Who is Your Deferred Sales Trust Team?
What is a Deferred Sales Trust (DST)?
The DST has been used by financial savvy professionals and their clients for more than 22 years. It is a legal, proven and tested proprietary estate and tax planning strategy that allows persons who own highly appreciated assets such as real estate, a business, or high value collectables to sell those assets and defer the ordinary income taxes and capital gains taxes over a period of years instead of paying them all in a lump sum. The Deferred Sales Trust gives the seller/tax payer the ability to control their capital gains tax exposure, reinvestment terms, and installment payments made from the trust. In the event your DST is ever audited in Federal or State Court or by the IRS, our tax attorneys will offer to represent you in such audit as part of their initial engagement agreement, and at no additional cost to the client. The DST has withstood over a dozen such audits as well as direct independent IRS reviews. To date, the DST has a perfect legal and tax compliant record.
Who offers the Deferred Sales Trust?
The Deferred Sales Trust (DST) is only available from the Estate Planning Team, LLC, in partnership with our tax attorneys. The Estate Planning Team, founded by Robert Binkele partnered with our tax attorneys to develop a broad-based approach to promote the DST strategy on a national basis. The Estate Planning Team manages all marketing and compliance related to the offering and execution of the DST.
The Estate Planning Team has successfully implemented thousands of DST’s over the past 27 years. During that time there have been 16 field audits and 3 formal IRS reviews. Our tax attorneys and Estate Planning Team have never had a negative tax audit or adverse result from the IRS. Some of the most prominent tax law firms in the country, as well as hundreds of boutique tax law firms and CPA’s throughout the country have also independently reviewed the DST strategy, techniques and legal basis and have similarly concluded the DST to be sufficiently legal, proven and tested and would, and have recommended it to their own clients.
The Deferred Sales Trust requires the services of at least 3 distinct and independent professionals: The Tax Attorney, a Trustee and a Registered Investment Advisor. Reef Point, LLC is and authorized and approved Trustee for the Deferred Sales Trust and an affiliate member of the Estate Planning Team, LLC. Because of the proprietary nature of the Deferred Sales Trust Strategy and the absolute requirement to create and manage every DST within strict IRS rules and guidelines, each of these independent professionals must be vetted and trained on all aspects of the DST. The Estate Planning Team supervises the vetting, training, marketing and compliance requirements for qualified professionals who wish to become affiliate members of the Estate Planning Team and to be able to offer this strategy to their own clients.
A Circle of Professionals
The Deferred Sales Trust is a plan for deferring capital gains taxes created and managed exclusively by the Estate Planning Team organization. When you chose the DST strategy, you acquire the resources of a team of professionals. The members will vary depending on the type of transaction funding the DST, but all cases have a core team:
- Independent Certified DST Trustee
- Tax Attorney
- Investment Advisor
Other vital people may include:
- Tax CPA
- Financial Advisor
- Real Estate Broker
- Business Broker
- Independent Attorney
Gregory Reese Independent Certified DST Trustee
One of only 13 certified DST trustees in the country. Greg is also the President and CEO of AmeriEstate Legal Plan.
Tax Attorney
A tax attorney specializing in Deferred Sales Trusts oversees the process to ensure everything meets conforms to legal and regulatory parameters
Investment Advisor
Securing the financial benefits of the transaction. Not only to defer capital gains tax but to invest the savings.
Tax CPA
Your CPA is a valuable asset to the DST transaction for accuracy and efficiency.
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisors can help to place proceeds from the sales of assets into a diversified portfolio, providing a way out of an asset class and a way into higher and more stable cash flow.
Real Estate Professional
Real Estate is often the driving force behind the assets and a real estate professional is valuable to the transaction that will fund the DST.
Business Broker
If the assets are derived from the sale of a business the business broker will help to make a smooth transaction.
Tax Attorney
If the assets are derived from the sale of a business the business broker will help to make a smooth transaction.
Gregory Reese Independent Certified DST Trustee
One of only 13 certified DST trustees in the country. Greg is also the President and CEO of AmeriEstate Legal Plan.
Tax Attorney
A tax attorney specializing in Deferred Sales Trusts oversees the process to ensure everything meets conforms to legal and regulatory parameters
Investment Advisor
Securing the financial benefits of the transaction. Not only to defer capital gains tax but to invest the savings.
Tax CPA
Your CPA is a valuable asset to the DST transaction for accuracy and efficiency.
Financial Advisor
Financial Advisors can help to place proceeds from the sales of assets into a diversified portfolio, providing a way out of an asset class and a way into higher and more stable cash flow.
Real Estate Professional
Real Estate is often the driving force behind the assets and a real estate professional is valuable to the transaction that will fund the DST.
Business Broker
If the assets are derived from the sale of a business the business broker will help to make a smooth transaction.
Tax Attorney
If the assets are derived from the sale of a business the business broker will help to make a smooth transaction.
Members of the team are legal, tax and financial professionals who have been vetted, approved, and trained in their specific area of expertise about the DST strategy. These members will serve as your advisory team and will both execute your DST strategy with you and help maintain the Trust for your maximum benefit. We also welcome the opportunity to collaborate with your other personal advisors in tax, law, real estate, and investment advisors as you might need or request.
Greg Reese is one of only 13 Certified Trustees in the United States
He has also assembled a network of trusted professionals well-versed in this strategy to guide you through efficiently, professionally, and compassionately.
Although each DST is composed of many moving parts unique to the Seller, they all boil down into three fundamental steps:
Create the legal framework for the trust
Determine the payback terms of the installment note
Manage the funds with an investment strategy
Independent Certified DST Trustee
Trustees, or trust administrators, are the assets’ legal owners in a trust, which is the critical principle that allows you to shed liability for paying capital gains taxes on those assets. The Estate Planning team hand-picks and certifies each DST Trustee, and one will act as the primary trustee of your trust.
With Greg as your trustee, he will initially work with you to develop a financial plan and establish your installment note payback terms and amortization schedule, utilizing the ideal combination of principal and/ or interest payments. He will also organize your annual paperwork and 1099 tax filing for your CPA.
DSTs are unique because you can work with your Trustee, if needed or desired to modify the term or structure of the installment note at virtually any point after creating the trust. During periodic reviews of your trust’s performance, your trustee can help you adapt the structure to incorporate changes in the financial market, your lifestyle, and goals, or emergencies.
Learn more about Greg Reese, DST Trustee.
Tax Attorney
The DST tax attorney creates the fine print to ensure the trust agreement meets all of your needs and will hold up to legal and regulatory scrutiny. Your EPT tax attorney will also synchronize the sale elements with all of the third-parties involved, including:
- Purchasing parties
- Escrow agents
- Title companies
- Qualified Intermediaries (for properties held for a 1031 exchange)
Registered Investment Advisor
Your trustee will work with you and the Investment Advisor Specialist to help you evaluate your risk tolerance to determine an optimal interest rate on the installment note, as well as discuss investment strategies suited to meet your needs that we identify together. Only once you have approved the investment decisions you feel are best suited to meet your needs, will the trustee and investment advisor execute these decisions on your behalf.
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