PwC US Releases New Guide to Tax and Wealth Management and Updated Online Resource Center

NEW YORK, Nov. 2, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- PwC US today released Managing Your Wealth, the firm's 14th annual guide to tax and wealth management. Like previous years' guides, the current edition discusses various strategies that can help individuals, families, and business owners meet their tax and financial needs while growing and preserving their wealth for the long term. Certain chapters have been updated to reflect the current tax landscape, economic environment, and legislative developments. The guide also includes new chapters that address risk management, family meetings, and how best to work with financial advisors in today's fluid environment.

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"We've always maintained that preparation is the key to successful tax planning and wealth management," says Richard Kohan, lead Personal Financial Services principal with PwC's Private Company Services practice and co-author of this year's Guide. "While preparation is admittedly challenging in times of legislative and economic uncertainty, it's also of particular importance at such junctures, since it entails planning for more than one possible scenario. Asking questions of your advisors and beginning the planning process early are two of the most important steps in developing a tax and financial plan that will let you seize opportunities as they arise."

Available for free download at http://www.pwc.com/pfs, the new Guide clearly explains complex wealth management strategies without resorting to technical language. Once again it is supported by an online resource center, which allows users to download specific chapters or the full book, view video interviews with partners on important financial planning topics, and gain access to other PwC resources regarding personal finance and wealth management. Together, the Guide and online resource center serve as a reference for overall wealth management planning, including:

• Effective tax planning
• Managing your investments
• Charitable giving
• Estate and gift planning
• Business succession planning
• Risk management
• Family offices
• Family meetings
• Working with advisors

"Although a new, post-crisis wealth management paradigm is beginning to emerge, it hasn't come into full focus yet," says Kohan. "What is already crystal clear, however, is that from now on individuals will need to be more actively engaged in their wealth management strategy. The importance of revisiting your estate and gift plan, charitable giving strategy, investment portfolio, and income tax plan in the context of the new, evolving wealth management paradigm cannot be overemphasized."

The Guide also addresses the wealth management implications of recent and upcoming governmental policy changes, including healthcare reform and the scheduled expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts.

"We're counseling our clients to remain alert to which way the political winds are blowing," says Kohan. "Decisions made in Washington over the next few years – particularly regarding the national deficit and attempts to reduce it through tax policy – are likely to have a profound and far-reaching effect on the growth and preservation of a family's wealth."

In addition to discussing personal wealth management, the Guide looks at succession planning – a difficult topic that's often bypassed by many business owners. Lack of a business succession plan can lead to a host of problems, ranging from family infighting to erosion of the business's value. The Guide identifies common mistakes, describes different types of family business structures (S-Corp, C-Corp, Partnership, and LLP), outlines how to plan for the transfer of business interests, and discusses how to save taxes through lifetime transfers.

"The longevity of a family business – and, indeed, most businesses – depends on early and ongoing succession planning," notes Brittney Saks, Personal Financial Services partner with PwC's Private Company Services practice and co-author of this year's Guide. "It also depends on communicating the results of that planning to family members and other key stakeholders in a timely fashion. Doing so will increase the likelihood that the business and its value will endure well beyond the leadership transition."

In summing up the Guide, Saks says, "We write this Guide each year to educate people on tax strategies and wealth management opportunities that should be considered during year-end planning. While this year's edition is a good place to start, we always recommend that people speak with a qualified adviser before pursuing a course of action."

About PCS

PwC works with a majority of the leading private companies in the US. Our 2,000 private company individuals focus on understanding the strategy and business objectives of private companies and their owners, working together to add value while reducing risk. Our professionals are provided with cross-training to enable them to connect the dots across a number of private company issues such as compliance, controls, access to cash flow, expansion, exit strategies, succession, wealth management and the many areas that can help build or diminish long-term success and value. For more information about PwC's private companies services please visit www.pwc.com/pcs.

About the PwC Network

PwC firms provide industry-focused assurance, tax and advisory services to enhance value for their clients. More than 161,000 people in 154 countries in firms across the PwC network share their thinking, experience and solutions to develop fresh perspectives and practical advice. See www.pwc.com for more information.

© 2010 PwC. All rights reserved. "PwC" and "PwC US" refers to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a Delaware limited liability partnership, which is a member firm of PricewaterhouseCoopers International Limited, each member firm of which is a separate and independent legal entity.

About the Authors

Richard Kohan is a principal in PwC's Private Company Services (PCS) practice in New York, where he serves as the national strategic leader of the Personal Financial Services group. In that capacity, he acts as a trusted advisor to high-net-worth clients, addressing the tax and wealth management issues that they and their families face.

Rich also leads seminars on various aspects of wealth management for the owners of privately owned businesses, top executives in a number of Fortune 1000 companies, and partners in private investment firms. He regularly speaks to other audiences as well, discussing family office structure and strategy, estate and gift planning, investment strategies, employee benefits, stock options, and retirement planning.

Rich received a BS in political science from Syracuse University, a JD from Western New England School of Law, and an LLM in tax from Boston University School of Law. He is a member of both the American and Connecticut bar associations.

Brittney Saks is a Personal Financial Services partner in PwC's Private Company Services practice in Chicago. She has provided business owners, corporate executives, and wealthy families with consulting and compliance services in areas such as compensation, investment planning, business succession, charitable giving, estate tax, trusts, and retirement planning.

These days most of Brittney's time is spent working with high-net-worth families on tax and wealth management issues. Her clients include some of the largest and most complex family offices in Chicago.

Brittney has received the Personal Financial Specialist designation and is a certified public accountant. She earned a BS in accounting from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where she graduated with highest honors, and received a master's in taxation from DePaul University, where she earned special distinction.

She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Illinois CPA Society.

SOURCE PwC US