ESOPs as an EXIT PLANNING TOOL Teleconference

Joseph Godfrey is a subject matter expert in Estate Planning, Succession Planning and Exit Strategies. He facilitates clients in building and protecting their wealth from creditors, predators, tax collectors and the vicissitudes of life. For example, healthy people who want to offset longevity risk can combine a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) with a life insurance policy to create a unique form of “risk arbitrage.” This enables clients to select the annuity option that maximizes their current income while offsetting the early mortality risk. The end result is his clients can grow and preserve their wealth while reducing longevity risk, current income taxes and long term health care costs/risks. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs) can be a terrific tool to create a more certain future for a business’s employees and customers as well as liquidity for the owner(s). One ESOP allowed the principals to “cash out”/withdraw $40,000,000 from their $100 Million enterprise without tax – while having the entire loan amount repayable with pre-tax dollars! He also co-developed and co-marketed tax-oriented leveraged Corporate Owned Life Insurance (COLI) products in a group wrapper for major CPA firms and public corporations as a way to finance their post-retirement liabilities and benefits. One Big 8 firm not only provided tax advice, but also became a client – as did a major trust company whose BOLI contract is still in-force after nearly three decades. He was an executive compensation consultant to Fortune 500 and mid-cap companies for Peat, Marwick, Mitchell & Co., now KPMG. He was a Managing Director at Wilmington Trust FSB where he specialized in insurance and guaranteed lifetime annuities. At The Ross Companies he combines his background in consulting with expertise as an insurance broker to find the right product, pricing, underwriting and company to best meet the unique needs of each client. Mr. Godfrey has published more than a dozen articles in professional journals and made many professional presentations to diverse audiences around the country. He has been quoted in The New York Times, Forbes and Business Week. He has also taught programs on Life Insurance, Estate Planning, Exit Strategies and ESOPs for Columbia Business School, the New York State Society of CPAs, and accounting and law firms for continuing professional education (CPE) credits. He is a member and director of the Society of Financial Service Professionals, member and director emeritus of the Estate Planning Council of New York City and past president and director emeritus of the Columbia Business School Alumni Club of New York where he is still active in creating/producing events. He was awarded a Columbia University Alumni Federation Medal for Distinguished Service. He is co-creator & owner of The Business Owners Game ©, a computer-based 21st century version of “Monopoly” designed to teach business owners how to make better decisions that will lead to more rewarding Succession Plans and Exit Strategies. Mr. Godfrey holds an MBA from Columbia Business School, a BA in Political Science from Northwestern University and a Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU) designation and certificate in Advanced Estate Planning (AEP) from the American College of Financial Services in Bryn Mawr, PA.