You'll see 2 new modules in the classroom: - The Secret Engine: The Family Management Company - Implementation - FMC Assets Based on the limitations in the skool platform I decided to break these up into two modules. The core strategy is available to everyone for free. The implementation checklists and other assets are available to premium and VIP members. I want to go back and revise the other modules into this split format as well so that the maximum number of people can get the strategy information.

I often see people getting confused about what a trust actually is. Is it a tax shield? An asset safe? A privacy curtain? The answer is: It’s a wrapper. A trust is simply a legal arrangement that separates Legal Title (who the world sees as the owner) from Beneficial Interest (who actually gets the money and the perks). To understand how powerful (and flexible) this is, we just have to look at how the banking industry revolutionized the mortgage market using a "trust-like" nominee structure called MERS (Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems). The MERS Example: Swapping the Engine without Opening the Hood In the old days, if Bank A sold your mortgage to Bank B, they had to sign a paper assignment, take it to your local county clerk, and pay a recording fee. If that happened 5 times, it was a mountain of paperwork. The industry solved this by creating MERS to act as a Common Nominee (essentially a standing Trustee): 1. The Wrapper: MERS was listed as the "Mortgagee of Record" at the county courthouse. 2. The "Inner" Swap: Behind the scenes, banks could trade the "Beneficial Interest" in your loan 100 times a day. 3. The Benefit: Because the Legal Title (the wrapper) stayed in the name of MERS, they didn’t have to record anything new or pay a single cent to the county. They were swapping the beneficiaries without ever having to change the legal instrument itself. The Lesson for Your Estate Planning This is exactly how a private Family Trust works. You move assets into the "Trust Wrapper," and while the outside world sees "The Jones Family Trust" as the owner, you can change who receives the benefits (the beneficiaries) or who manages the assets (the trustee) internally, usually with just a signature. But there’s a catch. Just like MERS eventually faced massive government pressure and court battles when they got too "sloppy" with the underlying notes, you cannot use a trust as a magic wand to disappear from the law. - The IRS "Look-Through": For a Revocable Trust, the IRS ignores the wrapper for taxes. You are still the taxpayer. - The Standalone Trap: An Irrevocable Trust is its own tax entity, but it hits the highest tax bracket (37%) almost immediately (at just $16,250 of income in 2026).

Skool says I'm supposed to get a notification when the live replay is ready for downloading. Nothing yet and it's been 30 minutes since I ended the stream. I guess we'll see how it goes. The original plan was to post replays for people.

I just uploaded a training module on Section 127 plans in the classroom. It's available to navigators and up. Section 127 allows for employers to pay employee benefits that are tax-free to the employee but are still deductions to the employer for the purpose of educational support. It could go towards tuition. It could go towards student loans, which is an expansion created during Covid and is now made permanent by the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. The student loan expansion has been a real game changer in the usability of Section 127 plans. As always there are nuances and technicalities that have to be followed and the course gets into a lot of those. Definitely worth checking out if you are in higher education, job training, or have student loans.