I’m in the process of spending three days at the Arizona Biltmore in Scottsdale. I’m at a great conference covering all manner of marketing and client retention topics wrapped in a cloak of social media touches — the conference really hits a home run.

I’m looking at how the event is run, how the company staff is organized, what they’re wearing, how they’re handling 1500 participants, including filming, recording, and processing guests through a testimonial booth and 75 vendor booths, what they’re feeding us, how the agenda is organized… It’s poetry in motion!!

Then, when I leave the conference, I walk back through this huge monster of a hotel, one I was really excited about staying at. The wait staff and other hotel personnel generally give guests the cold shoulder and seem to all share a snooty attitude, like they’re doing people a favor when they answer a question. The cleaning staff leaves the dirty glasses in the room and barely runs a vacuum at 5:00 pm. This is a completely different WOW experience!

The contrast is so stark! A privately held, successful business holding a conference versus the corporate giant. A speed boat as opposed to an aircraft carrier. Small business wins.

The president of the company holding the conference started the meeting out by saying, “We are a values based business. We surround ourselves with 225 staff people in our company who share the same values. Those who don’t share them — are asked to leave.”

Guess that’s the secret. Whether there are 700 or 225 employees, or 50 or 5, everyone needs to be singing the same song or your music just won’t work!

How’s your sheet music serving your firm? How do YOU wow? It’s fun to actually itemize the things you do that make your clients think they are your favorite!

Jennifer Price
Director, Member Services, Marketing & Recruiting
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

We spend a lot of time stressing to our clients the importance of properly funding their trusts. But, which assets belong in a trust and which are best left titled in the client’s name?

When it comes to real estate, this can be a tricky decision. Funding real estate into a trust can lead to a number of issues and potential problems. Helping a client make the right decision means looking at a transfer from all angles before drafting a deed.

In this post, I’ll take a look at common insurance concerns you’ll want to be aware of. Next week, I’ll take a look at tax and asset protection concerns. In the third week, I’ll provide a brief overview of some additional issues to consider prior to transferring real estate into a trust.

• Homeowners’ Insurance. This is one of those details you don’t want to overlook when funding real estate into a trust: the homeowner’s insurance company will need to be notified that the property has changed hands. If the property serves as the grantor’s residence, or the residence of a beneficiary, that person should be named as an “additional insured.” Typically, there is no change in the premium as a result of this change.

• Title Insurance. Check with the title insurance company before making the transfer. Many title insurance companies now include provisions in their policies that extend title insurance coverage to transfers to revocable trusts. If this coverage is not available in your situation, you’ll want to take one of three steps to avoid leaving the property without title insurance:

1. Buy a new policy

2. Buy an “additional insured” endorsement to the original policy.

3. Use a warranty deed, rather than a quitclaim deed, to transfer title to the property. When you use a quitclaim deed to transfer  property to a trust, the deed merely serves to transfer whatever interest the grantor had in the property – if any. With a warranty deed, however, the recipient gets extra protection. The grantor warrants that he or she has clear title to the property. Therefore, if there is a problem with the title, the trustee of the trust could make a claim against the transferor, i.e., the grantor of the trust. If the grantor’s title insurance covers the claim, the coverage should not be denied because of the transfer to the trust.

Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M.
Associate Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com

The way you look in the mailbox will tell a lot about you, your firm and the services you provide. That is the very first impression that you make with your targeted audience. What do you want them to think or perceive? I see financial professionals with expensive business clothes, nice cars, nice homes, nice offices, nice presentation materials and yet, their marketing looks CHEAP!

Other than a referral, direct mail is still the most personal, emotional and accepted medium to make a connection with people. Remember, you are marketing solutions – not products. That means the first impression you give in your direct marketing needs to immediately start generating a feeling of TRUST, CREDIBILITY, and REPUTATION. So it makes you wonder why some professionals send out flimsy flyers or cheap postcards to promote themselves. Why? Top performing professionals understand how important their image – or brand – is when they are asking prospects to take time out of their busy schedule to discuss the most intimate details of their estate.

So, before you send out your next marketing piece, take a critical look at it and ask yourself, “Is THIS the impression I want to give to a potential client?” If the answer is NO or NOT SURE, feel free to ask us for some samples that may spur some ideas for you!

Jorge Villar is President of Response Mail Express (RME), with more than 26 years of direct marketing experience, he is known in several industries for his ability to create mail packages that garner the highest response rates. He is responsible for the Seminar Success program that, for the last 17 years has accounted for more than 65% of the social educational events being held in the nation with over 12 million individuals making reservations. Mr. Villar has also been very successful marketing to physicians and business owners regarding Marketing Success Planning and Lead Generation. Response Mail Express is a $25 million marketing powerhouse, housing over 133 employees in their state-of-the-art facilities located in Tampa, Florida. Their marketing ideas have been utilized by over 10,000 clients, including: top producing advisors, estate planning attorneys, large financial organizations, health care organizations, franchise operations and several other industries. Mr. Villar is a frequent speaker nationwide at financial symposiums and training conferences.

Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com