EP 28 - Estate Planning and ESOPs: Interview with Agnes Gregory (Tax Partner) and Justin Stemple (ESOP Attorney)
Oct 11, 2024
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Agnes Gregory, a Tax Partner specializing in estate tax at Berman Hopkins CPA, and Justin Stemple, an ESOP attorney with decades of experience at Warner Norcross + Judd, dive deep into estate planning for ESOP transactions. They discuss the urgency of creating an Estate/Gift Tax plan amidst potential estate tax changes. Key topics include the significance of strategic gifting, trusts, and the need for professional guidance to avoid probate issues. They emphasize proactive collaboration with advisors for a smoother business transition and optimized asset management.
Estate planning is essential for ESOP transactions to ensure financial liquidity and a smooth asset transition for heirs.
Engaging a coordinated network of advisors helps business owners navigate the complexities of estate planning and optimize tax strategies.
Deep dives
The Intersection of ESOPs and Estate Planning
The podcast discusses the crucial relationship between Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) and estate planning, emphasizing the significance of understanding how these two areas can impact business owners. It elaborates that during an ESOP transaction, owners consider their financial liquidity and asset conversion, which inadvertently links to their estate planning needs. Properly addressing estate planning can alleviate challenges for heirs, ensuring a smooth transition of assets without involving court complications. It highlights the importance of planning ahead, suggesting that both estate planning and ESOP formation should be considered as integrated parts of a holistic financial strategy.
Importance of Early Estate Planning
Estate planning allows individuals to organize their assets and determine how they will be distributed after their passing, emphasizing the necessity of preparing for potential tax implications. The conversation reveals that most clients prefer to avoid a public probate process, which can unveil family wealth, and instead opt for setups like trusts that facilitate private transfers. The current estate tax exemption is discussed, noting its potential reduction post-2025, thus underscoring the urgency of exploiting available tax advantages while still permitted. By engaging in proactive estate planning, business owners can optimize their financial legacy and minimize their heirs' burdens.
Strategies for Gifting and Charitable Contributions
The podcast outlines various strategies for gifting assets in a way that can limit tax liabilities and benefit both donors and recipients. It highlights the options available for conveying shares or proceeds, such as making charitable contributions before an ESOP sale to maximize tax deductions while bypassing capital gains taxes. This approach benefits both philanthropic pursuits and the eventual wealth distribution to heirs by minimizing the taxable value of the estate. The narratives of using trusts and donor-advised funds illustrate how structuring charitable contributions thoughtfully can lead to long-term financial benefits.
The Collaborative Role of Advisors in ESOP Transactions
The discussion underscores the importance of having a well-coordinated network of advisors, including CPAs, estate attorneys, and ESOP specialists, to navigate the complexities of both estate planning and ESOP transactions. Each advisor brings unique expertise that contributes to crafting a comprehensive plan that aligns with the business owner's objectives, particularly in the context of timing and taxation. Collaboration among advisors helps to avoid potential pitfalls and miscommunications regarding asset valuation, gifting strategies, and tax obligations. Ultimately, a unified approach fosters informed decision-making that can better safeguard the owner’s interests and those of their heirs.
This episode is extremely timely given the potential changes to estate tax. Agnes Gregory with Berman Hopkins CPA tax team in Orlando FL and Justin Stemple with Warner Norcross + Judd from Grand Rapids, MI explain how important it is to have an Estate/Gift Tax plan going into an ESOP transaction. We cover some important elements of Estate planning as we consider the event of an ESOP transaction. One of the areas of planning is considering the potential lifetime exemptions with other assets. This gets somewhat clearer as you consider the valuation of a primary asset - your business. When it comes to estate and gift planning there are a myriad of options and the earlier you start the better. We also cover who should be helping you do this kind of planning so that you can enjoy your journey to an ESOP.
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