The Curchin Group Roundtable Draws Top Professionals to Industry Think TankApril 12, 2016

A leader in family business accounting and advising, The Curchin Group works closely with other small business professionals. As a means of sharing leading edge developments in numerous areas of interest to family and closely-held businesses, Curchin has assembled a roundtable of professionals where these experts share their insight with other members.

Clients are able to find out more about these important topics by contacting Curchin or the professionals mentioned below. Here is a brief synopsis of topics discussed at this year’s breakfast roundtables held at The Curchin Group headquarters in Red Bank.

LITIGATION & VALUATION
Topics:

• Do the proceeds of a life insurance policy contribute to the value of the business?
• Would the valuation be included in a buy/sell agreement?

Roy Kvalo
Curchin Group
Director of Litigation & Valuation Services

TAX & PLANNING SERVICES
Topics:

• Some tax extenders are now permanent, such as the research & development tax credit, enhanced Section 179 deductions, enhanced child tax credit, and enhanced earned income credit.
• Mitigating tax implications of inheritance and gift taxes is difficult because the state may make changes to the laws soon.
• New estate tax forms from the IRS are pending, but required to be submitted.
• Estate settlements are never as simple as they seem

Lynn Conover
Curchin Group
Tax Partner

Kim Melski
Curchin Group
Tax Manager

INSURANCE SERVICES
Topics:

• Why universal life insurance rates are rising.
• Examine old policies and schedules to address potential issues now.
• In the News: Wall Street Journal, http://www.wsj.com/articles/life-insurers-pass-pain-of-low-rates-on-to-consumers-1458466210 “Life-insurance companies are scouring their policies to identify ways to raise rates and fees and lower the amount of interest they have to pay on savings products as low interest rates cut into their profits.”
• It may be difficult or impossible to convert or lengthen the timeframe of old Term Life Insurance policies due to companies being sold multiple times and current comparable options are not available.

Rich Berger
Foresight Financial Partners
Investment Advisor

Robert Black
Atlas Advisory Group
Insurance, Investment, Estate Planning

LAW SERVICES
Topics:

• Inheritance tax and LLC property ownership
• Frequent flyer miles should be stated in a will and they can also be divisible in divorce proceedings.
• Large corporations are not negotiating their terms of payment with contract vendors. However, they’re not even abiding by their own terms either and vendors have to wait over 90 days for payments.
• New Jersey may be moving on modifying the estate and inheritance tax regulations.

Dana Bennett
Bennett Law LLC
Wills, Trusts, Estates and Tax Matters

Pamela J. Herzenberg
Pamela J. Herzenberg
Attorney at Law

INVESTMENTS
Topics:

• Department of Labor’s new fiduciary ruling will prohibit active solicitation, commission based business and managing both IRA and 401K.
• Bond durations
• Investment market awareness

Stephen Scanapicco
Morgan Stanley
Financial Advisor

CONSULTING
Topics:

• Proactively implementing opportunity in family business partnerships

Jeff Savlov
Blum & Savlov
Family Business Consulting

MARKETING
Topics:

• Branding and rebranding family businesses is a tricky process because emotions are often wrapped up in a brand’s image.
• Editorial Opportunity for family businesses. If families are open to being profiled, it can be a great opportunity to generate awareness and rapport within their market. Many publications are interested in doing profiles on family businesses when they have some sort of milestone, such as an anniversary, sales growth, or transitioning to next generation of ownership.

Melissa Hindle
Netwave Interactive Marketing
Marketing, Advertising, Website Development