Speeches & Publications

Creative Income Tax Strategies

Marvin Blum spoke to the Midland-Odessa Business & Estate Council on “Creative Income Tax Strategies” on May 23, 2024.

Some of the tools in his speech take advantage of opportunities in the law to avoid income tax, such as Roth IRAs, Qualified Small Business Stock, and Private Placement Life Insurance. Other tools, such as Mixing Bowl Partnerships and Upstream Basis Planning achieve a free basis step-up on assets (and unlike the normal basis step-up, you don’t have to die to achieve it). Others achieve a tax deferral, such as Charitable Remainder Trusts and Installment Sales. We have designed ways for people (who might think they aren’t a fit) to qualify for these tools and save substantial amounts of income tax.

Slide Deck: Creative Income Tax Strategies for MOBEC (Marvin Blum, 5-23-2024)

Slide Deck: Creative Income Tax Strategies- Additional (Technical) Handout for MOBEC (Marvin Blum, 5-23-2024)

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Estate Planning To Do Before the Clock Strikes Midnight on 12/31/25

On May 2, 2024, Marvin spoke to the Tarrant County Probate Bar on the topic of “Estate Planning To Do Before the Clock Strikes Midnight on 12/31/25.”

Marvin describes this topic as “Cinderella Estate Planning,” because when the clock strikes midnight on 12/31/25, the coach turns back into a pumpkin. You go to bed on New Year’s Eve 2025 with an estate tax exemption of around $14 million, and you wake up on New Year’s morning with an exemption of around $7 million. What planning can we do to lock in the doubled exemption, so we don’t waste half of it? I call this area of our law practice “use it or lose it” planning. The clock is ticking fast. The deadline will be here before we know it.

Slide Deck: Estate Planning to do Before the Clock Strikes Midnight on 12-31-25 (Marvin Blum, 5-2-2024)

 

 

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678 Trusts (also called Beneficiary Defective Irrevocable Trust)

Typically, when a client is considering options to help reduce estate taxes, the client must consider techniques that require the client to part with assets he or she has accumulated over the years. For example, many estate planning techniques involve gifting and/or selling the client’s assets to trusts that benefit the client’s children. As a result, the client permanently parts with the assets, as well as all of the future appreciation and the income stream from the assets. However, use of a “678 Trust” (sometimes also called a Beneficiary Defective Irrevocable Trust or “BDIT”) allows the client to combine asset protection, estate tax savings associated with “estate freeze” techniques, and the continued ability to benefit from assets he or she has accumulated over the years.

Paper: 678 Trusts – Planning Strategies and Pitfalls (2024)

Paper: Squeeze, Freeze, and Burn with 678 Trusts (2024)

Slide Deck: Squeeze, Freeze, & Burn – Estate Planning with 678 Trusts (2018)

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Business Succession Planning

Marvin Blum spoke at the 2023 TXCPA Permian Basin CPE Expo on Business Succession Planning, a topic he describes as the most neglected area of estate planning.

Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at the 2023 TXCPA Permian Basin CPE Expo on November 16, 2023 for “Business Succession Planning.”

Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at the Purposeful Planning Institute Symposium on February 9, 2023 for “Business Succession Planning.”

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Planning in the Perfect Storm

Marvin Blum and Frank Leffingwell spoke at Business Owners Conferences in April 2023 sponsored by Bank of America/Merrill Lynch on “Planning in a Perfect Storm.” Knowing that 50% of owners will sell their business over the next 10 years, Marvin and Frank focused on the goal of minimizing the tax bite to leave more in the family’s pocket at the end of the day.

Slide Deck: Planning in a Perfect Storm (Marvin Blum, 4-26-2023)
Slide Deck: Planning in a Perfect Storm (Frank Leffingwell, April 27 2023)

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In Search of “Family Glue” – Improving the Odds of Multi-Generational Success

Marvin Blum spoke to the Dallas Council of Charitable Gift Planners on March 14, 2023, to present “In Search of ‘Family Glue’- Improving the Odds of Multi-Generational Success.” Every family deals with challenging family dynamics. When you throw an inheritance into that mix, it’s like adding fuel to the fire. 

The statistics are daunting, as 90% fall victim to the adage “shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations.” In this speech, Marvin covers the “Best Practices” of the 10% who succeed.

Slide Deck: In Search of Family Glue (3-14-2023)

 

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A Red File

After putting all the elements of the estate plan in place, what’s next? The final, and almost always overlooked step, is a Red File. A Red File is a roadmap containing critical information to guide the family through a loved one’s incapacity, estate administration, business succession, and creation or continuation of a lasting legacy. The Red File covers the items missing from even the most carefully crafted legal documents, such as key contacts, passwords, caregiving wishes, and heartfelt reflections.

The Blum Firm’s Red File Checklist available here 

Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at the Midland-Odessa Business & Estate Council on February 14, 2023, for “A Red File- Putting a Bow on Top of Your Estate Plan”

Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at the Lion Street Trusted Advisors Conference on July 13, 2021, for “The Final Wrap Up – A Red File. Putting a Bow on Top of Your Estate Plan”

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Last Chance Tax Planning

Paper here and Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at TXCPA East Texas CPE Expo on May 18, 2022, for “Last Chance Tax Planning – The Golden Age of Estate Planning Won’t Last Forever (If You’re Not Doing Estate Planning Now, What Are You Waiting For?) 

Slide Deck here: Marvin Blum at TXCPA Permian Basin CPE Expo on November 3, 2021, for “‘Last Chance’ Tax Planning- The Golden Age of Estate Planning Won’t Last Forever”

Video here and Paper here: Marvin Blum joined Scott Bishop at the Financial Planning Association’s June 2021 Tax & Estate Planning Knowledge Circle for “A Conversation with Marvin Blum” 

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