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The Prevention and Cure of AffluenzaThe Prevention and Cure of Affluenza

Robert F. Sharpe, Jr. explains how clients can combine their love for their heirs with the desire to help them be responsible.

Robert F. Sharpe, Jr, CEO

February 22, 2019

11 Min Read
phil19

Much has been written about the growing concentration of wealth in the United States and much of the rest of the world. Comparisons to the pre-Depression years of the roaring 20s and England before World War I are increasingly common.1

Not only have the wealthy become wealthier in recent years, but also more of the wealth in the United States will pass over time free of tax at the federal level and under most states’ laws. With a minimal amount of planning, a wealthy couple can now transfer $22.8 million free of federal tax, and over 60 percent of Americans live in states that impose no estate transfer taxes. 

The preservation of a stepped-up basis at death under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (the Act) further assures that more of the ...

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About the Author

Robert F. Sharpe, Jr

CEO, Encore

Robert F. Sharpe, Jr. is CEO of Encore in Memphis, Tenn. He is a nationally recognized pioneer, leader and authority in the field of philanthropy. During more than 35 years serving America’s nonprofit community, he has consulted nationally with educational, health, social service, arts and religious organizations and institutions in the planning and implementation of their major, planned gift and endowment development efforts. A graduate of Vanderbilt University and Cornell Law School, he served as a development officer for a liberal arts college prior to practicing law with a major law firm specializing in taxation and estate planning.

Robert is chairman of the philanthropy editorial board of Trusts & Estates magazine and co-author of the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners (CGP) Model Standards of Gift Valuation. He has served on the board of Giving USA and on strategic task forces for the CGP. Among other publications, his remarks have been featured in The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Newsweek, Forbes, Smart Money, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and Kiplinger’s.

He is a frequent speaker at gatherings across the country including Planned Giving Councils in New York, Washington, Chicago, and Los Angeles, the National Association of Charitable Gift Planners national conference, the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) National Conference, and the American Bankers Association Wealth Management and Trust Conference.