WEALTH MATTERS: The "Administrative" Stage of Estate Planning

Adam Gaslowitz, Ronnie Genser, Jeff Scroggin, Craig Frankel

On this episode of “Wealth Matters”, hosts Craig Frankel and Adam Gaslowitz discuss how to anticipate and avoid issues at the “administrative” stage of estate planning with their guests Ronnie Genser and Jeff Scroggin.

Ronnie Genser/Bereavement Navigators

Prior to founding Bereavement Navigators in 2012, Ronnie Genser’s professional background included over 25 years in international and domestic sales, marketing, training, and consulting. In addition to her sales and marketing career, from 2006-2008 Ronnie served on the Board of Directors of the Lewy Body Dementia Association. As a board member and subsequent volunteer, over a five-year period (2006-2011) she created the organization’s support group network of almost 100 support groups, which spanned 36 states and the province of Ontario, Canada. This support group network continues to provide families and care givers the resources to cope with the life changes wrought by Lewy Body Dementia, an incurable, progressive disease that currently ravages 1.3 million Americans.

Ronnie’s successful career path took an unexpected turn after the sudden death of her husband, Dr. Sandy Weinberg, an Associate Professor of Healthcare Management at Clayton State University, as well as an internationally-renowned FDA Regulatory Affairs consultant to the pharmaceutical, medical device, and biologics industries. He died unexpectedly on October 8, 2011 at age 61, after complications from a heart attack, having spent two days in the ICU at Northside Hospital in Atlanta and seven days in the cardio-vascular ICU at St. Joseph’s Hospital.

The things Ronnie learned about what she needed to do after Sandy’s death including how to organize the numerous and unexpected tasks, the resources she found, and the tips she learned, she now shares in her work as a Bereavement Navigator with other widows, widowers, adult children, and other relatives who have lost a loved one, in hopes that her knowledge will make this process and the journey ahead easier for them.

Because Ronnie’s experience also taught her that being well-prepared before a death is one of the greatest gifts you can give a loved one, she also works with healthy couples and individuals to prepare, or in some cases better prepare, their affairs before their own deaths. As a result, Bereavement Navigators offers them and their loved ones the priceless gift of peace-of-mind, knowing the potentially myriad tasks their loved ones will face after their death will be much easier, less time-consuming, and most importantly, less stressful.

Jeff Scroggin/Scroggin & Company, P.C.

Jeff Scroggin has practiced as a business, tax and estate planning attorney in Atlanta for 36 years. His practice Scroggin & Company, P.C. is devoted to tax planning, estate planning, business representations, business succession and sales of businesses and properties. He is co-creator of the “Family Incentive Trust” and creator of the “The Family Love Letter.” Jeff practices out of an 1883 house in the historic district of Roswell, Georgia. The building contains one of the largest collections of tax memorabilia in the US. The tax collection was featured in a front page article in the Wall Street Journal on April 15, 2015. Jeff is known for his ability to convert complex, technical information into practical, useable forms. He also hopes he is not as pompous as this bio would seem to indicate.

Jeff serves as a Member of the University of Florida Levin College of Law Board of Trustees. Jeff received the following degrees from the University of Florida: B.S.B.A. (Accounting), 1974; Juris Doctorate, 1977; Master of Laws in Taxation (LL.M.), 1979. Jeff has taught tax law at the University of Florida College of Law and College of Business.

Jeff is a Founding Board member of the University of Florida College of Law Tax Institute and a Founding member of the University of Florida Advisor Network. He was a CPA with Arthur Andersen’s nationwide estate planning group. He is a Nationally Accredited Estate Planner, is rated “AV” by Martindale Hubbell (since 1990) and has been named in Atlanta magazine as a Georgia “Super-Lawyer” (2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014 and 2015) and “Five Star Wealth Advisor” (2009, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014 and 2015). He holds a perfect 10 rating from AVVO. Jeff was Founding Editor-in-Chief of the NAEPC Journal of Estate and Tax Planning from 2006-2011 and was Co-Editor of Commerce Clearing House’s Journal of Practical Estate Planning from 2004-2006.

Jeff’s professional affiliations include: The State Bar of Georgia, the Florida Bar, American Revenues Society, American Tax Token Society, Atlanta Estate Planning Council, Buckhead Study Group, Georgia Planned Giving Council, and the North Georgia Estate Planning Council (President, 2002-2005). He was Chairman of the North Fulton Community Foundation from 2007-2009 and is a member of the Board of Directors of the National Association of Estate Planners and Councils (2002-2010) where he was Co-Chairman of the Long Range Planning Committee and served as Chairman of the Publications Committee. He is a member of the Board of Directors of the Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau ( 2004-2015), and is a member of the Roswell Rotary Club. He served as Founding Chairman of the Friends of Barrington Hall (2008-2012).

Jeff is the author of over 250 published articles and columns. He was a columnist for Advisor Today Magazine (1997-2010) and a contributing writer to National Underwriter. He has written three books and was recognized by the CFP Board of Examiners for writing one of the best planning articles for the year 2000. His website has been recommended by the Journal of Accountancy for estate planning purposes.

Jeff is a frequent speaker on business, tax and estate planning issues. He has been married for 37 years to Lynn Geiger Scroggin and has three children. His oldest son is a professional blacksmith, his daughter works as a charitable event planner & fundraiser and his youngest son is an Iraq war veteran.

About Gaslowitz Frankel:

Gaslowitz Frankel is an experienced trial practice firm specializing in all aspects of complex fiduciary litigation throughout Georgia and the Southeast. With a focus on representing individuals, companies, banks, and fiduciaries in dispute involving wills, estates, trusts, guardianships, businesses, and securities law, their experienced and highly qualified litigation attorneys have tremendous credentials and a proven history of success.