Tuesday, February 08, 2011

How Did I Get Here?

As I was thinking about possible topics for my blawg this week it occurred to me that I have not discussed very much about whom I am and how I got into Family Wealth and Legacy Planning.  It is so important for my clients to be comfortable with me, as this area is such a personal one.  I want my clients to get to know me and feel comfortable with me as we go through the process.   Thus far my blawg postings have tended to focus on specific facts of “estate planning”.  So I wanted to give some background on who am I, and how I got here.   As I mentioned last week creating a Family Wealth and Legacy Plan is not all about the money.  It is also about building a bridge to future generations.  

When I entered law school with a background in Accountancy, I knew I wanted to focus on tax law, so the next logical step was to obtain a master’s in tax law.  So I decided to move to Kansas City and attend UMKC.  If I could have continued being a student forever, I would have, but the loans were racking up a little too fast, and it was time I started to live in the real world. After I obtained my Master’s I moved back to St. Louis, my hometown, started practicing, and got married to my wonderful wife.  We have one beautiful daughter and a second on the way. 

After living and working in St. Louis for 2 ^1/2 years, a number of factors converged that led me to Kansas City.  My brother and his family moved to Kansas City, my wife is from Kansas City and a job opportunity I could not pass up came my way- my current position. 

So I was hired as a tax attorney with Kevan D. Acord, P.A.  It was at this time that I met my partner Garrett.  After working together for some time, we discussed where we wanted to focus our careers.  We both had extensive experience with “estate planning” in our previous positions and saw a need with the firm’s clients.  More importantly, we both had a passion to practice a different type of “estate planning”; we wanted to practice Family Wealth and Legacy Planning.  My passion stemmed from my personal experience with the sudden, tragic death of my brother who was killed in the attacks on 9/11.  I saw firsthand the continual toll taken on a family without proper planning.  As a husband, father, son, and brother, I do not want my family to have to go through that again.  Planning is not something you do for yourself; it is something you do for your loved ones.

And from this, BridgeBuilder was born.   BBridBridge dh  

Jason Salinardi 

BridgeBuilder- Plans for Life

P.S. I have decided to add a thought for the week section.

Thought for the week

"We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give."
- Winston Churchill