By Edward Kuhn

Physicians today are required to be sophisticated buyers of liability insurance. Risk lies more as a function of what you do as a specialty and less for how well you perform. Your specialty is the main factor in determining your annual premium. A physician can be the best OB/GYN in the world, but the fact that OB/GYN as a risky specialty class and the annual premium is rated to reflect the risk.

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

In our practices as consultants to physicians nationwide, we see significant estate planning mistakes made by doctors and their families (including their parents) everyday. Fortunately, there are a few simple tools doctors can use to help circumvent such mistakes and allow their families to avoid the unnecessary costs that come with poor planning. Let’s discuss some signs of poor planning and discuss solutions that can help doctors manage these avoidable mistakes.

By Michael Lewellen, CFP®, R. Paul Wilson, CRPC®

As advisors to young physicians across the country, we are often asked the question: "What is the most important thing I should be doing financially in the first years of practice?" Our answer is simple: "You need to build a solid foundation" - yet, the application of this concept (Foundation) is different for each physician. However, as with patients, we often see very common symptoms and can make some generalizations about what is involved in creating a "financial foundation" for many young doctors. We will do that here in this article.

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 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, 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.

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

Estate taxes used to reach rates as high as 60%. Then, for one brief year, they were abolished altogether. If you are reading this article, then you didn’t die in 2010 in time to save your family any and all possible estate taxes.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, Kimberly Renners, MBA

Captive insurance companies (CICs) have become more common in recent years for small closely-held businesses, including professional practices, such as consulting firms, law firms and medical practices. In fact, our firm – whose principals have worked with CICs since the late 1990s – has seen an increase steadily over the decade – especially during the medical malpractice insurance crisis earlier this decade. While CICs can offer a medical practice, large group or even hospital system significant asset protection, risk management, and tax benefits, we have seen a significant lack of proper investment advice in many common CIC arrangements. This is unfortunate, as a sub-optimal investment approach within the CIC can erode many of the financial benefits for which the CIC was created in the first place.

By John Cornish

Tax advantages of Life insurance