I was recently asked to be interviewed for a one-hour podcast, and I said yes. I’m glad I did. The interviewer is David Spray, a Houston CPA and fellow Longhorn, President of Export Advisors. David created a “get to know Marvin” experience, starting with my eureka moment at UT that directed me into estate planning, my early “big law” days when I saw a gap I wanted to fill, and the creation of The Blum Firm to fill that gap. The podcast tells the story of my career journey from solo practice to now, diving deep into the current “Golden Age of Estate Planning” with tips on how to create a lasting legacy. If you want a snapshot of who I am and what’s hot in the world of estate planning, take a listen at https://www.IC-DISCShow.com/043 or watch the video here.
David’s thoughtful questions gave me an opportunity to share my unique approach to estate planning that gets to the head and the heart of the matter. We talk about the impact of politics and policy, lessons learned from Congress’s recent efforts to empty out much of our toolbox, and the current two-year window before Trump tax cuts vanish. We discuss the “Use it or Lose it” deadline when the $12,920,000 exemption sunsets in half, and how you can “have your cake and eat it too” with trusts that preserve access, control, and flexibility. We make lemonade out of the rising interest rates by revealing tools that actually work better in a higher interest rate environment. We talk about the “win-win-win” world of philanthropy that benefits society, keeps a family connected, and saves taxes, using real-life stories to show how. I’m amazed how much territory we manage to cover in an hour; it’s really a crash course in estate planning.
David also pulls out some personal reflections and stories I rarely share. I reveal some communication challenges that surfaced in our own home during the pandemic, and how Tom Rogerson of GenLeg Co. came to our family’s rescue. Admittedly, I’m a cobbler who discovered my own shoes needed some repair.
David surprised me with this question: “What advice would you give to your 25-year-old self?” I would have told that Marvin to fight the temptation to let my mind race forward and invent lots of “what if’s” to worry about. I had lots of sleepless nights over “what if’s” that never happened. Think of all that wasted energy. And as to the challenges that I never anticipated but actually happened, I worked through all of them just fine. Maybe this hits home with some of you?
The final question is a profound one: “Barbeque or Tex-Mex?” Listen to my shout-out to Joe T. Garcia’s Mexican restaurant where we celebrate many Blum family special times.
I closed the podcast with a thought that I’ll use to close this post: Ten years from now, I hope you’ll look back on 2023 and be proud of the estate planning you did to set your family up for success. The opportunity has never been better. Let’s seize it!
Marvin E. Blum
Marvin Blum was honored to be interviewed on David Spray’s IC-DISC show, providing a heartfelt reveal about estate planning and his own career journey.