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October 2, 2012 Social Media
Is Social Media Marketing Really Like A Cocktail Party?
Mark Powers Atticus, Inc. Shawn McNails Atticus Inc. In their book on social media marketing, experts Tim Tobin and Lisa Braziel suggest that the activity generated by these sites is analogous to a giant, ongoing 24-hour cocktail party. The name of their book neatly sums up their philosophy: Social Media Marketing Is A Cocktail Party: Why You Already Know the Rules of Social Media Marketing. They believe sites like LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter provide on-going stream of cyber conversation that you can (and should) step into and out of at will. While there’s no question that social media marketing offers another avenue to market yourself and build relationships... Read More
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September 29, 2012 News & Updates
Financial Planning Association® and WealthCounsel® Announce Strategic Alliance
Membership organizations to leverage power of financial planners, attorneys, and CPAs working together to better serve the needs of clients. DENVER, CO and MADISON, WI, Sept. 29, 2012 – The Financial Planning Association® (FPA®) and WealthCounsel® today announced a strategic alliance designed to enhance the value of their respective membership offerings while providing co-branding opportunities for both organizations. The announcement came on the opening day of FPA Experience 2012, the annual gathering for the financial planning community. &nbs... Read More
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September 24, 2012 Practice Management
Can You Procrastinate Your Way to Productivity?
Peggy Hoyt, JD The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel I was preparing for WealthCounsel's Symposium and I was straightening my home office when I picked up the book, "Time Management for Attorneys: A Lawyer's Guide to Decreasing Stress, Eliminating Interruptions & Getting Home on Time" by Mark Powers and Shawn McNalis, partly read, but for now in the way. It makes me wonder whether by procrastinating and not reading this particular book today, can I actually accomplish more? I'm hoping the answer is, "Yes." The Urban Dictionary defines "procrastivity" as the act of being productive in something you don't actually need to be doing in order to put off the work that you should be doing. A good exampl... Read More
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September 9, 2012 News & Updates
Pinney Insurance Signs Agreement with WealthCounsel® to Facilitate Working Relationships Between Agents and Attorneys
ROSEVILLE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Pinney Insurance Center, Inc., a national brokerage general agency and leading provider of insurance and other financial planning services, signed an agreement with The WealthCounsel® Companies, a nationwide organization for attorneys and wealth planning professionals. As part of the agreement, Pinney Insurance will encourage its agents to become active members of The Advisors Forum – a division of The WealthCounsel Companies. The objective of The Advisors Forum relationship is to help agents gain the confidence of attorneys and optimize the collaboration when serving the needs of estate planning clients. “This agreement highlights the importance of insurance, financial, legal and accounting professionals working... Read More
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September 5, 2012 News & Updates
WealthCounsel and Trusts & Estates Magazine Launch the Sixth Annual Industry Trends Survey
New York, Sept. 5, 2012 – WealthCounsel® and the publishers of Trusts & Estates magazine today announced the opening of the Sixth Annual Industry Trends Survey. Since 2007, this survey has provided industry insiders with the pulse of the estate planning industry, and it has become known as the only source for insight on emerging trends. All interdisciplinary professionals engaged in estate and business planning, wealth management, and retirement planning, are encouraged to participate in the survey at www.wealthcounsel.com or at www.wealthmanagement.com. In addition to the standard sets of questions contained in previous years’ surveys such as the average net worth of clients, practice management challenges, and respondents’ educational prefere... Read More
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August 9, 2012 News & Updates
WealthCounsel® Announces the Release of WealthDocx® Summer 2012 Enhancement
Semiannual update includes improvements and additions to several WealthDocx assembly libraries. Madison, WI, Aug. 9, 2012—WealthCounsel, a nationwide collaborative organization for attorneys and wealth planning professionals, announced the second of its 2012 semiannual updates to the WealthDocx® estate planning software system. The updates are the result of a comprehensive and substantive review process designed to maintain WealthDocx as the industry’s most robust, relevant, and practice-friendly document drafting system on the market. “Our goal for the semiannual WealthDocx updates is to provide our members with consistently improving tools that allow them to Practice Excellence,” said Editor-in-Chief Jason E. Havens, JD, LLM. “A substant... Read More
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August 1, 2012 News & Updates
WealthCounsel® Unveils New Brand Identity and Website
New tagline “Practice Excellence™” represents WealthCounsel’s unique brand promise. Madison, WI, Aug. 1, 2012 WealthCounsel, a nationwide collaborative organization for attorneys and wealth planning professionals, recently unveiled a new logo, tagline, and website, featuring a crisp, fresh color palette. The new branding unifies WealthCounsel’s identity across all product lines to better communicate the value of membership to its vibrant, expanding, and forward-thinking community of planning professionals. “As WealthCounsel continues to grow as a collaborative of attorneys, wealth advisors, and accounting professionals, we recognized the need to align our visual identity with our expansive mission. Reexamining our branding gave us the... Read More
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June 27, 2012 Practice Management
Go Forth and Clarify
Carol Clasby, J.D. Style Editor, WealthCounsel You know you’re in the right place when you attend a conference and have trouble deciding which breakout sessions to attend, truly lamenting the fact that you can’t attend them all. Imagine impromptu table discussions about whether or not to bump the em dash; spirited international debates over the use of their as a gender-neutral singular possessive pronoun; and one presenter challenging another over the fundamental nature of communication—verbal or visual—while a palpable tension fills the air. My brethren. This spring, I traveled to Washington, D.C. for the Clarity 2012 conference. Clarity describes itself as “a worldwide group of lawyers and others who advocate usi... Read More
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June 19, 2012 Practice Management
How to Resign from a Job—Dos and Don'ts
The Law Office of Hoyt & Bryan, LLC Member of WealthCounsel There must be 50 ways to leave your employer. As the Paul Simon song so aptly says, “Slip out the back Jack, make a new plan Stan, you don’t have to be coy Roy, just get yourself free.” I’m fascinated by the number of ways people leave their employers and/or end relationships, which sometimes can be one and the same. Is there a right way or a wrong way to disengage from employment? I believe there is. I posed this question to Chuck Csizmar, CCP, Principal of the CMC Compensation Group who gave this sage advice: “One of the safest ways to resign is to say that you're leaving for more money. Most folks do receive more compensation from their next emp... Read More
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June 8, 2012 Financial Planning
Do Not Forget About an Old 401(k) in Estate Planning
Jeffrey Bedell, J.D. Bedell Financial Initial interviews with prospective clients often consist of closed ended questions. “Do you own a home?” “Do you own a business?” “Are you married?” The fact gathering necessary in an initial interview does not always allow the sort of leisurely chat friends would have over coffee. Our clients are busy people and so are we. While crucial to gather the basics in the initial meeting, if no open ended questions are asked then assets important to the client’s situation can be overlooked. For example, approximately 4.2 trillion dollars is held today in 401(k) and other defined contribution plans. For public sector employees, a defined contribution plan may include a 403(b) or 457(b) plan. The amount of asset... Read More