BEPC Roundtables June 6, 2024

Session 1

All Grown Up with No Place to Go: 
Exploring Options for Helping Children or Other Family Members with a Home Purchase 

The current high cost of housing and interest rates can make it difficult for children, particularly first-time homebuyers, to purchase a home. Not surprisingly, one of the most common questions asked of estate and financial planners by parents, grandparents and other family members is how best to assist with the purchase of a home. Answering this question can be more complex than you may realize. This roundtable will explore the questions advisors should consider with clients before recommending a specific strategy. We will discuss the most common strategies used, including outright gifts, intra-family loans, personal guarantees and joint purchases, and the benefits and potential problems of each approach, as well as how best to communicate the options to a client.

Presented By

Judith A. Saxe, CIBC Private Wealth Management

Judith A. Saxe is a parent of a Senior at CSW, but she is also a Managing Director, Senior Wealth Strategist and the director of research and education for Wealth Strategies in the Boston office of CIBC Private Wealth Management. She provides customized estate planning services, including income and estate tax, philanthropic, multi-generational, financial, asset protection, business succession, insurance, and fiduciary planning.

Judith has over 30 years of industry experience counseling high net worth individuals, corporate executives, owners of closely held businesses and multinationals on sophisticated estate planning designs and strategies.

Judith is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel, a Past President of the Boston Estate Planning Council, and she served on the board of the National Association of Estate Planning Councils (NAEPC). She frequently presents on estate planning topics to local and national professional organizations and has authored articles for or been quoted in national and local publications, including Massachusetts Continuing Legal Education, The Wall Street Journal, Private Wealth magazine and Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly.

Judith earned a Bachelor of Arts with honors from Harvard University and a Juris Doctor from the New York University School of Law. Additionally, in 2008 she was awarded the Accredited Estate Planner (AEP) designation by NAEPC in recognition of her experience in and interdisciplinary approach to estate planning. In 2018, she obtained the Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designation through the American College of Financial Services.

Session 2

Navigating the Corporate Transparency Act

The Corporate Transparency Act is the hot topic for 2024 and beyond! Join this roundtable discussion to learn about the act and how you can assist your clients with compliance.

Presented By

Amy R. Lonergan, Esq., Day Pitney LLP

Amy Lonergan serves as the Business Unit Leader for the Private Client Department, and assists individuals and families in all aspects of estate and transfer tax planning. Her practice focuses on developing complex plans that incorporate sophisticated strategies to transfer wealth to the next generation in a manner consistent with the client’s legacy and intentions, while also minimizing taxes. She is particularly skilled at advising business owners, entrepreneurs, real estate developers and principals of private equity and hedge funds in all aspects of estate planning and wealth transfer strategies. Amy regularly serves as a professional trustee of private trusts, counsels individuals and financial institutions regarding probate and trust administration issues, and advises on all matters related to probate, estate settlement and fiduciary litigation. Amy also assists tax-exempt and charitable organizations regarding formation, obtaining tax-exempt status, reporting and operational requirements.

Session 3

AI, Captain! Navigating the Waters of New Technology

Who will be at the helm in the coming years – you or Microsoft Copilot? How will AI impact practice management and client services? Are rough seas ahead or a calm safe harbor? This interactive (what else!!) discussion will explore how AI can complement our work rather than complicate it.

Presented By 

Melissa Langa, Esq., Bove & Langa, PC

Melissa Langa is the managing shareholder of Bove & Langa, PC, in Boston. Her practice includes guiding domestic and international individuals, families, businesses, and charitable organizations in designing and implementing customized tax-efficient structures to meet their particular estate planning, business, and charitable goals. She also assists clients in the administration of the estate of a deceased family member, advises fiduciaries in the administration of estates and trusts, and counsels families through the proper reporting of foreign assets. She is honored to serve as a fiduciary within a client’s estate plan when asked. Ms. Langa is an adjunct professor teaching estate planning in the Graduate Tax Program at Boston University School of Law and is a fellow of the American College of Trust and Estate Counsel (ACTEC). She is on the Board of Trustees of the Massachusetts Bar Foundation (MBF), and serves on the Executive Committee as the MBF Vice President. Ms. Langa also serves on the Massachusetts Bar Association’s Probate Law Section Council and was a cofounder of the Boston chapter of the London-based international Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP Boston). Her books include International Estate Planning: A Practical Guide with co-author Barbara Hauser and The Complete Book of Wills, Estates, and Trusts with co-author Alexander A. Bove Jr.  Her Trustworthy Advisor column appears in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly, co-authored with Alexander A. Bove Jr. She is a graduate of Boston University School of Law, (LLM), American University Washington College of Law (JD), and Rutgers University – Douglass College (BA).

Session 4

First Party SNTs Planning:  What happens when no planning (or worse bad planning) happens to beneficiaries with special needs.

Planning for special needs beneficiaries can be overwhelming for families who often receive competing information.  This discussion is designed to discuss the practical issues associated with a beneficiary who inappropriately receives wealth and the tools available to practitioners to remedy this situation including: First Part Supplemental Needs Trusts (d)(4)(A) Trusts), Pooled Trusts ((d)(4)(C) Trusts), and ABLE Accounts.  The group will also discuss best practices of developing and reviewing a long-term care strategies especially with potential aging care takers and Guardians/Conservators.

Presented By

John W. Donahue, Esq., LL.M., Wilchins Cosentino & Novins LLP

John W. Donahue is a partner with the firm of Wilchins Cosentino & Novins, LLP where he works with individuals and families to address their dynamic estate planning, business succession planning, elder law, estate and trust administration, and tax (estate, gift, and fiduciary income) needs.  He is a graduate of Boston College (B.A.), Suffolk University Law School (J.D.), and Boston University (LL.M in Taxation).  Attorney Donahue is a member of the Boston Estate Planning Council (BEPC) and the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (MA NAELA).

Session 5

From Protection to Accumulation to Preservation - Maximizing The Assurance You Get From Your Insurance At Every Life Stage

Whether you are a business owner or self-employed, an employee or a retiree, determining what the most efficient and effective insurance coverage components are for your situation can be confusing and overwhelming.  In this webinar, we will take a high level look at a few of more important pieces of protection you need to have in place to create a more secure present and more prosperous future.  Topics in this important discussion will include:

Examining the nuances of the current health insurance landscape and key factors to keep in mind when selecting your employer health benefits.

• The best ancillary benefits to offer as an employer, and to select as an employee
• Available election periods and coverage options when converting to “early retiree” status
• When to enroll in Medicare - why it may or may not make sense for you at 65
• Available Medicare configurations and pros and cons of different approaches to your coverage
• Recognizing and modifying your life insurance portfolio when the main focus of the coverage changes
• The future of Long Term Care and the most effective products to meet increasingly present state coverage mandates

While we will provide some basic guidance through these general topics, this will be a collaborative roundtable discussion where we will also open things up to examine various client scenarios and answer any specific questions attendees may have.  By the end of this webinar, our goal is for you to feel confident enough introducing these topics to clients that you have added “assisting with insurance solutions” as a differentiating value-added service you can provide moving forward.

Presented By

Brian Lynch, Lynch Insurance Group

Brian Lynch founded Lynch Insurance Group in 2005 with a goal of creating optimum value in in holistic insurance solutions for the business and individual markets.  Brian and his team work closely with clients to utilize insurance-based planning to help develop, achieve and maintain long term financial goals.  Whether these goals center on wealth accumulation, estate preservation, family protection or simply affordability, Brian will collaborate with clients to find the ideal coverage components to secure their present and their future.  Working as an independent agent without any direct carrier affiliations, Brian is licensed and appointed to leverage the services of a wide range of providers in each insurance arena to provide the best solutions possible for his clients.  Specialties include life insurance, disability, Medicare and small group employee benefits.  Beyond these areas of expertise, Brian works in affiliation with an extensive network of well-respected advisors to create a broad spectrum of customized financial services for his clients.

Schedule

8:00 AM to 8:15 AM - Opening Remarks & Sponsor Messages
8:15 AM to 9:30 AM - Roundtable Sessions

How To Register

IMPORTANT

When completing registration, please select only ONE  session to attend. 

Each attendee will be able to self-select their session for the breakout rooms. Limits to number of people in each breakout room will be in place, ensuring plenty of roundtable discussion time. 

Changes to selection will not be available day of. Please reach out to bepc@bepc.org with any questions.  

This event is for BEPC members only. If you are interested in becoming a member of BEPC, see here. There is no registration fee required for this event

Zoom link will be sent to all attendees one-day prior to the event. 

Approved (5/29/2024)

BEPC's educational events may meet the requirements of Rule 15D under the Massachusetts Establishment and Administration of Mandatory Professional Education for the Practice of Public Accountancy.

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