And while I’m talking with people at Generous Giving about alternatives to 501(c)(3)s, C____, the attorney we engaged for–and then quickly sought to disengage from–our potential move to 501(c)(3) status, sent a reply to my “disengagement” email. As you may recall, I said, “Before we (i.e., you and your associates) go anywhere [with this idea of researching potential charitable purposes for a 501(c)(3)], . . . I sense I should raise a few questions that came up from a conversation I had yesterday with L____, our CPA.”

So here’s how she replied: Read the rest of this entry »

Welcome, visitor!

If you find my posts interesting, I invite you to sign up, at the top of the column to the right, to receive emails whenever I publish a new article.

Be assured I hate spam as much as anyone, I will hold your information in strictest confidence, and, of course, I always include a means for unsubscribing whenever you want.

Thanks for visiting!

Sincerely,

John Holzmann

Since I had his ear anyway, while talking with the serial entrepreneur at lunch, I asked him about our legacy planner’s 501(c)(3) proposal.

He didn’t like the idea. From a governance perspective, he didn’t like the idea. Having to report everything the way a 501(c)(3) is required to report it on the standard form 990: that doesn’t look too attractive, either. “But, honestly,” he said, “I really haven’t looked into the 501(c)(3) idea. . . . Your legacy planner probably knows something I don’t.

“However,” he continued, “you may want to talk with _______ of the National Christian Foundation. NCF has something I’ve heard about. Read the rest of this entry »

He’s on vacation, but J____ replied to my “Building or Destroying Trust” email: Read the rest of this entry »

I am “just” astonished. And appalled. And deeply distressed.

As I went to create this post, I noticed I have a post category called “family relationships.” I don’t have one called “advisor relationships.” But I’m thinking maybe I ought to create one!

The revelation, yesterday, has completely consumed me.

I spent most of yesterday afternoon, and several more hours this morning, drafting a letter to J____, our legacy planner. Read the rest of this entry »

L____’s revelations yesterday have “just” consumed me. And made me realize I want to stop C____ from proceeding with her research . . . at least until I get some other questions answered first.

So I wrote to her: Read the rest of this entry »

C____, the high-powered attorney, requires us to sign a (four page!) “Letter of Engagement.”

I have been told about these things in the past. They’re a bit more than a formality. In fact, I’d say they are a lot more than a formality. They’re a contract.

Strange: I can’t ever remember signing one before, though I’m sure I must have. I’ve done quite a bit of business with attorneys over the years, and one or two of them must have had such letters. . . . But I’ve never seen anything quite like this one!

I mean, four pages! . . .

Ultimately, I think it’s all well and good. It is very detailed. It lays out pretty much every possible issue and contingency that might arise and explains what Sarita and I may expect as a result (of any particular issue or contingency: “If you do this, we will do that.”).

It’s good.

But it also “puts me on notice”: “We’re not in Kansas anymore.” Yipes! We are dealing with a big firm! At $310 an hour. And they want a $1,000 cash payment in advance.

Anyway.

I’ve requested our comptroller to issue a check to go along with the signed letter of engagement. . . .

I feel a bit like I’m in a roller-coaster when it first gets clamped onto the pulley at the start of the ride. I’d better be ready to hang on!

But we should get some good counsel about going 501(c)(3). . . .

Just for “completion,” I should probably note: the president of _____, the accounting firm that specializes in non-profit accounting, replied to my email this morning. He suggested we could talk sometime next week, and he’d bring in an attorney who works with their firm in the specific areas that are disturbing Sarita and me.

I told him about the arrangements we are making with C____, the attorney that J____ has urged us to engage. “With what I have just said, I am wondering if it makes sense for us, yet, to hold a phone conference. . . . What do you think?”

I haven’t heard back.

My guess: they’re passing. At least for now. And that should be fine for me. . . .

So J____, our legacy planner, and I spoke with C____, an attorney with a high-end attorneys’ firm here in Denver. C____ specializes in tax planning for estate disposition, intergenerational wealth transfers (including business succession), construction of specialized trusts, and law related to non-profit and religious institutions.

Before we spoke, I had forwarded her some of the results of my research. She said the cases I was referring to were rather old. “A lot of water has flowed over the dam in the intervening years,” she said. “We need to do research to find out what cases have followed that may make those cases that you’ve found unimportant.”

“So what’s the probability, you think, for us to succeed?” I asked. Read the rest of this entry »