The Practical Planner

Curious when it makes sense to have a Marital Trust? Hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at [wealth.com](http://wealth.com) and Thomas Kopelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and Co-founder of AllStreet Wealth discuss the three main reasons to set one up, including: - Concerns over how your spouse may use your assets - Tax planning purposes, including the the generation-skipping transfer (GST) tax - Asset protection They dig into each reason and get into specifics of situations when having a Marital Trust can be beneficial.

Estate planning can be difficult due to tough conversations you may need to have and make. This can be exacerbated by certain cultural and generational expectations and taboos. Anna N’jie-Konte, CFP®, President and Director of Financial Planning at Re-Envision Wealth, joins this episode to share how financial advisors can help their clients approach these conversations and why having them now can be beneficial for all their family and loved ones.

Samantha Russell, Chief Evangelist at FMG, joins hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com and Thomas Kopelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and Founder at AllStreet Wealth, to share her personal story and how major life events led her to view estate planning in her life—that it’s not just something the top 1% do when they’re older but is also about giving loved ones peace of mind and clarity. She discusses how selling the company she and her husband, Ryan Russell built (Twenty Over Ten) was acquired by FMG, led them to taking estate planning seriously due to the financial windfall. But when the unimaginable happened and her husband was diagnosed with cancer, estate planning took on a whole new meaning for her and her family. You can buy her husband’s book, which she discussed in the episode, on Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1804090840?ref_=cm_sw_r_apin_dp_F0F592E6F9AJY05AHNZ5.

Jennifer Rozelle, Owner and Attorney at Indiana Estate & Elder Law and host of the Legal Tea podcast, joins hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman to discuss what advisors need to know when helping their clients figure out what to do with their real estate assets. They touch on common mistakes to avoid, gifting strategies and why it’s often about helping clients have conversations they’ve been avoiding.

Your client has set up a trust, now what? Hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman dive deep into what assets should go into a trust and what assets should not or, more often, what assets can't go into a trust. They cover real estate, businesses, international assets, retirement accounts, brokerage accounts, bank accounts and more. And why the key may be what your state's threshold for probate is, known as "petition for small estate." They also tackle beneficary designations and more, sharing key insights for financial advisors.

Hosts Anne Rhodes and Thomas Kopelman discuss how advisors can help their clients manage and reduce fees related to estate plans. The conversation highlights that, often, the biggest assistance and advisor can provide is to prepare their clients ahead of meeting an estate planner while also helping set expectations. While this can help streamline their time with an estate planner, they stress that quality is always paramount.

The previous episode covered why you may want your revocable trust should own your business. So, in this episode hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com, and Thomas Kopelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and co-founder of AllStreet Wealth, talk about why you may want your irrevocable trust own your business. The discussion the main considerations — Control, Asset Protection and Tax Planning — as well as key legal terms to know, plus key examples of when someone may want to consider their business being in their irrevocable trust.

If you’re a business owner, does it really make sense to put it in a Revocable Trust? That’s what hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com, and Thomas Koppelmen, Head of Community at wealth.com and co-founder of AllStreetWealth discuss in this week’s episode. In this episode, they cover: - Why a trust may offer more flexibility in separating out personal and business assets but also offers better protection if you’re incapacitated. - How a trust can be a better vehicle for your wishes to be followed after your passing. - Why setting up a revocable trust today offers you flexibility should you need to make changes as your business grows.

Helping new clients with their estate plan can be an early win. It’s not uncommon for new clients to not even have an estate plan in place. If they do, there may be opportunities for updating and optimizing. In this episode host Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com, asks her co-host Thomas Koppelman, Co-founder of AllStreetWealth and wealth.com’s Head of Community, how he approaches new clients and where financial planning intersects with estate planning, including: Finding simple opportunities like just creating a will or updating old plans to include new children. Understand the “why” of what they did previously to see if there’s new, better ways to achieve their goals. How to dig deeper for more robust estate planning optimizations and opportunities.

Deciding to fund an individual or a joint trust may seem like a straightforward decision. But there are a number of factors that can impact which one to choose. Hosts Anne Rhodes, Chief Legal Officer at wealth.com and Thomas Koppelman, Head of Community at wealth.com and Lead Financial Advisor at AllStreet Wealth, get into the major differences between the two types of trusts, how people should approach choosing the right type of trust, and some misconceptions, including: How living in or moving to a community property state could impact a decision How joint trusts may negatively impact tax planning Why a joint trust doesn’t always have to be between spouses

A new year means financial advisors are taking a fresh look at their clients’ financial plans, so it’s important to know IRS’s adjusted numbers for 2024. In this episode hosts Thomas Kopelman (Named a Top 100 financial advisor by Investopedia) and Anne Rhodes (Chief Legal Officer at Wealth.com) discuss: The updated IRS numbers all advisors need to know. Annual family gifting details and opportunities you may not be aware of. Other estate planning strategies, such as why grandparents contributing to a 529 plan are excluded from FAFSA applications. Get the full 2024 IRS inflation Adjusted Numbers Reference Guide for Estate Planning here.

In this episode of The Practical Planner hosts Anne Rhodes & Thomas Kopelman discuss what advisors need to know about revocable trusts, including: What revocable trusts are & how they function. Common reasons why clients benefit from having revocable trusts, such as real estate ownership privacy. The differences between trust restatements and amendments. Common misconceptions about revocable trusts. + More Find other episodes of The Practical Planner at wealth.com/podcast

A fully optimized Estate Plan changes in tandem with life circumstances changing. In this episode of The Practical Planner hosts Anne Rhodes & Thomas Kopelman dive into: The life events that should prompt Estate Plan updates. Why those specific events impact Estate Plan functionality. Contextual examples regarding these life events that will help advisors better understand the necessity of ongoing Estate Plan updates. How establishing a regular cadence for Estate Plan reviews can fit into the flow of a client’s overall planning. Find other episodes of The Practical Planner at wealth.com/podcast

There are a lot of confusing Estate Planning terms, and many of the available resources for understanding this nomenclature aren’t straightforward for financial advisors. In this episode of The Practical Planner hosts Anne Rhodes & Thomas Kopelman walk through a list of the main common terms financial advisors should know when it comes to Estate Planning and provide contextual examples of how those terms apply to client situations. Find other episodes of The Practical Planner at wealth.com/podcast

Practical Planner Hosts Anne Rhodes & Thomas Kopelman are joined by Tyrone Ross Jr. — CEO and co-founder of Turnqey Labs and 401 Financial, Strategic Advisor to wealth.com. — to discuss the unique landscape of Estate Planning for cryptocurrency and digital assets. In this episode: Tyrone breaks down why Estate Planning in crypto is a massive opportunity for advisors to add value. A practical overview of how crypto & digital assets function uniquely as an asset within estate plans. Scenarios and examples of why estate planning for unique digital assets is so valuable. Insightful discussion of client and advisor behaviors regarding crypto and how estate planning can be a helpful context for client discussions. + More Find other episodes of the Practical Planner at wealth.com/podcast

In this episode of The Practical Planner, hosts Anne Rhodes & Thomas Kopelman dive deeper into the world of trusts, giving nuanced definitions of what differentiates a revocable trust from an irrevocable trust and providing advisors with the knowledge they need to discuss the functionality and benefits with their clients.

What is the difference between a trust and a will? This is one of the top questions in estate planning, but finding a clear answer isn’t always easy. In this episode of The Practical Planner, Anne & Thomas dispel common misconceptions through straightforward discussion of the differences between wills and trusts, both definitionally and in practice — providing advisors with an actionable basis for estate planning conversations with their clients.

There are several key estate planning documents every financial advisor should understand and be able to discuss with their clients. This can be daunting because documents are often referred to by different names and there are specific nuances associated with each document that affect how they work. In this episode of The Practical Planner, Anne & Thomas break down the functionality and benefit of foundational documents in estate planning — giving advisors the knowledge they need to confidently approach estate planning with their clients.

In the premiere episode of The Practical Planner, hosts Anne & Thomas break down the foundational estate planning knowledge advisors need in an actionable way with real-life examples.

The Practical Planner is a new show from wealth.com where Anne Rhodes, expert estate planning attorney and our Chief Legal Officer + Thomas Kopelman, a top financial advisor and Co-Founder of AllStreet Wealth break down everything advisors need to know about estate planning. In this quick intro episode Thomas and Anne talk about why they’re excited for the show to launch and what listeners can expect from future episodes.