CPE Catalog & Events

Contract principles Legal issues related to various types of business organizations Worker classification Employee rights and the duties of employers Real property law

Broadly applicable ASU effective in 2025 and beyond  Significant recent SAS  Tax-basis financial statements 

Intestate succession and probate administration Holding title to assets Lifetime asset transfers and testamentary asset transfer planning Structures to avoid or minimize transfer taxes Living trusts, including A-B and A-B-C, life insurance trusts, terminating irrevocable trusts, use of trust protectors, trust administration during incapacity and post-mortem

An emphasis on newly enacted tax legislation affecting IRAs., including the NEW final required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations Contribution limits to and tax treatment of distributions from Traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs Deductible phase-out limits for Traditional IRA contributions for taxpayers who are active participants in qualified retirement plans Roth IRA contribution phase-out limits, as well as tax-free qualified distributions Planning opportunities for conversions to ROTH IRAs Rollover rules to/from different retirement accounts and the one-rollover-per-year limitation The different options of receiving IRA distributions before age 59 ½ and avoiding the 10% early distribution penalty (including substantially equal periodic payments) The required minimum distribution (RMD) rules from IRAs needed to avoid the 50% penalty after the account owner turns age 72 or dies The tax ramifications of spouse and non-spouse beneficiaries and how this affects the RMD calculation after the account owner's death Overview of health savings account (HSA) eligibility rules, contribution limits and distribution rules

Legislative developments A full chapter devoted to determining the best planning options for maximizing joint Social Security benefits Retirement benefits: Amount of benefits in various circumstances; how the amounts are distributed within the family unit Qualification: Has the client retired? How business entities may be used for Social Security advantage Income taxation of Social Security: avoidance tactics Spousal benefits: Should a spouse return to work? What benefits does a spouse have and when and how do they relate to benefits decisions by the client? When can hiring the spouse increase overall benefits?  Why should both spouses qualify for survivor benefits? Disability benefits When to start Social Security benefits: Advantages and disadvantages at ages 62, full retirement age, and 70 Coordinating benefits: Should you take Social Security first and higher-balance IRA distributions later, or take IRA balances first and enhanced Social Security benefits later? Pensions: Distribution strategies; how to use the minimum distribution rules in concert with Social Security benefits IRAs: Is it time to convert to a Roth? Medicare, Part D prescription drugs: what retirees need to know

Cyber risks: prompt injection, drift, model manipulation, data leakage Red-teaming and simulation exercises (CSA, IBM frameworks) Controls mapping: COSO, SOX, and NIST AI RMF Regulatory context: GDPR, CCPA, EU AI Act, SEC guidance Platform security discussion and comparisons

Employment at will — what this means in a practical sense Implied employment contracts What a prospective employer can ask about, and test for, during employment interviews Federal anti-discrimination rules applicable to hiring and firing How to discipline or fire an employee and not get sued FMLA/ADA/PWFA — Pregnant Worker’s Fairness Act Constructive discharge — what is it and how it affects your business?

Understanding the time commitment required to start and run a business Selecting a corporate structure to protect your personal assets Building your product or service Sales and marketing in your business Establishing your owners, investors, managers, and employees Accounting, recording-keeping, and other software programs Leases, contracts, and employee agreements Protecting intellectual property Insurance Business plans Financing Market position

Key fraud risks impacting businesses today

Broadly applicable ASU effective in 2025 and beyond  Significant recent SAS  Tax-basis financial statements 

Intestate succession and probate administration Holding title to assets Lifetime asset transfers and testamentary asset transfer planning Structures to avoid or minimize transfer taxes Living trusts, including A-B and A-B-C, life insurance trusts, terminating irrevocable trusts, use of trust protectors, trust administration during incapacity and post-mortem

An emphasis on newly enacted tax legislation affecting IRAs., including the NEW final required minimum distribution (RMD) regulations Contribution limits to and tax treatment of distributions from Traditional, Roth, SEP and SIMPLE IRAs Deductible phase-out limits for Traditional IRA contributions for taxpayers who are active participants in qualified retirement plans Roth IRA contribution phase-out limits, as well as tax-free qualified distributions Planning opportunities for conversions to ROTH IRAs Rollover rules to/from different retirement accounts and the one-rollover-per-year limitation The different options of receiving IRA distributions before age 59 ½ and avoiding the 10% early distribution penalty (including substantially equal periodic payments) The required minimum distribution (RMD) rules from IRAs needed to avoid the 50% penalty after the account owner turns age 72 or dies The tax ramifications of spouse and non-spouse beneficiaries and how this affects the RMD calculation after the account owner's death Overview of health savings account (HSA) eligibility rules, contribution limits and distribution rules

Intentionally managing your balance sheet to reduce risk. Properly balance debt and equity versus other funding sources. Know the balance sheet pitfalls and risks to avoid. Understand the analysis and decision-making process through real-world examples and five interactive case discussions.

Final Rule - Employee or Independent Contractor Classification Under the FLSA: the multifactor “economic reality” test; What analysis guides whether a worker is an employee or independent contractor under this final rule? Can a worker voluntarily waive employee status and choose to be classified as an independent contractor? Are any of the economic reality factors adopted in this rule more important than others when evaluating a worker’s employment status? How does the final rule explain “extent to which the work performed is an integral part of the employer’s business?” The Federal Trade Commission’s Decision on Non-compete Agreements: impact on new and existing non-competes; treatment and definitional terms for senior executives; definition of a non-compete clause; definition of a “worker” New Overtime Rules: exemptions from minimum wage and overtime pay requirements for executive, administrative, professional, outside sales, and computer employees; increases in the standard level and the highly compensated employee total annual compensation threshold; new mechanism allowing for the timely and efficient updating of the salary and compensation thresholds Current status of DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) rules

Nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) Nonqualified stock options (NQSOs) Incentive stock options (ISOs) Restricted stock/restricted stock units (RSUs) Stock appreciation rights (SARs) and phantom stock Employee stock purchase plans (ESPPs) Applicable tax forms and schedules Stock sale reporting Estimated taxes Filing deadlines and extensions State taxation

Key concepts of trusts, including recent trends; best practices; jurisdiction; and ways to avoid pitfalls Decanting Federal estate tax exemption and remaining relevance of trusts Irrevocable life insurance trusts The role of family dynamics Choice of trustee and other fiduciaries State trust-friendly considerations Charitable trusts Delaware Statutory Trusts Powers of attorney  Pet Trusts – the emerging necessities State, county, and local issues Portability QTIP issues Creditor considerations Potential IRA problems Problems with re-titling assets

The impact of recent tax legislation on the real estate industry Depreciation and recapture Determining the basis when acquiring real estate Passive activity losses Calculation of gain or loss on sale of real estate Rental operations Installment sales

Commencement of a bankruptcy proceeding Protections provided to debtors under the Bankruptcy Code Key procedural aspects of bankruptcy The automatic stay Differences between Chapters 7, 11, and 13 bankruptcy cases The bankruptcy discharge Proofs of claim Plans of reorganization Litigation that can arise during bankruptcy Creditor committees Bankruptcy trustees Avoidable preferences and fraudulent transfers Special rights afforded to landlords and secured creditors

Bonus and Section 179 depreciation Depreciation of qualified production property The business interest deduction Tax on excess compensation within tax-exempt organizations Excise tax on investment income of private colleges ABLE accounts and the Saver’s Credit Child Tax Credit Casualty losses Other crucial OBBBA provisions

New bonus depreciation and §179 changes under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) Resolved technical glitches for qualified improvement property Detailed coverage of §179 expense elections and §168(k) bonus or additional first-year depreciation – maximizing deductions, definitions, limitations, and qualified property Sales of property and the depreciation recapture rules (§1245, §1250, unrecaptured §1250 gain for real estate, §291 for corporations) MACRS depreciation – finding the proper method, convention, and recovery period Listed property and the current limitations Amortization of startup, organization, and other expenditures AMT depreciation adjustments and how to avoid them Examples, cases, and rulings of depreciation and amortization issues and how they impact clients, along with useful planning opportunities