By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM, Kimberly Renners, MBA

If you are like most Americans, you feel less secure about the U.S. economy. Certainly, this is justified. While we may be technically out of the recession, our dependence on foreign oil, behemoth deficits, and the weak dollar are all fundamental threats to our national fiscal health and our investment marketplace that are not going away anytime soon. For this reason, it is crucial that savvy investors, including physicians, learn from the past two years and adjust their investment behavior accordingly. This article touches on a few thoughts in this arena.

By Jane Fink-Silvers

On June 30, 2011, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed legislation that repeals the Ohio Estate tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2013. This is a big change to Ohio law that will likely impact every Ohio resident, either directly or indirectly.

By Terry Allman, CPC, QPA, QKA, CRPC®, Kimberly Renners, MBA

Over the last few years, many physicians have re-examined not only their investment assumptions, but also their relationships with investment advisory professionals. Declines in market values, like the 2007-2008 40% drop in the S&P 500, often cause investors to rethink their investment strategies. Today’s investors have an even greater concern with their investment advisory firms. The unraveling of Bernie Madoff’s and Allen Stanford’s ponzi schemes made headlines nationwide. Many investors were shocked at the collapse of the “supposedly-elite” Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers as a result of their own mismanagement. In April of 2010, the SEC filed fraud charges against Goldman Sachs for actions that allegedly cost their investors over $1 Billion. The volatility of the market returns along with the cracking of the Wall Street foundation leaves many doctor-investors very uncomfortable with the idea of just “staying the course.” Who can blame physician investors for looking at other options for investment advice?
If you have thought about changing the direction you go with your investments or would value a second opinion on your current strategy, this article should prove helpful.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

A medical practice owner should spend some of his/her time working ON the practice, not just IN it. We know this because we have been there ourselves, with our own practices. Even working "on" the practice, however, if a physician ignores one fundamental legal contract, all of his/her work may be in jeopardy -- as a single bad event could wipe out everything they have worked so hard to build.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Karen Zupko

Becoming an employee at a hospital can be a great fit for many doctors. But, for many others, this decision could come at an unnecessarily high financial cost. Read this article and you'll understand how much more Net Income (net of overhead and taxes) you can achieve in private practice when you invest in better management and systems. Once you understand how good things could be for you, you will be able to more fairly assess the costs and benefits of giving up private practice for hospital employment.

By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

As a physician, do you realize that - between income, capital gains, Medicare, self-employment and other taxes, you spend 40 to 50% of your working hours laboring for the IRS and your state? That is a lot of time with patients for someone else's benefit. Given the significance of this fact, shouldn't your advisors be giving you creative ways to legally reduce your tax liabilities? How many tax-reducing ideas does your CPA regularly provide you? If you are like most physicians, you probably get very few tax planning ideas from your advisors.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

Are you interested in shielding your business assets, cash flow and personal assets from potential risks?

Join us for this informative webinar, where you will learn:

- Business Protection. Pros and cons of different corporate structures and strategies that can shield assets, including accounts receivable, real estate & equipment.

- Protection of Cash Flow. Tax and asset protection advantages of different techniques to shield cash flow from potential lawsuits.

- Personal Protection. Techniques to shield personal investments, the family home, non-home real estate and other personal assets.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Changes in tax laws can catch successful people off guard. With most physicians so busy worrying about potential reimbursement reductions, they don’t have the time to address the important challenge of establishing a tax-wise estate plan for their families. In our experience, fewer than 5% of doctors have an adequate estate plan in place when we meet. This upcoming tax law change will create even more shortfalls in most doctor families’ planning.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, R. Paul Wilson, CRPC®

Each month, we speak with physicians across the country, many of them specialists like orthopedists and orthopedic surgeons, who are hospital employees and are frustrated with the type of tax and retirement planning options they have, compared to their colleagues in private practice. At the same time, a common trend in the medical landscape today is the acquisition of medical practices by hospitals – so more and more specialists are becoming hospital employees everyday. If you are a presently a hospital employee or one who is considering the move, this article is a must-read.

By Carole C. Foos, CPA, David B. Mandell, JD, MBA

As a CPA with 20+ years of experience and an attorney lecturer to CPA groups nationwide, we are always surprised how few physicians have gotten any advice or even direction on asset protection from their CPAs. Ask yourself: has your CPA helped you shield your assets from unnecessary exposure? Likely not.