Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning
Herbert L. Levy was, before his death in December 1982, in the private practice of law in Allentown, Pa. He graduated from City University of New York (B.S. in accounting, 1964), St. John's University School of Law (J.D. 1966) and New York University School of Law (LL.M. in taxation, 1967) where he served as Tax Editor of the N.Y.U. Tax Law Review.
He was co-author of Introduction to Estates and Trusts Practice in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania (7 editions).
Mr. Levy instructed the American College’s Advanced Estate Planning Course and was a frequent lecturer on estate planning and taxation.
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The Case Approach to Financial Planning / The Process of Financial Planning
Ruth H. Lytton, Ph.D., RFC is Associate Professor of Financial Planning and the Director of the Certified Financial Planner™ Board of Standards, Inc. and the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants registered undergraduate programs at Virginia Tech. In addition to serving as program director, she provides student services (e.g., academic/career advising, internship supervision, and job placement) and teaches a variety of courses. Dr. Lytton has received various student association, university, and national professional association awards for her contributions as a teacher, researcher, and career/academic advisor, including the College of Human Resources Certificate of Teaching Excellence, the North American Colleges & Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Teaching Award of Merit, the College of Human Resources and Education Excellence in Undergraduate Student Advising Award, and the Virginia Tech Award for Excellence in Career Advising. Over 5,000 students have taken her introductory personal finance course.
She is co-author of the student study guide, instructor’s manual and other print and Internet resources for multiple editions of a leading personal finance textbook. Dr. Lytton publishes and speaks to academic, professional, and consumer audiences.
She is an academic member of the Financial Planning Association (FPA), the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors (NAPFA), and the International Association of Registered Financial Consultants (IARFC). She also serves as an Advisory Editor for the Social Science Research Network's (SSRN) Journal in Behavioral & Experimental Finance and as Editor of the Journal of Personal Finance. Honorary memberships include Phi Upsilon Omicron, Phi Sigma Society, Kappa Omicron Nu, Phi Kappa Phi, and Golden Key National Honor Society.
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Tools & Techniques of Charitable Planning
JJ MacNab is an independent planner, analyst, and author who has been working with high net worth individuals, corporations, and family offices for the past 15 years. She specializes in advanced tax, charitable, and insurance analysis and research.
Ms. MacNab has published numerous technical, consumer-oriented, and editorial articles on insurance analysis, tax planning trends, and charitable techniques for Forbes, Planned Giving Today, CA Trusts & Estates Quarterly, Keeping Current, Journal of Planned Giving, Financial Planning, Chronicle of Philanthropy, and other national publications. She is the contributing editor of the Insurance Perspectives newsletter.
In addition to being a writer, analyst, and researcher, Ms. MacNab is one of only a handful of fee-only insurance analysts in the US. As owner and analyst of Insurance Barometer LLC, she provides technical insurance research for high net worth individuals, family offices, trustees, corporations, and professional advisors across the country. She also prepares annual reports on key insurance companies for consumers who need a second opinion for potential acquisitions, or who would like to monitor the performance of their insurance portfolio on an regular basis.
Ms. MacNab is a frequent source of information and is quoted regularly in such respected publications as Forbes, Fortune, Wall Street Journal, USA Today, Smart Money, Worth, Financial Times, Chronicle of Philanthropy, New York Times, San Francisco Chronicle, Baltimore Sun, Investment News, Journal of Financial Planning, Currents, Annuity Market News, and Dow Jones Investment Advisor. She has been interviewed as an expert on NBC Nightly News, CBS Marketwatch, CNN, CNN Financial, and ABC World News Tonight, and has appeared as a featured guest on C-SPAN.
Ms. McNab’s professional memberships include: California Association of Insurance Analysts (Past President); Co-Chair of the Exempt Organization Committee and the Consumer Education Committee of the American Bar Association; National Capital Gift Planning Council; National Association of Philanthropic Planners; and the Society of Financial Service Professionals.
Ms. MacNab is a graduate of the University of California at Berkeley. She lives and works in Bethesda, MD.
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Susan Massmann
Risk Management for Financial Planners
Susan Massmann is the resident court reporter for FC&S specializing in analyzing recent legal cases and decisions for our Litigation Watch sections, as well as, writing FC&S analytical articles specializing in commercial property. Susan also edits the Insurance Mergers & Acquisitions Insights service.
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John J. McFadden
Tools & Techniques of Employee Benefit & Retirement Planning
John J. McFadden is Professor of Taxation at The American College in Bryn Mawr, PA. His undergraduate degree is from Lehigh University, with a master's degree from the University of Rochester, and a J.D. from Harvard Law School. He has been admitted to the Pennsylvania Bar and the United States Tax Court.
At the American College Mr. McFadden, a tax and compensation planning specialist, is responsible for the College's graduate courses in Advanced Pension and Retirement Planning and Executive Compensation. He is editor of the College's current guidebook, Financial Services 2000.
Mr. McFadden is the author of articles in tax and professional journals on such subjects as professional corporations, accumulated earnings, retirement plan distributions, and nonqualified deferred compensation. He is author of Retirement Plans for Employees and co-author of Employee Benefits, 6th edition, published by Dearborn Financial Publishing, Inc. in 2000.
Mr. McFadden also speaks and consults on tax and compensation planning matters and conducts seminars for financial planners active in those areas.
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Ralph Gano Miller
Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning
Ralph Gano Miller is a member of the California Bar and a cum laude graduate of Stanford University with a BA and Masters Degree in Business Administration. He is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of San Diego Law School.
Mr. Miller is a CPA and author of numerous law review and journal articles on various Estate Planning tools and techniques. He is the author of the Estate Planning Primer and The Charitable Planning Primer and co-authored the Tax Planning Handbook for Educators on income tax, as well as the Handbook for Estate Planning. He was the designer of ViewPlan’s Estate Forecast Model software, and edited ViewPlan’s quarterly newsletter, the ViewPlanner. He has served as a member of the Board of Regents of the University of San Diego Law School, and as a professor of federal income taxation and gift and estate taxation at the California Western Law School.
He was a founding member of the Independent Board of Trustees of the California Western University Law School. He was an instructor of the Advanced Estate Planning Course of the CLU program for many years and has spoken at many tax institutes, including the New York University and University of Southern California Tax Institutes.
He is a member of the American Bar Association Sections on Taxation and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law and served as Chairman of the Administrative Law Section.
Mr. Miller has served as Chairman, Section of Taxation, of the San Diego County Bar Association’s Section on Taxation and Real Property, Probate and Trust Law. He served as President of the Southern California Estate Planning Council.
He is past Chairman of the Taxation Advisory Commission, Board of Legal Specialization for the State Bar of California, and is a Certified Specialist in Tax Law in California. He also served as a member of the Board of Legal Specialization.
Mr. Miller is the Chairman Emeritus of Miller, Monson, Peshel, Polacek & Hoshaw, a Partnership of Professional Law Corporations in San Diego, California.
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Timothy C. Polacek
Tools & Techniques of Estate Planning
Timothy C. Polacek is a partner in the San Diego law firm of Miller, Monson, Peshel, Polacek & Hoshaw, practicing in the areas of tax, business and estate planning. He also heads the firm's business valuation practice, which includes appraisal work for closely-held businesses and discount valuations for investment entities. He holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of San Diego, graduating summa cum laude. He also received his J.D. from the University of San Diego.
Mr. Polacek is a member of the California Bar. He has written numerous articles on the use of family limited partnerships for wealth preservation and frequently speaks to other professionals on business planning and valuation.
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Diana B. Reitz
Risk Management for Financial Planners
Diana Reitz is managing editor of FC&S Online and writes a regular column for National Underwriter P&C weekly magazine. Previously Diana spent 15 years with a large regional brokerage. Diana’s specialties are: Boiler & Machinery, Business Auto, Business Income, Commercial General Liability, Crime, D&O, e-Risks and e-Business, Garage, Surety, and Workers Compensation. A graduate of the University of Maryland, Ms. Reitz earned a Masters degree in human resource management from St. Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania. She completed the Council of Agents and Brokers (CIAB) Agency Management program at The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of the Risk and Insurance Management Society (RIMS).
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Diane W. Richardson, CPCU, joined The National Underwriter Company in April 1994. Diane is associate editor with FC&S specializing in: Flood, Personal Auto, Homeowners, and General Personal Lines. She is a regular contributor to the Property and Casualty/Risk & Benefits Management Edition of the National Underwriter weekly magazine. In addition to editing Service First!, a National Underwriter Company book on customer service, Ms. Richardson has written books entitled Insuring to Value (with Marshall & Swift), Homeowners Coverage Guide, Personal Umbrella Coverage Guide, and Home-Based Business Coverage Guide. Before joining The National Underwriter Company, Ms. Richardson worked as a personal lines underwriter, state filing supervisor, and agent. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont and a Masters degree in education from Harvard University.
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