Spring 2010 Conference

By Michael Gibney, CFP®
FPANJ Chairman

We hope to see you at our upcoming Spring Conference, scheduled for Wednesday, May 12th , at the Woodbridge Hilton in Iselin, NJ.  This year, we will be addressing the always-timely topic of Estate Planning.  We understand that many of our members have been asking for more advanced estate planning topics, and we believe we have this covered with our theme Estate Planning 360! We will begin the day with an update on the latest news involving the Federal estate planning laws from Brad D. Shalit, a partner in the Taxation & Estate Planning Group at Connell Foley LLP.  As you know, the current estate tax laws expired at the end of 2009.  We will learn about what is being done to address the concerns of our clients who may be facing uncertainty given the lack of effort by our lawmakers to address this issue, and what pitfalls and opportunities may lie ahead.

Later in the morning we will hear from Ken Shapiro of Shapiro Financial Security Group All of us have attended seminars and conferences that have given us great advice on what to do before someone dies, but how often have we heard someone speak on what to do after?  Ken will shed some light on how to handle the seemingly endless paperwork of administering an estate.  Some of the topics he will cover include: the final income tax return, the estate tax return, special elections, IRD, and valuations.

Next up, we have Amy Florian.  Amy gave a well-received presentation at 2009’s FPA Retreat on how to deal with clients who have lost a loved one.  Amy is the founder of Corgenius.  Corgenius is the premier training and coaching source for professionals when they finally realize they don't know how to speak with and support their clients, friends, and family when faced with a death in the family.  She will teach the skills you need to distinguish yourself from "most people".   Ask the questions no one else dares to ask.  Replace worn-out platitudes with educated, skilled, and thoughtful responses.   Use your knowledge to build trust that lasts a lifetime. 

We will end the day with Sam Stovall, the popular Chief Investment Strategist from Standard and Poor’s.  Sam will give us an update on investing in a post-great recession era.  Sam always provides in-depth insight into the history of market performance and what we should expect following one of the worst downturns in recent memory.

As an additional benefit for members, National FPA 2010 President Dr. Tom Potts and Executive Director/CEO Marv Tuttle, CAE will host a FPA Knowledge Café after the conference. In an ongoing series of conversations with chapters throughout the US, Potts and Tuttle hope to generate feedback and ideas about the future direction of the financial planning profession. This will be an opportunity for you to provide your best insights and thinking about how FPA on the national and chapter levels can best facilitate knowledge, advocacy and leadership opportunities for the profession in these unprecedented times.