Blogs

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  Is Your Broker-Dealer a Screaming Eagle or a Box Wine?

  By Jonathan Henschen, CFS, Henschen & Assoc.  |  May 22, 2013

  Whether you’re a high-end wine or a high-end broker-dealer with a cult following, it’s all about “the experience.”

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  The CFP Board’s CE Proposal: What’s Driving This Flawed Idea?

  By Michael E. Kitces  |  May 22, 2013

  In the final post in a series, an exploration of what may be behind the CFP Board’s proposal to offer continuing education. Is it looking to compete with other planning associations?

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  The CFP Board’s CE Proposal: Real Strategies to Improve Continuing Ed

  By Michael E. Kitces  |  May 21, 2013

  In the second of a three-post series on the CFP Board’s proposal to offer continuing education itself, some modest proposals to really improve CE, along with a warning on how the Board’s proposal is rife with conflicts of interest.

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  Prenups Mean Nothing When Long-Term Care Is Needed

  By Romeo Raabe, LUTC, LTCP  |  May 21, 2013

  If a client is considering a later-in-life marriage, understand that prenuptial agreements can’t ‘hide’ assets when it comes to a spouse’s need for LTC.

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  The Price of Everything: What’s the Value of Sound Advice?

  By Bob Clark, AdvisorOne  |  May 20, 2013

  The SEC Regulatory Accountability Act is yet another attempt by the securities industry to shift attention away from the consumer protections of requiring brokers to put the interests of their clients ahead of their own, by focusing solely on the “costs” of doing so.

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  Did Portability Kill the Credit Shelter Trust?

  By Robert Bloink, Esq., LL.M., William H. Byrnes, Esq.  |  May 20, 2013

  Clients need to remember that avoidance of transfer taxes is not the only reason that estate planning is important; the credit shelter trust can provide many non-tax benefits.

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  When Your HNW Clients Make Music, Be Sure They’re Covered

  By Julie Sherlock  |  May 20, 2013

  If those clients or their children are budding—or wannabe—Paganinis or Claptons, be sure their valuable musical instruments are covered by following these six steps.

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  Lessons From Losing a Client

  By Mike Patton  |  May 20, 2013

  Recently, I lost what I thought was a good client. In this post, I'll explain why and share the lesson I learned.

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  Why the CFP Board’s Proposal to Offer CE Is Wrong

  By Michael E. Kitces  |  May 17, 2013

  In the first in a series of posts on the CFP Board’s proposal, an argument (from planners themselves) as to why it’s not a good idea and a look at the current, somewhat woeful, state of continuing education for CFPs.

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  Purchasing Pools: The Brazilian Remedy to Ease America’s Credit Crunch

  By Juliana Molinari de Almeida Santos Cunha, Attorney, Sao Paulo Bar Association  |  May 17, 2013

  The Brazilian economy and legal system may offer the American middle class a way out of its credit access problem via the Brazilian “Purchasing Pool System.”