Protecting Your Client’s Assets: Your Legal and Strategic Options (CA)

What You Will Learn

• Incorporating asset protection planning considerations into you estate plans
• Asset protection for business enterprises
• Limited Liability Companies and charging order protection
• Practical use of exemptions under state law
• California’s New Voidable Transactions Act: Impact and application to common estate planning and business structures
• Recent case law and trials dealing with challenges to asset protection structures and transfers
• Ethical, civil and criminal risks of asset protection
• Case Study: Sensible estate planning to reduce the risk of future creditor claims

Testimonials

“Bruce Givner gave great innovative techniques for using exemptions under California law…Jay Adkisson was very knowledgeable about techniques that work and those that don’t…[and the] drafting of laws…Adrian Taylor was [experienced with] Cook Island laws…David Berardo was excellent [in describing] ethical, civil, and criminal risks of asset protection. [He gave] great advice to lawyers on how to protect themselves!” Christine C. Weiner, Esq.

“Excellent. Thank you. Your table of contents covered what I wanted…very good seminar on the subject matter [with] excellent materials and excellent speeches. I wish it was two days.” – Arthur A. Graves III, Esq.

“Excellent speaker [who] kept the audience engaged…Excellent communication by the Pincus staff ahead of time.” – Danielle Barger, Esq.

“This was an excellent program…Thank you!”

“Very, very informative. Great seminar!!!”

“Overall, very well presented…important topic.”

“[Speakers] All were great!”

Here are testimonials from our Complicated Estate Planning: Strategic Options seminar, which included some of the same speakers and similar topics:

“I am very satisfied. I was really looking an advanced estate planning class and I was really happy I attended.” – Elizabeth Roberson, Esq.

“Very satisfied, answered questions, panel very responsive.” – Frances L. Martin, Esq.

“Very good conference covering relevant topics with strong but accessible speakers” – Garrett Barlow, Esq.

Faculty

Jay Adkisson, Esq.
Partner
Riser Adkisson LLP

Bachelor of Arts, University of Oklahoma, 1986; Juris Doctor, with honors, University of Oklahoma, 1988; and Oklahoma Law Review, 1987-88. 

Mr. Adkisson is currently a partner of the law firm of Riser Adkisson LLP with his offices in Newport Beach, California, and Henderson, Nevada. He is a member in good standing of the Oklahoma Bar Association, 1989-present; State Bar of Texas, 1993-present; State Bar of California, 2007-present; State Bar of Nevada, 2012-present; State Bar of Arizona, 2012-present; American Bar Association, and admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of Oklahoma, 1989; Supreme Court of Texas, 1993; United States Supreme Court, 1992; United States Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1993; United States Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals, 1989; United States Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, 1997, United States Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, 2007; and various U.S. District Courts. Mr. Adkisson is not certified as a legal specialist in any jurisdiction.

Mr. Adkisson is also the author of "Adkisson’s Captive Insurance Companies: An Introduction to Captives, Closely-Held Insurance Companies and Risk Retention Groups". Mr. Adkisson was a member of a captive insurance consulting firm from 1998 to 2003, and an owner of a licensed captive insurance management firm in the British Virgin Islands from 2001 to 2003. From 2012 to 2014, Mr. Adkisson was Chair the American Bar Association’s Committee on Captive Insurance in the Business Law Section, and currently is a Co-Chair of the Committee on Insurance and Financial Services in the Probate, Trust and Estates Section.

Mr. Adkisson’s practice is also in the areas of creditor-debtor law, including creditor-side collections and debtor-side representation and asset protection planning, and captive insurance planning. Mr. Adkisson contributed the chapter on Fraudulent Transfers to the American Bar Association publication "Asset Protection Strategies" (2004). Mr. Adkisson has served (from 2013 to 2014) as an American Bar Association-appointed advisor to the Uniform Law Commission Committee on the Uniform Voidable Transaction Act (formerly, the Uniform Fraudulent Transfers Act). He is currently an American Bar Association-appointed advisor to the Drafting Committee on the (proposed) Uniform Series of Unincorporated Business Entities.

Mr. Adkisson is the author, along with his law partner, Mr. Chris Riser, of "Asset Protection: Concepts and Strategies" (McGraw-Hill, 2004), which book is believed to be the only U.S. asset protection work translated into Chinese and sold in China. He is also an Honorary Member of the California Association of Judgment Professionals.

Mr. Adkisson’s exploits as a collection lawyer are related in two articles: Clyde Leland’s Chasing the Money as published in California Lawyer Magazine, July, 2010; and Eli Sander’s The Great West Coast Newspaper War as published by The Seattle Stranger, March 16, 2010. He also served as a Court-appointed Receiver in the case of Gaggero, et al. v. Knapp, Peterson, et al., Sup.Ct.L.A. Case No. BC286925, obtaining 100% recovery on a .3 million judgment for the creditors in that case, while marshaling many millions of dollars of real estate assets held in a complex business structure. He is currently serving as the Court-appointed Receiver in the case of Wynn Las Vegas LLC v. Francis, Sup.Ct.L.A. Case No.  BS123009.

Mr. Adkisson is the creator of Quatloos.com which is an internationally famous website that exposes various financial and tax scams. Mr. Adkisson has twice testified as an expert witness to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee regarding abusive tax schemes. Mr. Adkisson is also a regular contributor to Forbes Magazine and its website. He also formerly held a FINRA series 4, 7, 63 and 65 and a California Life Agent’s license, and was the Director of Private Client Services for Select Portfolio Management in Aliso Viejo, California, from 2005 to 2007.

David J. Berardo, Esq.
Founding Shareholder
DiMascio & Berardo

David J. Berardo is a founding shareholder of DiMascio & Berardo, P.C. He specializes in international transactions and tax law. He has over 45 years of experience living and practicing law abroad. David developed his interest in international law when he lived in Austria and Germany as a foreign exchange student and he continued to expand his knowledge and experience while living in London, England and working in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s and 1980s.

David received his B.A. degree in International Relations from Pomona College in Claremont, California in 1964 and his J.D. degree from the University of California at Los Angeles in 1967. He is a member of the California State Bar, the Los Angeles County Bar and the Beverly Hills Bar Association. David is a frequent lecturer on international tax topics, including international asset protection.

David’s unique international law and tax practice involves representing U.S. persons doing business abroad and foreign persons doing business in the U.S. Many of his out-bound client engagements involve complex transactions, including establishing foreign legal entities for U.S. persons involved in: commercial and charitable ventures, foreign exploitation of intellectual property assets, wealth transfers, international asset protection and captive insurance companies. David also advises, counsels and implements transactions for clients who are foreign persons investing in U.S. real property, operating U.S. subsidiaries and repatriating assets. He counsels and offers tax advice to individuals and business owners in connection with the formation, management, acquisition, reorganization and tax compliance/reporting obligations of foreign and domestic entities, as well as domestic and international not-for-profit organizations.

Alexander J. Fisher, Esq.
Partner
The Law Offices of Howard S. Fisher

Alexander’s practice focuses on advising clients in business, entertainment and real estate matters.  He represents multiple commercial and property management firms who collectively manage more than 6,000 residential and commercial property units throughout the greater Los Angeles area.  Alexander’s clientele also includes Academy Award winning producers and directors as well as mid-major music publishing companies.  He has been a featured speaker at nearly 20 conferences across the county and has co-authored more than a dozen published articles.  He also has exensive experience in litigation.

Mr. Fisher was an extern for the Honorable Alex Kozinski, now Chief Judge of the 9th Circuit Court of Federal Appeals.  Alexander has received the distinction of “Rising Star,” in the field of business litigation, for both 2015 and 2016.  

Howard S. Fisher, Esq.
Certified Legal Specialist in Taxation Law
Law Offices of Howard S. Fisher

Mr. Fisher is a member of the California Bar (Board Certified Taxation Specialist), and the Honourable Society of Lincoln’s Inn ([London, England – Student Bencher]).  He studied at the American College In Paris and received his degree from the University of Southern California in 1973.  He studied law at Southwestern University (J.D. 1976), the University of Cambridge, in England (LL.B. with honours 1977, Corpus Christi College), and completed post-graduate studies in international business and taxation at Harvard University Law School (PIL).

Mr. Fisher specializes in representing wealthy entrepreneurs and their families – his practice includes tax planning, business and commercial transactions, real estate transactions, trust/estate and business litigation and tax controversy.   Mr. Fisher is a past chair of the California State Bar’s Taxation Section, is a past chair of the Beverly Hills Bar’s Taxation Section (twice), and is Past President of the Beverly Hills Bar Association. 

Mr. Fisher has published more than twenty-five articles, and has spoken at more than 120 conferences around the world.  Additionally, Mr. Fisher is the co-author of  It Wasn’t Raining When Noah Built The Ark, a treatise on asset protection.  Mr. Fisher recently received the distinction of being named  by Super Lawyers as one of the top 100 lawyers in Southern California. 

Bruce Givner, Esq.

KFB Rice LLP

Mr. Givner has been practicing tax law for almost five decades concentrating on income tax planning, estate tax planning, sophisticated retirement plans, asset protection planning, charitable planning, capital gain planning, tax litigation, and the representation of high net worth and high income families, as well as individuals and their closely held corporations.

He is the author of close to 150 articles in professional journals. He is also the author, co-author or editor of 18 chapters in various CEB treatises.

Bruce represented the prevailing taxpayers in L&B Pipe & Supply Co., Inc. v. Commissioner, T.C. Memo 1994-187 and has been cited favorably by both the U.S. Tax Court (Judge Nims in Fujinon Optical, 76 T.C. 499 (footnote 10) and the California Court of Appeals (Judge Lui in FTB v. Safeco, 164 CA 3rd 526.  He has been AV rated by Martindale-Hubbell for 3 decades and is a SuperLawyer.

Judianne Jarvis Jaffe, Esq.
Of Counsel
Glickfeld, Fields & Jacobson LLP

Judianne Jaffe is Of Counsel to Glickfeld, Fields & Jacobson LLP in Beverly Hills.  Her practice emphasizes probate and trust controversies, tax controversies and business litigation, including creditors’ rights, in state and federal courts.  She has tried cases in the Superior Court, the United States District Court, the United States Tax Court and the United States Bankruptcy Court in her 40-year legal career.

William Norman, Esq.
Partner
Ord & Norman

William K. Norman is a Partner of the California tax law firm of Ord & Norman. Mr. Norman is a Certified Specialist in Taxation Law. He is admitted to practice law in the states of California and Wyoming. He serves as Chair of his firm’s Private Client and Closely Held Business Structures Department. He is also a senior member of the firm’s Tax Litigation Services Group. He has been practicing tax law for 30 years, including experience as tax staff of a big four accounting firm and tax manager of a major corporation.

In his current practice, he focuses on the counseling of clients in business transactions, cross border trade and investments, and personal wealth transfer planning. Many of his client engagements involve sophisticated choice of entity issues (including use of LLC’s, statutory trusts and IC DISCs) and development of complex restructuring plans. His clients include privately held companies and high net worth individuals especially members of multinational families. Mr. Norman received an A.B. degree in Economics from the University of California at Berkeley in 1962, a J.D. degree from the University of California in 1965 and an LL.M (in Taxation) degree from New York University in 1970. He also attended the Graduate School of Business of the University of California at Berkeley and the Stern Graduate School of Business of New York University.

In June of 2008, he was presented the Dana Latham Award for outstanding contributions to the field of tax law.

Adrian Taylor, Esq.
Managing Director
Asiaciti Trust Pacific Ltd.

Adrian Taylor is a barrister and solicitor of the High Courts of Australia, New Zealand and the Cook Islands.

Adrian joined the Asiaciti Trust Group in 1997 and has worked in a number of roles since then – he is currently the Managing Director of the Cook Islands office and has a consultative role in relation trust issues throughout the Group’s offices in Singapore, New Zealand, the Cook Islands and Nevis.

Prior to joining the Asiaciti Trust Group, Adrian worked in regional law practices in New South Wales, Australia and with the Australian Taxation Office.

He is member of the International Tax Planning Association and the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP).

Jason C. Walker, Esq.
Partner
Jeffrey Burr, Ltd.

Jason C. Walker is a partner at JEFFREY BURR. He graduated from Weber State University in 2003 with a Bachelor of Science in Accounting and a Master of Professional Accountancy (Magna Cum Laude). In 2006, Jason earned his Juris Doctorate (J.D.) with honors from the University of Wyoming. Jason has been published in the Wyoming Law Review and received the American Bankruptcy Institute’s Medal of Excellence for the Wyoming College of Law in 2006. After earning his J.D., Jason attended the University of Florida, Levin College of Law, where he earned a Master of Law in Taxation (LLM) in 2007.

Prior to attending law school and while attending Weber State University, Jason successfully started and operated his own business. He also worked for a small accounting firm in Salt Lake City assisting during the busy tax return season. Jason has been involved in the Boy Scouts of America as a youth leader and is an Eagle Scout.

Jason is licensed to practice law in Nevada and Utah. 

Ellen Kaufman Wolf

Wolf Group L.A.

Ellen Kaufman Wolf is the founder of Wolf Group L.A., a business law boutique in areas including debtor/creditors’ rights, business, real estate and estate planning/trust/probate.  Ms. Wolf’s practice has emphasized debtor/creditors’ rights for nearly thirty years, since leaving Gibson Dunn & Crutcher as a young lawyer.   Ms. Wolf has represented companies large and small, and their executives, in a wide variety of matters.

Ms. Wolf is the current Chair of the Los Angeles County Bar (LACBA) Remedies Section Executive Committee and a frequent article writer and speaker, recently presenting well-received LACBA programs called Collecting from the Dead, (combined Trust & Estates/Remedies Section Program of the Los Angeles County Bar), and “Negotiation and Ethics 101 (Truth or Consequences): Tips, Techniques and Ethics for Lawyers”.  Frequently speaking and writing on recent developments in law regarding debtor/creditors’ rights and remedies, Ms. Wolf is also the current updates editor for the Matthew Bender Practice Guide: California Debt Collection and Enforcement of Judgments.

Ms. Wolf received her law degree from Stanford Law School, following her undergraduate degree at UCLA in fine arts magna cum laude.  Since 1997, Ms. Wolf has been rated AV® Preeminent™ by LexisNexis Martindale-Hubbell.  (Rated by Judges and fellow attorneys as having the highest possible legal abilities and ethical standards. The rating is awarded to less than five percent of all attorneys across the United States, and is the highest rating given by the Martindale-Hubbell Law Directory.)  Since 2009, Ms. Wolf has been named a California Super Lawyer by Southern California Super Lawyers, as one of the top attorneys in the state. Each year, no more than 5 percent of the lawyers in the state receive this honor.   Ms. Wolf has been named in Preeminent Women Lawyers from 2011 – 2015.

Ms. Wolf is a member of the  American Business Trial Lawyers Association,  Financial Lawyers Conference, Women’s Presidents Organization, Vistage, National Association of Women Business Owners, and numerous other affiliations and bar association sections. 

Articles by Ms. Wolf which have been published include  "The Post-Judgment Debtor Examination: Details, Details, Details (Plus Secret Liens)", The Practical Lawyer, June 2008; “Don’t Be Caught Dead – Creditor’s Claims Die Within One Year After Debtor Dies – Or Do They? Do Recent Cases Leave Room for New Practical Suggestions?” – LACBA Remedies Section Newsletter, May 2012; “Adding A Debtor To The Judgment Under CCP Section 187 – One Way To Stop A Debtor’s Shell Game Before It’s Too Late”  (July 2012); “Pay ‘Or Else’ — When Do Attorney Demands Become Unlawful Extortion? (The Answer is Not So Simple)”  (August 2012);  “Assignments are Subject to Later Attack – Recent Case Invalidates Enforcement of Assignment”, Los Angeles County Bar Association- Remedies Section Newsletter (April 2014);  “Discounts for Timely Payments: Unenforceable ‘Penalties’?”, Los Angeles Daily Journal (September 18, 2014), “The Constructive Trust: A Remedy for Collecting After Embezzlement,” Los Angeles County Bar Association- Remedies Section Newsletter (January 2016); Property of Non-debtor Spouse and the Presumption of Title After In re Marriage of Valli, “Los Angeles County Bar Association- Remedies Section Newsletter” (January 2016), 

Ms. Wolf established important rights in probate creditor’s claims in the case of McMackin v. Ehrheart (2011) 194 Cal.App.4th 128 (Creditor’s Claim in Probate  Extended by Estoppel), in which Ms. Wolf represented the claimant McMackin.

Fees

Audio Course and Materials Package – Download: $425

Audio Course and Materials Package – CD: $425

CDs: plus $10 shipping and, in CA, sales tax.

CLE Credit

This program is available for both Self-Study and Participatory CLE.*

CA General:  This program is approved for 7.5 units of general CLE in California.

CA Ethics Credit: This program is approved for 0.75 units of ethics credit in California.

This program is approved for CLE in the states listed above.  Upon request, Pincus Pro Ed will provide any information an attorney needs to support their application for CLE approval in other states other than what is listed above.

Terms and Policies

Recording policy: No audio or video recording of any program is permitted.

Seminar Cancellations: Should you be unable to attend for any reason, please inform us in writing no later than 14 days prior to the event and a credit voucher will be issued. If you prefer, a refund, less a $50 non-refundable deposit, will be issued. No refunds or credits will be given for cancellations received within 14 days of an event. However, if you notify us within 14 days of an event, and wish to convert your in-person attendance registration to an Audio CD package (with handout), we can do so. A small additional shipping charge, and sales tax in CA, will be incurred. No shipping charge is incurred for downloads. We will also issue a voucher for the amount paid if you notify us within 14 days and prefer not to have the audio recording.

Substitutions may be made at any time.

Webinars, Tele-seminars and Webcast Cancellations: Once log-in codes and passwords are issued for a webinar, tele-seminars or webcasts, a refund is not possible. If for any reason you cannot attend the event after you have received the codes, we will automatically convert your registration to an instant streaming/instant download or CD format and provide you with the information you need to access the recording after the program concludes and the recording is available.  Conversions to CD require a $8.50 shipping fee, and in CA, 9% sales tax.

Downloads/CDs/DVDs – Refund policy:

Downloads are non-returnable/non-refundable once purchased and received. Tapes, CDs and DVDs are returnable for a full refund or replacement if defective, within 90 days of purchase.

Reminder: The room temperature at hotels and other seminar locations are notoriously hard to control. Please bring a sweater or jacket in case it gets cold and/or layer as if you are going to the movies so you are comfortable.