ITM TwentyFirst University focuses on life insurance education and provides TOLI trustees, attorneys, advisors, regulators and others with practical guidance to use in their practice. The course topics include real life case studies that can be applied to day to day situations. Subject matter is designed to help ensure that advisors can provide insureds and beneficiaries with exceptional support related to life insurance. From time to time, we also offer courses related to other unique assets or topics of interest to our clients. Our faculty consists of sought-after presenters who are experts in their related fields. Attendees are eligible for free Continuing Education (CE) credits. See specific courses for applicable CE listings.
Recent Webinars
Life Insurance and Trusts: Power Tools of Estate Planning
Put on by the Trusts & Estates CLE Webinar Series – Sponsored by Life Insurance Trust Company
Kenneth R. Samuelson – Morehead Group, Kristin Bulat – NFP & PartnersFinancial, Leon Wessels – Life Insurance Trust Company, John Barkhurst – ITM TwentyFirst, Susan Lipp – Trusts & Estates
What is the best investment? The one that is worth the most when needed the most. Life insurance often fits that profile, especially when estate tax funding and family wealth planning is involved. And Trusts bring flexibility, power and precision to life insurance so that it benefits those intended with the protection they deserve. This session will overview the characteristics of well-designed, well-managed life insurance, and how to use trusts to maximize the financial results for the family. We will wrap up with thoughts on how to keep plans on track in light of pending tax reform.
This session will include:
- An overview of well-designed, well-managed life insurance policies
- How life insurance trusts can be used to maximize financial results for clients
- A discussion of trends and pending tax reform which may affect policies
Tuesday November 16, 2021 – 1:00 pm central
Why Now Is the Time to Consider Alternatives for Your Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs)
Presenters: Leon Wessels, Life Insurance Trust Company, John Barkhurst, ITM TwentyFirst
For most institutions in 2021, life insurance trusts are not core to their trust business. With the regulatory, reputational, and legal risks ever increasing, many corporate trustees are currently rethinking their ILIT services, contemplating other alternatives. This webinar will explore the current trust-owned life insurance (TOLI) landscape, focusing on corporate fiduciaries (banks and trust companies) that manage approximately 20 percent of all irrevocable life insurance trusts (ILITs).
We will address current trends in estate planning affecting the use of life insurance in a trust. Using 20 years of “real world” data collected by ITM TwentyFirst, we will highlight the challenges today’s corporate ILIT trustees face. And we will discuss two unique solutions being utilized by many institutions to mitigate and eliminate ILIT fiduciary liability.
All ILIT fiduciaries, as well as compliance and risk management professionals, should attend this timely and relevant session.
Thursday, June 24, 2021 – 1:00 pm central
Life Insurance Trusts – An Insider’s Guide to Minimizing Liability and Maximizing Client Value
Put on by the Trusts & Estates CLE Webinar Series – Sponsored by Life Insurance Trust Company
Leon Wessels – Life Insurance Trust Company, John Barkhurst – ITM TwentyFirst, Judith Pearson – Nomadx Solutions, Michael Brohawn – Your Life Insurance Solutions, Susan Lipp – Trusts & Estates
Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs) have long been a cornerstone of many estate plans—and remain a great tool for creating liquidity upon the death of a Grantor. The management of life insurance has become increasingly more difficult as low interest rates have stressed many life insurance policies to the max, resulting in a significantly higher number of underperforming and lapsing Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) policies.
The liability associated with serving as ILIT trustee or advising clients with life insurance trusts has never been greater. The fiduciary role of a trustee is one that holds the highest duty according to law and, in the current environment, those administering ILITs are going to face challenging, even difficult, decisions that may be questioned years down the road.
Attend this webinar as we discuss topics that include ways to minimize fiduciary and professional liability, while ensuring your clients’ ILITs will succeed, including:
- Trustee roles, responsibilities and personal liability
- The challenges facing trustees and how to manage ILIT risk
- How low interest rates negatively affect life insurance and why it will get worse
- Practical solutions for dealing with TOLI policy issues
- Why an individual (non-corporate) ILIT trustee is not ideal for long-term success
CFP, CIMA®, CPWA®, CIMC®, RMA®, and AEP® CE Credits have been applied for and are pending approval.
Tuesday October 6, 2020 – 1:00 pm central
Paying Caregivers and Employees from a Trust: Staying Out of Hot Water
Presenters: Rachel Green and Cheryl Severson, TEAM Risk Management Strategies LLC
If you encounter clients who have caregivers, nannies, housekeepers, or other in-home workers, this presentation will be relevant to you. We will discuss considerations to the trust and the fiduciary of being an employing entity, common missteps and potential liabilities clients face when they have employees, HR and compliance regulations for employers, and how to properly classify workers as 1099 contractors or W2 employees and the repercussions of each classification.
Presenter Bios:
Rachel Green, CEO, TEAM Risk Management Strategies LLC
Rachel brings to TEAM her experience working in Fortune 50 companies across client services, operations, strategy, and business development. Rachel is passionate about delivering high-quality service and outstanding experiences for clients, partners, and team members alike. Rachel joined TEAM as Director of Client Services and also previously served as TEAM’s Chief Operating Officer. Rachel holds an MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business and a BA from Harvard University.
Cheryl Severson, Director of Client Services and HR, TEAM Risk Management Strategies LLC
Cheryl oversees TEAM’s Client Services and Human Resources departments. Cheryl joined TEAM in 2014 as its HR Manager and brings nearly 20 years of experience delivering client-focused solutions to companies of all sizes and across several industries. She combines her passion for providing impeccable service and account management with her specialized HR expertise in coaching, compliance, workplace investigations, and conflict resolution. Cheryl holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from San Diego State University and maintains the Professional in Human Resources (PHR) certification through the HR Certification Institute.
Comparing the Discretionary, Delegated and Directed Trustee’s Role and the Trust Protector
Kevin Maas, Pohl Consulting and Training, Inc.
Directed Trusts are a growing reality as more states adopt the Uniform Directed Trust Act. Delegated trusts are as old as the UPIA, but are you really prepared to confidentially articulate the difference between the two models? Most trust organizations are being asked to consider one or both of these options by someone in their market or the bank. This webinar will compare and contrast the role of a trustee in a directed trust and a delegated trust with the traditional discretionary trustee role. Additionally, the rising occurrence of trust protectors under state law will be addressed.
All participants in a trust organization need to be familiar with directed and delegated trusts and should attend this informative and practical webinar.
A Trustee’s Guide to Life Settlements
Aaron Hanson, ITM TwentyFirst and Michael Brohawn, Your Life Insurance Solutions
Life settlements are confusing, at best. That confusion can make you uncomfortable. So much so that you allow a client to surrender or lapse a policy without exploring the option. That would be a mistake – one that could cost the client money and put you in hot water. It’s hard to move ahead if you do not know how. We understand that, just like we understand life settlements.
By attending this session, you will learn when and how to sell a policy to get the most value for your client. We will outline a prudent process for you to follow to limit your liability, while ensuring that you maximize the value of your client’s assets – your duty as Trustee. By working through real-life case studies with us, you will see clearly how the process works. If there is one session on life settlements, you should attend – this is it.
Wednesday, June 10, 2020 – 1:00 pm central
Minimizing Trustee Liability in a Changing Market
Judith Pearson, Nomadx Solutions
Risk management is always more challenging in a volatile environment, especially in a society that has grown more litigious. Learn how to minimize your liability by taking a few simple steps.
- The trust world has become rich with opportunity. Learn how to navigate this complex market while dodging landmines of personal liability.
- Understand how changing laws and trust structures impact risk analysis.
- Discover how to apply guidelines to internal roles and responsibilities to mitigate liability.
- Learn the steps you need to take to protect yourself during this evolutionary time.
- Uncover the most common holes in your existing risk management coverage.
All fiduciaries, as well as compliance and risk management professionals, should attend this important session.
Wednesday, May 27, 2020 – 1:00 pm central
An Insider’s Guide to Life Insurance in a Challenging Environment
Michael Brohawn, Your Life Insurance Solutions
A decade-plus of historic low interest rates and a financial crisis unlike any we have seen before has negatively impacted life insurance. Do you know why and what you can do to deal with it? You will if you take part in this fast-paced webinar. By attending, you will:
- Learn which policies will be most affected and how to manage them effectively going forward.
- Discover one thing every trustee should always do to limit risk.
- Understand how low interest rates stress policies, why it may get worse, and what you should do about it right now.
- Be able to put into place simple processes that will minimize your liability – now and in the future.
- Receive a TOLI Trustee Guide for future reference.
While this session is designed for TOLI Trustees, it will be time well spent for any Attorney, CPA, or Wealth Advisor that has clients with life insurance.
12 Things to Do While Managing ILITs During a Pandemic
Leon Wessels, Life Insurance Trust Company and John Barkhurst, ITM TwentyFirst
For most corporate and professional trustees, the life insurance trust and policy administration landscape has changed drastically in recent months. As a trustee, are you confident that your life insurance trusts are being managed properly in light of business continuity plans and work from home models? This webinar will highlight the things you should be focused on right now to manage trust owned life insurance during this challenging time.
- Understand why your fiduciary responsibilities are more crucial now than ever.
- Pick up some tips to ensure accurate and timely trust administration.
- Know what steps to take immediately on certain policies in your portfolio.
- Learn how the insurance companies are dealing with this pandemic and how servicing is impacted.
- Realize the importance of proactive client communication.
All ILIT fiduciaries, as well as compliance and risk management professionals, should attend this timely and relevant session.
Webinar Archive
Cannon Financial Institute
Unique and Hard To Value Assets
University of Notre Dame
July 8-14, 2018
Again, this year during our ITM TwentyFirst University Summer Break, we will be teaching the Life Insurance portion of the week-long Cannon Financial Institute session on Unique and Hard to Value Assets.
This is an industry-exclusive course for trust professionals tasked with administering unique assets, and it will provide the knowledge and skills you need to do so successfully.
How We Saved Our TOLI Trustees Millions
With Aaron Hanson
June 28, 2018
Nobody said managing life insurance trusts was easy. But that does not mean you should subject yourself to possible litigation costs. This session, headed up by a life insurance policy review expert will outline actual cases that could have easily lead to litigation expenses had we not acted quickly. The cases range from simple administration issues that could cost you thousands to a faulty policy replacement case that easily could have cost you as much as a million dollars. Together the cases represent millions of dollars in possible litigation and settlement costs. And they are avoidable. We will you why they occurred and how we avoided them. This is a session you will not want to miss.
Session Handbook: Download
Estate Planning Strategies for 2018
With Randy Pople
May 30, 2018
While the estate planning landscape has been altered because of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act passed in December, efficient strategies are still available for your clients. In this session, after a review of the new tax law, Randy will outline the tactics that are most relevant in today’s climate. Understanding marital deduction and portability is still important. Annual and charitable giving and advanced strategies like GRATs, IDGTs, ILITs and partnerships can still play important roles in your clients plans. Attend this session, headed up by an industry expert, to find out what should be changed in current estate plans, what still works and maybe most important – what the future may hold and how the changes affect your fiduciary duties as trustee. Randy’s sessions always draw a crowd – attend and find out why.
What You (As An Advisor) Need To Know About Long Term Care Insurance
With Kim Natovitz, CLU, CLTC
TriBridge Partners
Tuesday, April 24, 2018
One of your client’s greatest concerns in retirement is running out of money and one of the greatest financial risks your clients will face in retirement is long term care expenses. In this session, a long-term care specialist will outline the strategies you can help your clients employ to ensure that they are protected from the ravages of long term care expenses. This session will teach you the tactics that will allow your clients to re position and re purpose monies to shelter their assets. Long term care will affect many of your clients (and their parents). Take the time to hear an expert explain the methods you can use to help your clients and increase your worth as an advisor and potentially save your clients from financial distress. This is an important session that should not be missed.
Session Handbook: Download
Permanent Life Insurance Policy Purchase Process
With Barry Flagg, CFP, CLU, ChFC, GFS, Veralytic, Inc.
March 20th, 2018 at 2PM ET
Understanding the life insurance purchase process can save your clients thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars in premium costs. The process begins with the selection of policy type based on client risk temperament and includes an underwriting process that can vary widely from carrier to carrier and greatly influence policy pricing. Life insurance sales illustrations are often used as a policy selection tool when, in fact, the illustrations are misleading, at best. Understanding policy costs is a much better differentiator. Permanent policy cash value returns have a great influence on the policy performance of non-guaranteed policies, but rate of return expectations are often overly optimistic leading to future client letdown and premium increases. This session will provide the financial advisor with the tools needed to advise clients on purchasing a financial asset that should last a lifetime.
Session Handbook: Presentation Slides
Supporting Document: Best Practice Standards
Life Insurance Policy Valuation
With Jon B. Mendelsohn, Ashar Group
Thursday, February 8th, 2018 at 2PM ET
1 hour of CFP and CTFA CE pending
In today’s estate planning world, the fair market value (FMV) of a life insurance policy becomes an important consideration when a transfer involves an estate or gift matter or when moving a policy to or from an irrevocable life insurance trust (ILIT). Often, advisors simply order a Form 712 Life Insurance Statement from the carrier with no other valuation contemplated. This could be a mistake and cost your client money. This session will feature a policy valuation expert who will explain the best practices around policy valuation providing vital information for a trust or financial advisor.
Session Handbook: Download
Introducing Life Insurance Trust Company – A Special Session
Leon Wessels, Director of Business Development, Life Insurance Trust Company
As pioneers in the irrevocable life insurance trust and policy management space, ITM TwentyFirst has been a leader, first by creating a web based system to help trustees manage life insurance trusts, establish efficiencies, and track policy performance and then when clients asked for additional administration and remediation services, responding with our Managed Solution, the industry’s first total outsourcing of TOLI trust administration and policy management.
To continue to fulfill the needs of our clients, ITM TwentyFirst Holding Company, established Life Insurance Trust Company, a South Dakota specialty trust company. With our trust charter in hand, we wanted to reach out to clients and prospects to explain the reasoning behind opening this trust company, and to show how this trust company will benefit current and future clients.
This session will not carry any continuing education credit, but you will want to carve out an hour of your time to hear from industry leaders on the next phase in the TOLI industry, Life Insurance Trust Company, the first trust company dedicated to the management of life insurance trusts.
If you are a TOLI trustee or if you work in the estate planning market as an attorney, CPA, or an advisor, this session will alert you to the benefits your clients can receive.
Session Handbook: Download
TOLI Issues and Solutions – 2017 Year in Review
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU® and Leon Wessels
Marketing – ITM TwentyFirst
2017 was a bumpy year for Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) trustees. With the higher federal estate tax exemption, married couples are not even affected by the estate tax until their estate hits almost 11 million dollars and the threatened repeal will mean that even those few may no longer feel a need for an ILIT. How does a TOLI trustee best handle Grantors who may no longer even feel a need for an ILIT? Trustees managing life insurance policies have struggled in a low interest rate environment with poorly performing policies that have not lived up to expectations. Could you be liable for them? Cost of insurance increases from more than ten carriers have raised premiums by 150%. Which policies are affected and how do you handle them? COI increase lawsuits are winding their way through the courts. What is the possible outcome and could they help you? It may be a good time to take another look at your TOLI business as we wind down 2017 and enter the new year. In this session, we will do just that, providing updates on where the industry is now, where things are going and the opportunities and pitfalls that await the TOLI trustee in 2018 and beyond.
Session Handbook: Download
Life Insurance 101 (for TOLI Trustees)
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU®
Marketing – ITM TwentyFirst
Today’s Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) Trustee faces a harder task than ever. Low interest rates, cost of insurance increases, and market volatility have wreaked havoc on permanent life insurance policies. This course will explain life insurance in a practical way for those who are not life insurance experts, but should understand life insurance and its current problems. We will focus on policy characteristics and pressing issues that one must be capable of managing. While this session is geared toward those that are not life insurance experts, it still offers additional knowledge for those that are well versed in life insurance. A handbook that can serve as a reference going forward will be provided to all attendees.
Session Handbook: Download
Artificial Intelligence in Banking and Finance
Cory Cates, Chief Information Officer, ITM TwentyFirst
Cody Pobuda, Manager of Technology, ITM TwentyFirst
Artificial Intelligence (Al) is the science of using machines and computer programs to problem solve and even learn “like humans, but with much greater capabilities. While the concept has been around for several years, it has become a buzzword with the explosion of Big Data – we can now collect and analyze data in ways impossible just a few years ago. So, what does this mean for those in the banking and financial services sector? Things will be changing dramatically in the next few years and you must be able to adjust-for your clients and your career. This session with two IT professionals well versed in the Al field will be a discussion of the ways that Al will affect creative problem-solving and productivity in the marketplace. You will learn what is occurring today and what is just around the corner. You will find out how Al will help your clients and affect your business and practice.
Handout: Download
TOLI Issues and Solutions – 2017 Year in Review
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU®
Marketing – ITM TwentyFirst
There have a been a handful of court cases against TOLI trustees and fiduciaries that provide guidance for what you should and should not do when managing an asset like life insurance. The cases provide some bright lines to follow for processes and procedures, and just as important, provide insight to some key traps in TOLI trust management. This session will review these cases and provide clear direction with well defined “key lessons” from each lawsuit. The course will include a Handbook that can be used as a guide going forward. The TOLI trustee or even a fiduciary will learn a great deal from this course.
Session Handbook: Download
Sample Chapter: The TOLI Handbook: Managing Life Insurance in a Trust Setting -To be published in 2018
Unique and Hard to Value Asset Management
University of Notre Dame
July 9 – 15, 2017
DURING OUR SUMMER BREAK: As we did last year, we will be teaching at the Cannon Financial Institute’s week long course on Unique and Hard to Value Asset Management held on the Notre Dame campus in South Bend, Indiana. We will be teaching a session on life insurance.
Effective Life Insurance Strategies (With or Without the Federal Estate Tax)
Michael Amoia, JD, LLM (Tax), SVP,
Advanced Sales and Life Product Management at Crump Life Insurance Services
Many of your clients who in the past used life insurance to pay estate taxes may be questioning the use of life insurance strategies at this point. But the fact is, life insurance can be used for much more than just tax planning and you can provide your clients with a great service by understanding how to use this asset to maximize wealth and leverage assets to the next generation. Join Michael Amoia, an advanced planning expert with 23 years’ experience who has helped high net worth individuals across the country understand how to effectively use life insurance to reach their planning goals.
Michael will highlight key strategies that you can immediately bring to the table to help your clients, allowing you to turn the tax planning discussion to effective legacy planning. And after all, isn’t that what most clients are looking for?
Session Handbook: Download
Caregivers and Household Employees: Navigating the Complexities of Employment Law as a Fiduciary
Josh Greenberg, CEO and Rachel Green, COO – TEAM Risk Management Strategies
When a fiduciary pays someone to provide services to his or her client, it is likely that an employment relationship is created. That means that there is not only an administrative duty to process payroll, accurately withhold and file taxes, and comply with wage and hour law, but also significant potential for liability against trust assets and the fiduciary as well. Employment liability, whether in the form of a Workers’ Compensation claim, a wrongful termination claim, a caregiver abuse claim, or any of the host of other potential claims, is one of the few liabilities which can pierce the veil of the trust. This is a not only a liability for trust assets, but if handled incorrectly could subject the fiduciary to penalties and sanctions. Join Josh Greenberg and Rachel Green, who will describe these risks as well as the compliant solutions for hiring, employing, and paying employees, as well as ways to avoid some of the common pitfalls and risks for fiduciaries, including proper classification of employees as W-2 employees versus 1099 independent contractors.
Session Handbook: Download
Whitepaper: Download
How to Conduct a Trust Owned Life Insurance Policy Review
Aaron Hanson, CLU and Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU, ITM TwentyFirst
Thursday April 20, at 2 PM ET
1 Hour CE credit for CFP, CTFA and FIRMA Certified Member
The OCC and regulatory guidance require initial and annual reviews for life insurance policies held in a trust. Life insurance has become increasingly hard to manage with cost increases and investment returns that can dramatically affect the policy year to year. The use of an annual policy review is not just a fiduciary requirement; it is the backbone of prudent policy management. This session, using the new ITM TwentyFirst Insight Report as a guide, will show the trustee, and those who handle life insurance, what is necessary to track on an annual basis, and what to do when a policy “goes off track.” The session will be accompanied by a session handbook that will become a reference book for managing life insurance in a trust setting.
Session Handbook: Download
Learning When, Why and How to Do a Life Settlement
Jon B. Mendelsohn, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, Ashar Group
Each year over $100 Billion in life insurance death benefit is surrendered or allowed to lapse by seniors age 65 or older. Can you imagine the potential liability to advisors that omit this discussion with their clients? This significant asset could be used by many older individuals to help fund general retirement living or even long term care expenses. This session is designed to provide advisors, especially those acting as trustees in the personal trust space, the opportunity to gain a practical understanding of the life settlement process. Learn why and when you would sell a life insurance policy and how the actual process works. Our presenter, a nationally known life settlement market executive will give you the insight you need to allow you to maximize the value of a life insurance policy. Jon will show you how to provide your clients a valuable service and if you are a trustee of a life insurance policy, will show you how you can live up to your fiduciary responsibilities. This practical session is one you should not miss.
Session Handbook: Download
The Trump Effect on Estate Planning
Joshua E. Husbands, Partner, Holland & Knight
Changes are occurring quickly in the Trump administration and they will have a major influence on estate and financial planning for many of your clients, especially high net worth individuals. This session, featuring Joshua Husbands, a nationally known estate planning attorney and partner with Holland & Knight, will provide an overview of the changes that could occur, and the strategies that you and your clients should employ to take advantage of them. This session is very timely – the mid-February session will provide vital insight you and your clients can take advantage of this year. Find out how change brings opportunity.
Session Handbook: Download
A Special, Interactive, Client Only Session – Developing a Reg 9 Review System for Life Insurance
Michael Brohawn CFP®, CLU®, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst and ITM TwentyFirst Staff
As required by OCC regulation 12 CFR 9.6(c), banks that handle fiduciary accounts are required to annually conduct a review of those assets “to evaluate whether they are appropriate, individually and collectively, for the account.” These so-called “Reg 9” reviews are a cumbersome process for assets in general and life insurance in particular. Most Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) Trustees struggle with putting a process in place to cost efficiently review life insurance and adhere to the rule and the spirit of the law. This session will focus on the requirements of the regulation and introduce a new proprietary system currently being developed for ITM TwentyFirst clients. Registration will be limited to clients of ITM TwentyFirst and attendance will be limited as well as this will be an interactive session asking for your input. This is a session for those looking for a better way to deal with Reg 9 reviews.
Session Handbook: Download
Knowing WHY, WHEN And HOW To Move ILIT Accounts Out of Your Portfolio
Leon Wessels, New Business & Strategic Relationships and Michael Brohawn CFP®, CLU®, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst
Many Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) trustees would like to relieve themselves of at least some of the TOLI trusts (ILITs) in their portfolio. The reasons are many – some clients are troublesome, some ILITs represents more than an acceptable risk and many are simply unwanted because there is no real business relationship with the grantor, only a liability to the trustee. This session will discuss the various issues that might cause a trustee to want to divest of these assets and provide the various methods that will allow the trustee to do so in an efficient and safe manner. This is a must see session, especially for those trustees looking to make changes in 2017.
Session Handbook: Download
Pricing Unique Assets
Brad Davidson, Managing Partner, Unique Asset Partners, LLC
How should “unique assets” (client investments originating on Main Street, not Wall Street) be valued in compliance with current regulatory requirements? Pricing unique assets properly can be a vexing challenge. In this presentation a leading valuation specialist will explain in non-technical terms who should (and how to) value the seven most widely-held unique asset types (real estate; closely-held businesses; life insurance; minerals, oil and gas; loans and notes; intellectual property; and collectibles). For those who work in this space, this session will provide a wealth of clear information.
Session Handbook:Download
What to Do With An Unwanted Life Insurance Policy
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU Chief Marketing Officer and Aaron Hanson, CLU, ITM TwentyFirst
With the estate tax law changes of the last few years, the need for a life insurance policy held in trust has diminished for some – or at least that is what many TOLI trustee clients believe. TOLI trustees must always manage the asset to maximize the benefit to the beneficiary or subject themselves to fiduciary liability. How to do that will be the focus of this session, as we will explore prudent alternatives and develop a process around analyzing options on an asset that could be worth millions. We will provide actual real-life case examples in a session workbook that attendees can use for future reference. Life insurance policy advisors and trustees attending this session will be provided with vital information designed to increase client service and minimize their liability.
Session Handbook:Download
Discretionary Distributions
Randy Pople, CFP, AEP, Pople Financial Consulting
The majority of private trusts contain language granting discretionary powers to the trustee. The administration of these trusts can pose challenges to even the most seasoned trust administrator. Mistakes in the exercise of discretion can result in damaged relationships, reputational risk, and even legal actions. This session on Discretionary Distributions will cover the responsibilities of the trustees in the administration of discretionary trusts with the backdrop of the uniform trust code.
Session Handbook: Download
Session Presentation: Download
How TOLI Trustees Can Avoid Getting Sued
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU Chief Marketing Officer and Aaron Hanson, CLU, ITM TwentyFirst
Most Trust-Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) trustees are not aware of the many ways that they can be sued. Life insurance is a peculiar asset, and policy management and the administration of a TOLI trust often leave the TOLI trustee open for litigation on many fronts. This session will review the most prevalent litigious situations, show actual cases where trustees could have been liable for hundreds of thousands of dollars of damages, and provide the trustee with solutions to mitigate their liability. A session workbook will be provided to attendees outlining actual case studies and solutions. For the TOLI trustee hoping to avoid his or her day in court, this session is a must.
Session Handbook: Download
Insurance For Trust Real Estate Assets, All You Need To Know
Judie Altman, Vice President and Senior Portfolio Manager, PDS Companies
Many clients put their real estate assets into their trusts. The trustee is responsible for validating the real estate is insured properly for not only property coverage, but also liability coverage. If the real estate asset is in an area that experiences floods, hurricanes, or earthquakes, for example, is there adequate coverage for the property? Is there worker’s compensation insurance for the caregivers and others working in the home and employed by the trust? This webinar will discuss these issues and many others that affect the insurance we place on the real estate assets that we manage for our trust clients.
Session Handbook: Download
Presentation: Download
Special Session: The New DOL Fiduciary Regulations
Alexander P. Ryan, Of Counsel, Groom Law Group
Earlier this year in a highly attended and well received session, Alexander P. Ryan, of the Groom Law Group provided us with a review of the proposed DOL Fiduciary Regulations. Now, Mr. Ryan, an expert in fiduciary matters who deals with ERISA plan sponsors, administrators, trustees and various financial service providers, is back to give his review of the actual regulation language, giving you the opportunity to gain firsthand knowledge from an authority on this “hot button” topic.
Session Handbook: Download
10 Questions Every Trustee or Advisor Should Ask Before a Client Purchases or Continues a Life Insurance Policy
Barry D. Flagg, CFP, CLU, ChFC, GFS, Veralytic, Inc.
This presentation will provide Trustees and Advisor’s with practical questions to ask before the purchase or continuation of any life insurance product in order to reconcile the difference between prevailing life insurance industry practices designed to sell a policy versus proven Prudent Investor principles designed to manage life insurance as an asset pursuant to the client’s best interests. It is provided by an industry expert and one of the architects of the Best Practices for Life Insurance Stewards.
Download Handbook: ITM21 10 Questions Webinar Handbook
Webinar Supplement: 10Q Published Bloomberg BNA
How to Make Sure Your TOLI Policies Are Competitive
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU®, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst
Many TOLI Trustees struggle to understand the concept of life insurance policy competitiveness, one of their responsibilities. This session will show the steps that need to be put in place to create a program to document the competitiveness of policies and how to deal with noncompetitive policies, including proper documentation to mitigate Trustee liability. We will also provide actual case examples to bring the process to life.
Beyond Ratings: An Alternative Approach to Analyzing Life Insurance Financial Strength
David Paul, Principal, ALIRT Insurance Research
Trustees and advisors need to better understand the financial strength of life insurance carriers in this low interest rate environment we are in. The market crash of 2007 and the quick credit worthiness drop of AIG pointed out this lesson to all. Past life insurance debacles, like Executive Life and the more current struggles of Phoenix Life and Conseco have shined a light on carrier financials strength as an area that Trustees and Advisor’s should be aware of. This session will provide the professional with a much greater understanding of gauging carrier financial strength and provide an insight inside carrier financials that, to this point, probably was not seen or understood.
Pitfalls of Operations/Management of Specialty Asset
Kip West – Chief Operations Officer, PDS Services
Unlike some asset classes, specialty assets can be a major headache for the operations and administrative staff of any fiduciary organization who does not have a separate special assets division or outside service provider. This webinar explores the pitfalls and handling of unique situations the assets create including revenue/expense processing, valuations, tracking timed events and ensuring all the boxes are checking according to your compliance requirements.
Pitfalls CE Application
Pitfalls Handbook
Pitfalls PowerPoint
Developing a Compliant and Efficient Trust (ILIT) Administration Process
Jason Hassman, Client Relationship Manager, ITM TwentyFirst
Putting an efficient and compliant process around the administration of personal trusts is not an easy task. But with logical procedures to follow the task becomes much easier. This session will provide the Trustee or Advisor with the actual process developed and proven for personal trusts, with an emphasis on life insurance trusts, one of the more complex trusts to administer. The session, delivered by a specialist in personal trusts, will provide the framework for success for those professionals working in this market.
Session Handbook: Developing a Compliant and Efficient Trust (ILIT) Administration Process Handbook
Buying and Selling Specialty Assets
John Rowland, Portfolio Manager, PDS Services
This webinar will explore when is the right time and method to sell a specialty asset and what types of special assets to buy to increase cash flow. It will also discuss how to prudently invest the trust property to make it productive for the beneficiaries and when an asset becomes a cash liability rather than a viable money making asset for the trust.
Self-Directed IRAs: Proceed with Caution and Confidence
Jean Meyer, President, Mainstar Trust – Formally: First Trust Company of Onaga (FTCO)
Self-directed IRA’s have become one of the nation’s retirement essentials. Understanding how to administer them is a hot topic among Advisor’s and Trustee’s. Managing and administering this asset can be tricky, but with the information in this session you will be able to move ahead with confidence. This is a session many have asked for and we are lucky to have an expert in Self-Directed IRA’s leading it.
Course Handbook: Self-Directed IRAs Handbook – Mainstar Trust
Pre-acceptance Process for Unique and Hard to Value Assets
Richard Jacobs, President, PDS Services
This session, focused on the pre-acceptance process for Hard to Value Assets, will provide a definition of “pre-acceptance” in the fiduciary context, a survey of the rationale behind the process, a summary of a standard approach and an overview of idiosyncrasies’ for pre-acceptance for each asset class in the Unique and Hard to Value Asset category: real estate, notes/mortgages, minerals, and closely held businesses.
Pre-acceptance Process for Unique and Hard to Value Assets Handbook
DOL Proposed Fiduciary Regulation
Alexander P. Ryan, Of Counsel, Groom Law Firm
Thursday, February 11, 2016 at 2pm EST
1 Hour CE credit for CFP and CTFA (Financial) / This session qualifies for One(1) FIRMA CE credit
The new Department of Labor’s long-awaited re-proposed regulation on the definition of “fiduciary” has grabbed the headlines in industry publications and even the Wall Street Journal. The regulation re-defined who is a “fiduciary” by reason of providing investment advice to a retirement plan or an IRA. This session, provided by a leading ERISA and fiduciary law expert, will answer your questions and provide guidance on this timely subject.
Using Sophisticated Techniques to Manage Life Insurance Policies
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU®, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst
With millions of dollars of life insurance policies being surrendered annually in TOLI trusts, it is important that you understand the options available for your clients. In fact, as a fiduciary you may be liable if you do not. Join a leading expert of the life settlement marketplace as he explains the industry in easy to understand terms. The session will review the state of the marketplace today and focus on the best practices that should be employed to maximize the benefits to your client, the beneficiary. Real life examples will be employed to highlight the life settlement process. And you will learn which clients and policies might be a candidate for a life settlement, how the process works, and how to deliver the best results for your client. If you are managing life insurance policies, this is a session you need to attend.
Session Handbook:Using Sophisticated Techniques to Manage Life Insurance Policies Handbook
Life Settlement Primer, Creating Liquidity from a Non-Liquid Asset
Jon Mendelsohn, Ashar Group, LLC
With millions of dollars of life insurance policies being surrendered annually in TOLI trusts, it is important that you understand the options available for your clients. In fact, as a fiduciary you may be liable if you do not. Join a leading expert of the life settlement marketplace as he explains the industry in easy to understand terms. The session will review the state of the marketplace today and focus on the best practices that should be employed to maximize the benefits to your client, the beneficiary. Real life examples will be employed to highlight the life settlement process. And you will learn which clients and policies might be a candidate for a life settlement, how the process works, and how to deliver the best results for your client. If you are managing life insurance policies, this is a session you need to attend.
Fiduciary Responsibilities vis-à-vis Unique Assets
Brad Davidson,Spardata/Unique Assets
Don Moore, Bearmoor, LLC
“Unique assets” such as real estate, mineral oil and gas interests, privately owned businesses, loans and notes, life insurance, intangible assets, collectibles, farms, ranches and other investments pose challenges to fiduciaries asked to hold them. Because unique asset owners tend to be wealthy and own plenty of traditional as well as unique assets, institutions hate saying “no” and end up accepting them. This course considers the fiduciary’s responsibilities to value, administer and/or manage unique assets in every type of account (i.e. custody accounts, IRAs, investment management accounts, revocable trust accounts, directed trust accounts, etc.) If your institution holds unique assets (or is considering it), you will want to attend this session
Download Handbook Here: Fiduciary Responsibilities vis-à-vis Unique Assets
A Close Look at the Current Universal Life Cost Increase
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU, Chief Marketing Officer ITM TwentyFirst
While it seems the cost of life insurance should be going down since we are living longer, three carriers have announced their costs are going up. In some instances the premium needed to carry a policy to maturity has more than doubled in just the last few months. Find out why this is and whether other carriers may follow suit. A case study will be reviewed that will look inside a policy affected, analyze all options and to show the steps needed to develop prudent policy management decisions. If you are a TOLI Trustee or just an advisor on life insurance, this is an important session for you.
Download Presentation Handbook: Handbook A Close Look at the Current Universal Life Cost Increase
Using the Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT)
Randy Pople, CFP, AEP, Pople Financial Consulting
The ability for a single trust document to contain language causing a transfer to be complete for estate/gift tax purposes, but incomplete for income tax purposes creates planning opportunities that need to be explored. This session did just that, providing complete background to provide a foundation of information, as well as specific planning applications
Download Handbook here: Using the Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT)
Leader Metrics
Don Trone, GFS, 3ethos
Based on a book by the same name, this session provided the advisor with a review of the fiduciary movement and the rise of ethotic leadership. This is an area of much discussion with the discussion that has been occurring in the marketplace around the fiduciary standard. This session provided a history of fiduciary evolution and where we are at this point in time. It provided observations on fiduciary responsibilities and leadership and then related the discussion to the practical purpose in in the marketplace.
Download Handbook Here: Handout Leader Metrics
Ten Mistakes TOLI Trustees Make, Part 2
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst, Jason Hassman, ITM TwentyFirst
The second part in this series continued the robust discussion and covered the second set of mistakes trustees make: Failing to Administer the Trust and Policy Correctly, Failing to Analyze Policy Options When Trust Goals Change, Failing to Realize the Real Client is the Beneficiary and Not the Grantor, Failing to Adequately Understand Policy Replacements, Failing to Have Adequate Specialized Staff and Resources on Staff or Focused on TOLI.
Download Handbook Here: Ten Mistakes TOLI Trustees Make, Part 2
Ten Mistakes TOLI Trustees Make, Part 1
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst, Jason Hassman, ITM TwentyFirst
Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) Trustees face a daunting task. First, they have to understand their roles and fiduciary responsibilities. Then they have to implement an administration program with tax and legal implications. In addition, they have to manage an asset, life insurance that is one of the hardest financial assets to manage. And they must do this while communicating adequately with both grantors and beneficiaries, and simultaneously mitigating liability. It is not easy to do, but there are a number of areas where trustees often err and managing these areas better will allow the trustee to provide better service and reduce risk. This series provided the TOLI trustee with a robust discussion and real life examples to help them provide better client services. This session covered the first 5 Mistakes: Failing to Understand Responsibilities as a Trustee, Failing to Price Services Correctly, Failing to Understand the Trust Document and Policy When Taking in a Trust, Failing to Adequately Document a Prudent Process and Failing to Adequately Communicate with Both grantor and Beneficiary.
Download Handbook Here: Ten Mistakes TOLI Trustees Make, Part 1
Suitability vs. Financial Standard
Randy Pople, CFP, AEP, Pople Financial Consulting
The gap between these two standards (Suitability vs Fiduciary) is not insignificant. The laws and regulations that govern the broker/dealer and the RIA draw a clear distinction – primarily in whose interest comes first. Interestingly a recent study discovered that the client is unaware of these two standards and how it effects them. This session will provided the advisor with a robust discussion of the differences of the two standards and how this affects their industry.
Download Handbook Here: Suitability vs. Financial Standard
Illiquid Asset Survey – Findings and Recommendations
Brad Davidson,Spardata/Unique Assets
January 29, 2015
In 2012 the OCC published a Unique and Hard-to-Value Assets Handbook. As a result many banks were taking a closer look at how they handled their customers’ unique assets (i.e. real estate, mineral interests, closely-held businesses, insurance policies, collectibles etc.); and wanted to know how their practices compare to their trust industry peers. A survey of 47 institutions ranging in size from $4 million to $151 billion in total trust assets was performed. This presentation by SPARDATA Principal Brad Davidson highlighted the Illiquid Asset Survey’s most important findings, and recommended several unique asset “best practices” of interest to those wishing to better serve their customers’ needs while increasing fee income and shrinking risk exposure. This was one of the first ever surveys of these asset classes and provided the advisor working with these assets with a wide array of information.
Download Handbook Here: Illiquid Asset Survey – Findings and Recommendations
Generation Skipping Transfer Tax
Randy Pople, CFP, AEP, Pople Financial Consulting
The GST tax is designed to ensure that property is subject to U.S. Transfer Tax at each generational level. Understanding the GST tax and allocation can provide the planner working with wealthy clients the ability to greatly increase wealth passed down generation to generation. This session was designed to equip the planner with the knowledge to do just that.
Download Handbook Here: Handout Generation Skipping Transfer Tax
The Brower Quadrant
Lee Brower
Financial advisors today need to take a more holistic approach to helping the wealthy manage their assets. That approach covers more than just money or other financial assets. It includes all of the assets of an individual or family and includes real core assets such as health, values, education, family wisdom, as well as other assets not normally addressed. This session was based on a book called The Brower Quadrant, by Lee Brower which lays out a new way to approach family wealth, and not just for the super-rich. The concepts outlined in this course help today’s advisor address all of the facets of true wealth for their clients.
Download Handbook Here: Brower Quadrant: a new way to approach family wealth
Marital Deduction Planning
Randy Pople, CFP, AEP, Pople Financial Consulting
For those involved in the planning of estates and financial affairs, Marital Deduction Planning can create significant planning opportunities. This session was designed to provide the practitioner with an overview of the opportunities and process for marital deduction planning and provide the practitioner with real world knowledge to help them in their day to day practice. The session covered transfers during lifetime and at death. It featured information on non-citizen and same sex spouses, both important topics in today’s society. It also featured a short section on the Generation Skipping Transfer (GST) Tax Exemption Allocation.
Download Handbook Here: Handout Marital Deduction Planning
What Every TOLI Trustee Needs to Know About Life Insurance Underwriting
Michael Brohawn, CFP®, CLU®, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst
Life insurance pricing is determined by many factors, none more important than the underwriting classification given to the insured. Many Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) trustees have little transparency into the life insurance underwriting process and the effect that it has on life insurance policy pricing. This webinar was designed to provide a background on the underwriting process and provide the trustee with the information need to ensure that the TOLI asset provides maximum value for the beneficiaries.
Download Handbook Here: Handout What Every TOLI Trustee Needs to Know About Life Insurance Underwriting
Dealing with Non-Responsive Grantors
Michael Brohawn, CFP, CLU, Chief Marketing Officer, ITM TwentyFirst, Jason Hassman, ITM TwentyFirst
Often many Trust Owned Life Insurance (TOLI) trustees struggle with the issues surrounding policies held in trust where the grantor is now non-responsive. Typically, this occurs when a life changing event like a divorce occurs or when the grantor has significant financial setback or even mental issues. Even if the grantor is not responsive the trustee has the responsibility to manage the trust asset for maximum benefit of the beneficiaries. Dealing with these situations and maximizing beneficiary value while mitigating liability was the focus of this seminar.
Download Handbook Here: Handout Dealing with Non-Responsive Grantors in an ILIT