Success Stories
A quick look at how seeing the whole world can affect your financial route.Overwhelmed Tax Advisor
Problem:
Client wants to transfer ownership of his closely-held business to his 21-year old Son over the course of a few years. The Son does not have sufficient capital for an outright purchase. If the business remains in the Client’s estate, an estate liability of over $3 million will be due.
Bloch Private Wealth is brought in by Client’s CPA, who recognizes that he doesn’t have the expertise to handle this type of planning.
Bloch Private Wealth Solution:
Bloch Private Wealth designed and helped implement a strategy whereby the Client transferred the cash flow of the business to a trust while still retaining voting control. The result of the transfer was that any appreciation in the value of the business would occur outside of the Client’s estate, thereby reducing estate taxes. Client was able to retain operational control while putting a structure in place to ultimately pass ownership to Son. Adding insurance coverage at the trust level also protected Client’s wife by ensuring the trust would have funds to pay the transfer costs.
By understanding the interplay between estate taxes and income taxes, BPW helped our client not only reduce estate taxes but also meet his business succession goals.
“Old” Estate Planning
Year 1: Couple executes an estate plan with their CPA and estate attorney. The plan includes obtaining a $3 million life insurance policy to cover future estate taxes. The plan is appropriate at the time.
Year 8: Husband passes away and his Widow revisits the estate plan to determine if it will still meet her needs. Widow discovers that the life insurance policy obtained in Year 1 was a non-guaranteed policy — it is due to expire unless significantly more premiums are paid.
Problem:
Widow’s health has changed significantly since Year 1 and a new policy would be prohibitively expensive. The Widow’s ability to cover her estate tax liability will be severely at risk if she lives more than a few years.
Bloch Private Wealth Solution:
BPW worked with its network of contacts in the insurance industry to get a new, guaranteed policy at the same premium as Widow’s old policy. BPW also assisted Widow in selling her old policy on the secondary market for $400,000 — thereby providing Widow with 10 years worth of future premiums for the new policy.
By understanding both insurance and financial markets, BPW helped our client not only achieve her wealth transfer goals but also get cost-free insurance for 10 years!
Well-Meaning Investment Advisor
Client wants to invest $2 million in a Chicago strip mall. He calls his Investment Advisor for a recommendation of which funds to liquidate to meet his capital needs.
Investment Advisor Solution:
Client owns 2 funds, Fund A and Fund B. It is expected that Fund A will out-perform Fund B, but Fund A has long-term capital gains while Fund B has short-term capital gains. Since accessing Fund A will require Clients to liquidate less of his total investment to have an after-tax $2 million, it is recommended that Fund A be liquidated.
Bloch Private Wealth Solution:
BPW reviewed Client’s income tax returns and discovered that the Client had significant capital loss carryovers that could absorb the short-term gains of Fund B. BPW recommended that Fund B, and not Fund A, should be liquidated.
By understanding the client’s complete financial situation, BPW helped our client achieve his cash flow goals while preserving a superior investment portfolio.