparer. I discovered a $250,000 tax credit that the preparer had missed.
Another successful engagement was with a wealthy family who had a very valuable concentrated stock position, because a company in which they had an interest had gone public. Working with the client’s other professional advisors, we designed and implemented a number of successful strategies to realize the value of the investment, while reducing the valuation risk.
I have also contributed to the settlement of numerous complicated and/or contentious divorces, by providing options that weren’t obvious to either party.