Irvine Blackman, Brian I. Whitlock

13 May 2010

The Risk of an Outdated Estate Plan

This is the story of two brothers: Joe and Moe. One created an estate plan, and the other did not. Here’s how the dust settled.

15 Apr 2010

Stop the IRS from Taking Half of Your Wealth

To keep every dollar of wealth in your family, you need the System: a comprehensive plan that accounts for almost any tax or economic want for you, your business or your family.

15 Mar 2010

The Rich—A Necessary Cog In Our Economy

The United States runs on capitalism, where the means of production and distribution are privately owned and operated for profit. So a capitalist, by definition, is a generator of wealth, as is the typical successful business owner.

Basics 15 Dec 2009

Insurance Secrets They Don’t Want You To Know

Tax-advantaged investment strategies (courtesy of flaws in the tax law) are the kinds of things they don’t teach you when you become a lawyer, CPA or professional advisor.

11 Nov 2009

“It Won’t Work” Ususally Means “I Don’t Know”

Well-meaning tax professionals, myself included, don’t necessarily know everything when it comes to the most tax-effective way to sell or transfer your business to your kids. It is important to call either your current adviser or another, when necessary, to answer your questions.

Basics 14 Oct 2009

An Easy Way To Maximize Your Investment Income

More from the “how to make it, how to keep it” series.

16 Sep 2009

The Family Business Saga

The typical owner of a family business usually faces three problems: taxes, economics and human emotions. Here are seven case studies that examine these issues.

18 Aug 2009

Is This The End Of Estate Tax Problems?

It is almost certain that before 2009 ends, the unified tax credit will be $3.5 million per person, or at least $7 million for a married couple. This credit can be used to offset the amount of estate tax, so wealth can essentially be left to your heirs tax-free. Hey, if you are married and are worth about $14 million, then a $7 million “freebie” makes legally beating the estate tax an easy-to-attain goal.

22 Jul 2009

Be In The Know To Create And Maintain Wealth

Knowledge is power. The right kind of new knowledge—if you know what to do with it—is, has been and always will be an economic powerhouse for you and your business.

15 Jun 2009

A Tax Law That Cuts Business Costs

The Internal Revenue Code is not a friendly creature. It is designed to “taketh” your money—“giveth” is not in its vocabulary. Yet, there is a section of the code that deals with captive insurance companies (captives). When properly used, captives are income-tax-saving machines for your business and can be structured to offer tax-advantaged benefits that create wealth.