The 44th Annual MOKAN Trust & Financial Services Conference was held on May 10-12, 2023, at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel & Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas. Over 300 folks were in attendance! A sincere thank you to the attendees, sponsors, and speakers for making this event so successful!
Kicking off the program on Wednesday was Sam Donaldson, Professor of Law at Georgia State University, who discussed “Recent Developments in Federal Wealth Transfer Taxes.” The session gave an entertaining recap of important cases, rulings, regulations, and legislation from the past 12 months in the federal estate and gift tax laws. After lunch, Sam Donaldson covered “Recent Developments in Federal Income Taxes.” Specific topics that were addressed included the IRS’s ongoing woes with the Administrative Procedure Act, recent changes to the minimum distribution rules and the new rules applicable to syndicated conversation easements. The attendees had three concurrent breakout session topics to choose from, which included, “Getting You Up to Date on Digital Assets, at Least as of Today” presented by Mike Tropeano with Broadridge Financial. This session covered how to be prepared to support digital assets and what fiduciaries need to know. Karen Weber with Weber Law Office discussed how to protect assets from the extraordinary cost of long-term care. Stephen Soper with Wright Investor’s Service spoke on alternative investments, how important it is to diversify an investment portfolio, and described several types of alternative investment asset strategies.
Senior Strategist, Chris Pettit, with Vanguard Investment Advisory Research Center kicked off Thursday morning of the program with, “Preparing and Preserving Intergenerational Wealth.” The session covered the massive scope of wealth positioned for transfer as baby boomers pass assets to their children and grandchildren in younger generations. Next, Jeff Levine with Kitces.com and Buckingham Wealth Partners shared information on “3 Estate Planning Themes for 2023.” Attendees analyzed the paradigm shift in end-of-life tax planning created by the ballooning estate/gift tax exemption. After lunch, Jeff Levine returned for a second session titled, “Managing and Minimizing RMD Obligations.” A sound understanding of the RMD rules by advisors is a necessity as RMDs are one aspect of retirement distribution planning that impacts nearly all clients at one point or another. To wrap up day two of the program, three concurrent breakout sessions were offered: “Ethics: Just Because You Can, Doesn’t Mean You Should,” presented by Terri Thomas, Kansas Bankers Association; “Dealing with Specialty Assets Within Trusts,” presented by Matt Gunderson, Farmers National Company; and “Creating Belonging Cultures for the New Reality,” presented by Thresette Briggs, Performance 3.
The final morning of the program kicked off with “SECURE 2.0 and Changes to Defined Contribution Plans — What Do You Really Need to Know?” by Larry Divers, Cannon Financial. Larry focused on changes in SECURE 2.0 that impact Defined Contribution Plans and new regulations concerning eligibility and participation, contributions and benefits, distributions, and lifetime income. Next, Andrew Opdyke, First Trust Advisors spoke on “Where’s the Finish Line?” which focused on the Fed’s actions throughout 2022, making the critical question on many investors’ minds, “When will the Fed’s job be done?” To wrap up MOKAN, the Kansas City Chiefs mascot, KC Wolf (also known as Dan Meers) gave a powerful presentation on courageous leadership and living a life of influence. Dan shared his incredible injury story and the important life lessons that he learned during his long road to recovery! This concluded the 44th MOKAN Trust and Financial Services Conference.
Please mark your calendars for the 2024 MOKAN Trust and Financial Services Conference to be held on May 15-17, 2024, back at the Sheraton Overland Park Hotel & Convention Center in Overland Park, Kansas.
