Tag: Estate Planning
Planning Basics for Growing Families: Cash Flow and Coverage with Russell Carpentieri (Ep. 116)

Planning Basics for Growing Families: Cash Flow and Coverage with Russell Carpentieri (Ep. 116)

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Starting a family often changes how people think about money, responsibility, and risk. The real challenge is not access to information, but turning it into clear action before small gaps become big problems.

In this episode, Iván Watanabe and Russell J. Carpentieri, Founder and Managing Partner at OPUS Private Client, LLC,  walk through the foundational planning steps families should address as life becomes more complex. They focus on understanding cash flow, evaluating employee benefits, and identifying coverage gaps before making bigger financial decisions. The conversation highlights how simple check-the-box actions can reduce exposure, why wills are often overlooked, and how planning brings clarity when expenses and responsibilities grow.

Key takeaways:

  • How cash flow clarity creates better decisions as family expenses grow
  • Why employee benefits are often the fastest starting point for coverage
  • How to think through insurance needs using real math instead of guesses
  • Why non-working spouses still represent significant economic value
  • The risks families face when wills and basic documents are delayed
  • And more!

Connect with Iván Watanabe:

Connect with Russell J. Carpentieri:

 

About Our Guest:

Russell J. Carpentieri has over 34 years of experience in the Health/Welfare industry. He is the co-founder of Opus Private Client, LLC, and Opus Advisory Group, LLC. Russell manages the life insurance, retirement, and healthcare practices within each entity. His clients represent various industries, including finance, private equity, retail, real estate, healthcare, entertainment, and professional services.

A believer in continuous professional development, Russell is an active member of the American Association of Life Underwriters, National Association of Health Underwriters, J.P Morgan, and Westchester County Blue Ribbon Task Force for NYS healthcare. As well, he spends time guest lecturing for numerous private equities, CFO and real estate symposiums, and insurance carrier conferences.

Russell also cares deeply about his community. In fact, he is a founding member of the Make-a-Wish Foundation’s Westchester Chapter. In addition to serving on the Syracuse University Athletic Board and National Football Foundation Board, Russell enjoys being involved in the American Heart Association, 21st Century Board of White Plains Hospital, and the Pajama Program at Turtle Bay Music School in New York City.

After graduating from Syracuse University’s management and finance program in 1983, Russell joined the New York Jets Football Club for two seasons as a special-teams player.

Russell lives in Bedford, New York, with his wife, Suzanne. They have four children: Stefan, Nikolas, Maia, and Sophia.

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How to Start Difficult Conversations With Aging Parents With Maria Garceffa (Ep. 115)

How to Start Difficult Conversations With Aging Parents With Maria Garceffa (Ep. 115)

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Having Difficult Conversations With Aging Parents: How To Start And What To Say

In this episode of the WealthStyle Podcast, Iván Watanabe and Evan Wohl are joined by psychotherapist Maria Graceffa to explore how families can approach difficult conversations with aging parents around estate planning, healthcare decisions, and end-of-life wishes.

The discussion focuses less on financial details and more on communication, timing, and emotional awareness. Maria shares why topics that feel taboo are often the most important to address, and how understanding your audience matters just as much as having the right information. The conversation covers practical guidance on aligning with siblings before approaching parents, choosing the right messenger, and framing discussions as invitations rather than directives.

Listeners will also learn what language to avoid, how silence can create space for trust, and what to do when conversations become emotional or go off track. This episode offers thoughtful, real-world insight for anyone navigating multi-generational planning conversations and wanting to protect family relationships while creating clarity for the future.

Key takeaways:

  • Why avoiding “taboo” topics like death, inheritance, and long-term care often creates more stress than clarity
  • How aligning with siblings and choosing the right messenger matters more than having the most expertise
  • How to frame conversations as invitations, not directives, using open-ended questions that preserve a parent’s sense of control
  • What language and timing to avoid, and how pauses and silence can reduce defensiveness and build trust
  • Why these discussions work best as an ongoing dialogue rather than a one-time conversation
  • And more!

Listen to this episode of the WealthStyle Podcast and subscribe to stay connected to conversations that move your wealth and lifestyle forward, always forward.

Connect with Iván Watanabe:

Connect with Evan Wohl:

 

Connect with Maria Graceffa:

 

About Our Guest:

Maria Graceffa is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York and Connecticut. She earned her degree in Psychological Counseling from Teachers College, Columbia University, and is known for being an exceptional listener—a professional secret-keeper, in the best colloquial sense.

Maria is a seasoned clinician, creating a supportive space where clients can heal their vulnerabilities. She communicates directly—no BS—while always leading with gentle compassion. Her work focuses on helping clients process old hurts, develop new and adaptive belief systems, and build healthier behavior patterns that support lasting change. She helps folks have the hard conversations to get unstuck within family, work, and overall life. Maria is further specialized, offering EMDR and couples counseling.

Outside of the therapy room, Maria is a real sports-ball-Mom, with gear, goggles, nets, and balls for every season. She also shares her days with a senior pup who still performs daily auditions for Cirque du Soleil, keeping life both grounded and entertaining. 

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What To Know When Handling a Parent’s Passing with Lou Mohn (Ep. 108)

What To Know When Handling a Parent’s Passing with Lou Mohn (Ep. 108)

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When Lou Mohn’s mother passed away, he found himself navigating not just grief, but the full weight of estate, financial, and logistical complexity. 

Despite being a seasoned advisor, Lou was surprised by how many small but critical details were missing, from automatic subscriptions and Social Security clawbacks to safe deposit box keys and the burial plot’s location.

What to expect in this episode:

  • The small financial oversights that drain estates without notice
  • Why even organized families can miss key post-death logistics
  • The emotional and practical burden on surviving family members
  • How to start legacy conversations early (and make them easier)
  • And more!

Connect with Iván Watanabe:

Connect with Evan Wohl:

Connect with Lou Mohn:

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Estate Planning Essentials for High-Income Earners with Joe Biondolillo

Estate Planning Essentials for High-Income Earners with Joe Biondolillo

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Estate planning is often seen as one of the more intricate aspects of financial management, particularly for high-net-worth individuals who face distinct challenges and opportunities when it comes to transferring wealth effectively.

Iván Watanabe and Evan Wohl engage with Joe Biondolillo, president and founder of Biond Financial, to discuss estate planning strategies for high-net-worth individuals. Joe shares practical insights on navigating complex tax laws and leveraging available opportunities.

Joe discusses:

  • Understanding estate tax liability and why everyone should have an estate plan 
  • Steps to discounting assets and how it impacts your estate 
  • Strategic gifting to maximize the current exemption limits 
  • How freezing growth works and why it’s crucial for high net worth portfolios 
  • Addressing capital gains tax implications and potential solutions
  • And more

Connect with Iván Watanabe:

Connect with Evan Wohl:

Connect with Joe Biondolillo:

About Our Guest:

Joseph Biondolillo brings nearly 24 years of expertise to his role as the founder of Biond Financial. Dedicated to helping professionals, executives, and closely held corporations protect, save, and grow their financial wealth, Biond Financial provides tailored guidance amidst today’s volatile economic landscape. Recognizing that many individuals base financial decisions on trends, opinions, emotions, and online advice, Joseph and his team utilize a unique macroeconomic approach to reveal the full financial picture. This process empowers clients to build and safeguard their wealth while taking control of their economic futures.

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A Conversation Between Dads

A Conversation Between Dads

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In this heartfelt conversation, Iván Watanabe and Evan Wohl open up about the joys and challenges of fatherhood as Iván stands on the cusp of welcoming his second child, a baby boy.

With help from his colleague and friend, Evan, a seasoned parent of three, they explore the emotions, preparations, and adjustments that come with expanding a family. Their conversation is rich with insights, laughter, and love for their children as they offer their perspectives on the transformative experience of parenting. 

Highlights from this episode include:

  • The significance of support from family/community (It takes a village!)
  • Anxieties surrounding family expansion and how to prepare for their arrival
  • Financial preparations such as estate planning and college account funding
  • The pursuit of balancing career demands with the responsibilities of parenthood
  • Challenges and triumphs of being a parent and the importance of being adaptable and intentional in their approach
  • And more

Resources:

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Connect with Evan Wohl:

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What You Should Know About Assets After Death with Rob Pruett

What You Should Know About Assets After Death with Rob Pruett

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Even if you’re one of the over 50% of Americans who doesn’t enjoy planning for their death, starting a plan today will allow your beneficiaries to avoid the challenges caused by a lack of information and preparation.

In this episode, Iván Watanabe and Rob Pruett dive into one of the most important topics in financial planning: What happens to assets after death. Together, they share examples of dividing assets between spouses, the legalities of estate planning, and creating a legacy you can witness.

Rob discusses:

  • The importance of updating your executor and power of attorney
  • How assets can become locked up after death
  • Why you should start your legacy sooner rather than later
  • The shifting taxation of estate planning
  • And more!

Connect with Rob Pruett:

Connect With Iván Watanabe:

About Our Guest:

Robert P. Pruett has been a wealth advisor with Opus Private Client, LLC for 14 years performing planning for high-net-worth individuals, families, and business owners. Rob uses leading-edge advanced personal planning techniques to protect and maximize each client’s wealth, retirement, and estate plans. Rob also consults with 50-to-800-person firms to deliver high-value corporate benefit programs, with a special focus on delivering healthcare savings of 10-15% or more through Opus’ proprietary reimbursement program offering.

His specialties include asset management, institutional investing, tax planning, life insurance, disability, annuities, and long-term care insurance, corporate benefits programs, executive benefit programs, retirement, and estate planning, and legacy and charitable planning.

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Tactical Practices For Business Estate Taxes With Jeremy Suarez and Michael Canarick

Tactical Practices For Business Estate Taxes With Jeremy Suarez and Michael Canarick

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Do you have a plan in place if you lose some of your key employees? What if you could no longer afford to maintain your key employees and business due to taxes? 

Preparing for any of these scenarios is imperative for all business owners. 

In this episode, Iván Watanabe is joined by Jeremy Suarez, managing partner at TOMORO and Michael Canarick, partner at Canarick & Canarick. Together, they dive into estate taxes for business owners and the cost of the potential new tax law. They also explain how business owners are attracting, rewarding, and retaining key employees through benefit programs and bonus strategies.

Iván, Jeremy, and Michael discuss:

  • How employers are incentivizing key employees to stay
  • Why key man insurance is necessary for any high-level employee
  • What will be impacted by the changes to the tax law
  • How clients can take advantage of the current tax law
  • And more!

Resources:

Connect with Jeremy Suarez:

Connect with Michael Canarick:

Connect With Iván Watanabe:

About Jeremy Suarez:

Jeremy joined Tomoro as a managing partner in 2014. When working with individual households on their wealth creation strategies; the focus is on all areas of wealth accumulation, protection, and distribution.  As a certified exit planning professional, Jeremy supports business owners with a full range of business continuity, succession, and exit planning recommendations; with a core focus of optimizing value.

About Michael Canarick:

Canarick & Canarick was founded by Michael Canarick, an estate planning attorney with a Master of Laws in Taxation from NYU and a member of the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Bars. Michael has over 15 years of experience in counseling on tax and estate planning matters and developing strategies that will help create and preserve wealth through generations. Michael’s practice consists of reviewing and drafting legal documents for clients and educating them on the various options that exist when it comes to the distribution of their assets.

 

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A Conversation Around Estate Planning & Taxes with Michael Canarick

A Conversation Around Estate Planning & Taxes with Michael Canarick

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There’s nothing like the peace of mind that comes with having a strategic and comprehensive plan for your future.

This is especially true when it comes to your estate plan.

In this episode, Canarick & Canarick’s founder and estate planning attorney, Michael Canarick, sits down with Iván Watanabe to discuss the value of having an estate plan. He explains the current estate planning and tax environment and other considerations to help you plan your estate strategically and specifically.

Michael discusses:

  • How estate taxes work & new estate tax laws
  • Generational trusts and how they relate to asset protection and estate planning 
  • How selling or gifting estates can reduce or eliminate estate-related taxes
  • Must-have estate planning documents 
  • And more

Connect with Michael Canarick:

Connect with Iván Watanabe:

About Michael Canarick:

Canarick & Canarick was founded by Michael Canarick, an estate planning attorney with a Master of Laws in Taxation from NYU and a member of the New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania Bars. Michael has over 15 years of experience in counseling on tax and estate planning matters and developing strategies that will help create and preserve wealth through generations. Michael’s practice consists of reviewing and drafting legal documents for clients and educating them on the various options that exist when it comes to the distribution of their assets.

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