Épisodes

  • Episode 17: Beyond the peanut butter method of philanthropy
    Feb 13 2026
    Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Beyond on peanut butter method of philanthropy Podcast Episode 17 with guest Dub Dubin Kyle: And welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast with Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters. I’m joined by Danton Troyer, Danton talking a lot about very honorable, amazing, exciting gifting today with a very unique resource that we happen to have right here at the firm. Danton: Yeah, I think Deb’s going to provide some insights, maybe just another way of thinking and maybe more in-depth thinking as far as just the philosophy around giving away money. Kyle: It was a far-ranging conversation. You’re going to hear quite a bit about who Deb is, Deb Dubin, Chief Philanthropy Officer here at Moneta, who she is, what she does, and some of the ways that you start to really begin to think beyond just the dollar sign when it comes to giving. So with that being said, here’s our conversation with Deb Dubin. And we’re back with Deb Dubin here on Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. Deb, you are our Chief Philanthropy Officer here at Moneta. And first and foremost, that’s a really cool title, if I think about it, but how did you get to Moneta? I want to start at the very beginning. How did you get here before we get into the nitty gritty of what you do? Deb: Sure. Sure. Well, I mean, there’s personal and professional reasons why I’m here, but yes, Chief Philanthropy Officer, super unique to Moneta, which of course we know is an RIA. Most investment firms don’t have an in-house person who’s an expert on philanthropy. So I feel very privileged and lucky that the folks at Moneta decided we needed to have someone who could talk to clients about their interests and aspirations around philanthropy. So how I got here was I was running the Regional Association of Grantmakers in Missouri. Very glamorous title of Philanthropy Missouri. Danton: That was an upgrade, I think, from the title, at least. Deb: Yeah. Yeah, Philanthropy Missouri. I was the CEO for eight years, and that was a collection of funders around the state. We started in St. Louis 50 years ago, and I grew it across the state. And we had about 70 members who were corporations here in town and in Springfield and in Kansas City – foundations, high net worth families, tax-supported foundations…all giving money away and wanting to do it in ways that were impactful. Sometimes they want to collaborate, sometimes they don’t, but they all have a hunger for connection. So I ran that organization for eight years here in town, and during that time had the opportunity to interact with some of the partners here at Moneta when folks had questions and really kind of came to an obvious point, which is you guys could use someone in-house to work with clients on these things. So one thing led to another. I can name off partners who deserve the most credit, I’ve already taken them all to lunch. But the idea is really thinking through how we help our clients. We know from studies that have been done nationwide that clients want to talk about philanthropy, and that advisors like you are the most trusted source of information about philanthropy after spouse, which puts pressure on you and also creates an opportunity for you. Moneta also recognizes that multi-generational wealth, we have a lot of families who we steward their wealth, we help them navigate life’s path, that are multi-generational in nature. And one of the things that really works well when teaching stewardship to families is to have a conversation about philanthropy. Even when families aren’t ready to sort of open the kimono on inheritance, you guys talk about retirement, you guys talk about sort of thinking through what the future looks like and what legacy looks like. Some families aren’t ready to talk strictly about finances. Philanthropy can be a really nice entree into talking about stewardship, using language around we’re grateful, we’re thankful, we’re lucky, we’ve worked hard, and here’s your opportunity to help us do some really amazing things. Danton: Yeah, I think you touched on a couple of things that I want to certainly dive into. Sure. But why philanthropy? How did you… Deb: Yeah, how did I get to philanthropy? Well, you know, again, personal and professional. I’ve had a lot of opportunities. I’m a lawyer by training and practiced law in a big law firm for years in San Francisco. And I also worked in government there. When we moved to St. Louis 20 years ago to raise our family, I made the segue to work…taught a little bit at Wash U. And I also worked on some political campaigns, but the bulk of my work was really working with an investment firm that invested in low-income communities through tax credits. Then went into philanthropy because it seemed like a really neat way to merge knowledge of finance with impact in a ...
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  • Episode 16 How a stop sign can cost you a job
    Jan 8 2026
    Episode 16 with guest Sarah Renieri Kyle: Investment advisory services offered by Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information discussed in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only and any endorsements were those of the hosts and not a guarantee of employment. No compensation was provided. You should consult with an appropriately credentialed professional before making any financial, investment, tax, or legal decisions. And welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast by Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters, an advisor on the team, joined by Danton Troyer, one of the partners. Uh, Danton, it is a new year. Everything’s bright, shiny, fresh, new, and today’s guest I think is someone that many folks, as they’ve gotten through the holiday season and have contemplated a full 12-months slate in front of them, potentially a job change is on the horizon and Sarah Renieri, who is the manager of talent acquisition here at Moneta, joins us today for a very far reaching conversation. Danton: Yeah. We’ll talk about everything from how to use AI on your job search to how not to use AI on your job search, as well. Then everything again, from internship programs to a C-suite and what’s the best steps to really lock down a job there. And, starting the new year, a lot of people will be either looking to hire and fill out a team and also maybe some RC suite clients might be, you know, looking to make a change as well into the new year. Kyle: And with that being said, here’s our conversation with Sarah Renieri. And we are now joined by Sarah Ranieri here on Wit, Wisdom. and What Matters Most. Sarah, first off, welcome to the podcast and thank you so much for sitting down with us today. Sarah: Yeah, thank you so much, Kyle and Danton. I’m so happy to be here. I’m very excited to be here today. Kyle: Oh, perfect. We’re going to cover a lot of topics today, but, but really before we get started, we like to dig into the backstory and the personal side of things. So, you are in talent acquisition here at Moneta. So how did you get into that? Because I don’t necessarily remember going to orientation at college and that being one of the choices there. You know in all transparency, there was a guy that I knew that tested the windshields of airplanes by like firing chickens at them. That also wasn’t on those, but how did you get into talent acquisition? Kind of give us the arc of your career. Sarah: Yeah, absolutely. So it’s interesting. I listened to a podcast called the talent acquisition leaders podcast. Every person that they interview are experts, senior level in talent acquisition, and they all fell into it. That’s always their story. And I would say mine is similar. However, something that’s unique about my story is that when I decided I wanted to be in talent acquisition, I was very intentional. I knew that that was game changing for me. I wanted to go into that, that arena. So my story, I actually started within accounting. So I got an accounting degree out of college and I worked for a couple of different internal corporations. So I actually did work for a nonprofit organization; I did work for a large commercial real estate company, all within accounting. So, at the time I was really able to start articulating the type of company I wanted to work for. I got a really good exposure of all different arenas. And so that’s what really brought me to Moneta. It checked all of the boxes for me in terms of the size of the company, culture, the structure that it provided, the training, and long-term career opportunities. So when I started at Moneta, I started as a client service manager. So I was helping to support financial advisors, such as yourselves on client-facing teams, managing existing client relationships and really becoming an expert at the foundational business of what we do. After doing that for about six years, I was actually given the opportunity, for my team specifically, to help with our recruiting efforts. And I loved that opportunity. I kind of volunteered. I raised my hand. I said, I’ll be the one to vet the resumes. I’ll be on the side Googling what are appropriate interview questions to ask these people. And the advisors on my team loved it. They really wanted nothing to do with the process; it’s tedious, it’s not their expertise, and they had better things to do. Their priority was the clients. And from that, an opportunity arose within the firm to help lead and develop our internal recruiting team. So I happily took that opportunity. It was a unique career path as most client service managers proceed into that financial advising path. But for me, I really knew that this was a really ...
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  • Episode 15: Year-end tips & pitfalls
    Dec 8 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Episode 15 Year-end tips & pitfalls Kyle: Investment advisory services offered by Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information discussed in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. You should consult with an appropriately credentialed professional before making any financial, investment, tax, or legal decision And welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast by Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters, an advisor on the team. I am joined by Danton Troyer, one of the partners. And Danton, it is very, very difficult to believe, and I know we say this every year, but it’s very difficult to believe we are at the end of another year; 2025 is coming to an end. And what a year it was, especially in Q1 and Q2. Danton: Yeah, it’s kind of crazy to think about all the different things we’ve kind of seen and gone through. From tariff talk to, obviously, leading into a presidential term, and we’re at the end of it. So it’ll be interesting to see. But we want to talk about some of the year-end planning tips that we typically talk through with clients, but also some of the pitfalls we see in trying to implement those. Kyle: 100%. And to add a caveat into that, tariffs, Liberation Day trades, and then, by the way, we just really overhauled large bits of the tax code, literally on the 4th of July. I remember reading the summary of what they passed at the pool this summer going, this is going to make for some unique year-end planning opportunities. And we’re going to kind of go through some of those. So first and foremost, I think we should talk about why it’s crucial to have a plan, why it is crucial to be organized going into this time of year. Danton: Yeah, we’ve seen lots of mistakes made, especially heading into year-end because there is a very definite deadline to a lot of these things and it’s December 31st. And so if we’re not getting these things done by that date, they don’t count, they don’t happen. So there is a hard stop in a lot of these. So being organized to your point and getting started earlier than later are all things that can help not run past that deadline. And once you’re passed, you’re passed. Kyle: And I think another thing, too, to back that up as well in this line of thought is 12-31 is the deadline for a lot of this. And if you’ve ever been to the DMV on the last day of the month, you know that it is not the most opportune time to try to get something done. In fact, many of our custodial partners will actually tell us that by about mid-December, anything submitted after a certain date is on a best- efforts basis. They will do their best, but they only have, there’s only so much manpower. There’s only so many hours left in the year in order to get these things done. And then also too, if you think about it from like our perspective as well too, it’s the holiday season and taking a look at the holiday schedule this year, Christmas is on a Thursday. You’re probably going to be reduced manpower the day after and probably the following week. So it really starts to back up when some of these things need to be done into late November, early December. And that’s why the timing and having a plan around this is crucial. We actually, several members on our team, started this work right after Labor Day of pulling together spreadsheets, figuring out what needed to be done, making sure that we talked to clients well enough in advance because there’s not a lot of people that really want to talk numbers with their financial planner at the Thanksgiving table. They want to talk about it with their brother-in-law. That was a joke. But anyway, so going through the why and the importance of it a little bit, but we’re just going to go through and break down some things that you should probably be considering. And I’m going to be unashamed and say that this is prime time for tax planning. I mean, it’s year end. Uh, we harvested, uh, hopefully some losses earlier this year when the markets were down. Uh, one of the things – do we need to offset some gains? Danton: Yeah. I remember the 2018, we had a market correction right there at year end. And it’s not like you can go place those trades on January 1st and say, I want those losses back for me. You got to get it done by December 31st. So, that was a fun holiday, uh, surprise. Kyle: I was late to church on Christmas Eve that day because of that. My wife will never forget that. Danton: Yeah, I think it’s burned in everybody’s mind. It was at least around here. We’re all hands on deck trying to get clients that loss, that no one saw it coming. And then all of a sudden the market was down significantly...
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  • Episode 14: Giving Thanks
    Nov 12 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Podcast Episode 14 Giving Thanks Kyle: Investment advisory services offered by Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information discussed in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. You should consult with an appropriately credentialed professional before making any financial, investment, tax, or legal decision. Past performance is not indicative of future returns. All investments are subject to risk of loss. And welcome to another edition of Wit to Wisdom and What Matters Most. It is a podcast by Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters, an advisor on the team, joined by Danton Troyer, one of the partners. Danton, we are literally falling into the back half of this year and really the back two months. It is holiday season, and we wanted to take this edition of the podcast to talk about things that we’re thankful for. Thankful for you, thankful for this podcast, but in addition to that, it also really causes us to think about maybe giving, especially this time of year, you’ll start to see maybe some more requests for giving. And we wanted to touch on a couple of things as we get to this part of the year about maybe some ways that folks could do some gifting and giving, so we’ll just kind of dive on into that. But as clients continue to grow, charitable giving really seems like it’s one of the most fun and most rewarding things that clients get to do with their money. Danton: Yeah, and I think we’re seeing more people put more thought into it than we ever have in the past. You know, churches are always a big recipient of donations, and that’s certainly not the easy button, but I mean, people are affiliated with the church, they kind of know where to go. But then beyond that, they want to have an impact, and it’s not just, you know, donate to United Way; they do great things, but they want to have their own personal impact, and how are they evaluating that? I think it’s changed more so, especially over the last several years, I’ve seen more and more people want to be more involved. Kyle: They want to be more involved, and then giving really speaks to causes or even stories that are deeply personal. You know, if you’re a cancer survivor, there may be an organization that targets the type of cancer that you survived, or there may be an organization that really did a lot of good for your children. There’s one couple that I’m aware of that they love Shriners Children’s Hospital because of what Shriners has done for their child, and they tell all of their friends, this is what this organization did for us. But you know, there’s obviously the emotional side of giving, but then there’s also, too, a mechanical tax-efficiency side, a financial side to giving, if you will. And we wanted to go over a few of those ideas and those topics today, so really, you know, the place for anyone to start with charitable giving is as a cause that speaks to them. You know, first and foremost, there’s got to be a desire because you are parting with these dollars, and the intention, your hope, is these dollars go to further that cause’s mission and their goals. Beyond that, then we start to get into the weeds and start to get more to the technical side of how all this works. And so one of the things I wanted to bring up first and foremost is donor-advised funds. So up until maybe a handful of years ago, there was this thought that if we were going to do maybe some large gifting or some ongoing gifting that maybe like a family foundation or something like that would be the thing that we have to have. But really, donor-advised funds have kind of come onto the scene here lately, and they’ve really opened up a lot of opportunity for a lot of folks. Before we get any deeper in the weeds, do you want to kind of go over what the concept of a donor-advised fund is, kind of what it is and how it works? Danton: Yeah, I think just to keep it at a high level, it allows folks, I think historically everyone thought you needed to be millions upon millions of dollars to start, quote-unquote, your trust to potentially help these charities. But now they simplified that process and administration, especially the administration, so you’re able to contribute dollars into this account, and you still get to direct those dollars to the charity that means the most to you, or charities as well, but it doesn’t have to be given right then. So you’re allowed to take those dollars, invest them, and let that grow and basically create a fund to support the charities that mean the most to you and have a greater impact for a longer period of time, potentially. Kyle: These are fantastic vehicles. There’s a number of conversations we’re having with clients right...
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  • Episode 13: Debunking financial myths from social media
    Oct 7 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Episode 13 Debunking social media myths Investment advisory services offered by Moneta Group Investment Advisors, LLC, an investment adviser registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information discussed in this podcast is for informational and educational purposes only. You should consult with an appropriately credentialed professional before making any financial, investment, tax, or legal decision. Kyle: And welcome to this edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast by Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters, an advisor on the team, and I am joined by Danton Troyer, one of the partners. So ,Danton, no guest on this episode, but actually when we’ve been prepping for what is now season two, that’s hard to believe, we were talking about some of the shows that we wanted to do and some of the guests that we wanted to have. And this show really kind of came up as an idea from something we were talking about in passing, which is just financial myths or financial topics that come up on social media, and really wanting to dive into some of these things. Because, as you very well know, in this industry, it is very, very difficult to paint with a broad brush and to paint in absolutes. Danton: Yeah, I think that’s, you hit the nail on the head there. I mean, and social media is obviously not a great place for these types of conversations because they’re very nuanced and very individual. But nonetheless, I can’t tell you how many times a year I get financial advice forwarded from an Instagram clip or some sort of social media presence, and it’s a guru who can solve all your problems just through social media posts. So it’s definitely a topic that’s worth exploring. Kyle: I can debunk one without much talking, it’s somehow, someway, somebody pays taxes. It’s like watching the movie National Treasure, where the Harvey Keitel character comes in and he goes, Ben, somebody’s got to go to jail. So we can just debunk that one right off the word go. But you know, there are different things, different mitigation strategies, but really let’s do this. Let’s kind of have you set this up, and we’ve picked out a couple of them that we’re going to kind of talk through. And we’re going to go banter back and forth on these. But before we get started, do you have anything else that you wanted to add before we kind of jump into that first myth? Danton: No, let’s jump right in. Kyle: Okay, go ahead for it. Danton: All right. So the first one we’re going to talk about is a strategy called infinite banking. And just broad picture, we’ll dive into more of the details as we talk through this, but it’s using a life insurance policy with a cash value, typically. We see this with a whole life policy. And so the thought here is, why do I need a bank when I can use this as my savings account and just borrow money from the cash value or the insurance company, paying myself interest? Everything sounds great. I don’t have to pay the bank any interest, I’m paying myself, that sounds reasonable. I’m using the money that I put in and so everything, you know, kind of checks a box that is this easy solution to bank yourself and who needs the big bad banks? Kyle: I think, and I hear what you’re saying there, what’s the oldest profession in the world? Sales and persuasion. And I think that’s key in taking a look at a lot of these. So let’s take this one and go through it just a bit. So you’re going to have a permanent life insurance policy that is going to build cash value. So permanent life insurance policy, as long as the premiums are paid, stays in force over the course of your entire lifetime. And different from term insurance, whole life insurance builds cash value. Now that’s what you are, in a sense, borrowing against or paying yourself on is the cash value in that policy. First and foremost, whole life insurance is a whole lot more expensive. I think that’s where they get the name – whole is a whole lot more expensive than term insurance. And rightfully so, you are building a cash value. They are doing a calculation based on you keeping this coverage in place over the course of your entire lifetime. But you’re paying somewhere between 15 to 20 times the cost for that permanent life insurance policy. So I think if you’re going to make this case for having this bank of your own, you have to factor in the cost of insurance, because that’s a very big key in all of this. And that’s where some of the higher costs do come from. Now there are a ton, and I mean a ton of different types of policies out there, the way the policies are structured. And be very clear when I say this, I do believe there is a case for these types of products in certain scenarios. And again, each ...
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  • Episode 12: Navigating business from family station wagon to World Champion
    Sep 10 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, & What Matters Most podcast Episode 12 featuring Peter Biondo Kyle: And welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast with Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters. I’m joined by Danton Troyer. And Danton, a bit of a blast from the past for me on today’s episode; someone that I used to get to work very closely with: a gentleman by the name of Peter Biondo. And Peter is a champion drag racer, family man, and wildly successful event promoter. And this conversation kind of went all over the place, like we talk about nicknames, we talk about economics, all sorts of stuff. It was fascinating. Danton: Yeah, I have no background in racing. So for me, it was just, you know, it’s good to hear that side of things and just learn about a new area that I had no idea about. Kyle: So like I said, we’ll cover how he got started in racing, the family background, his racing career, what has meant the most to him. And then the genesis of how one event back in 2010 has now led to arguably one of the most, if not THE most successful brand of bracket races out there. So without further ado, here’s our conversation with Peter Biondo. And welcome to Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most, Peter Biondo. Peter, joining us from New York. How are you doing today, my friend? Peter: Doing good, doing good. Definitely can’t complain. Kyle: Well, obviously not. It looks like it’s a sunny day there, at least from what we can see, and we were catching up before we got started here – a lot of positives going on in life. But you and I have known each other for quite some time. We’ve worked together for a good chunk of that time. And then we were in a small group together and really did life together for a while. And I’ve always found your story, both in life and racing and business, to be very fascinating. So I wanted to see if you would kind of start at the beginning and talk about how you and your family got involved in drag racing and then kind of the genesis forward as you’ve now become a successful racer, a successful entrepreneur. And anyone nicknamed the Terminator has to be tops in what they do. Peter: Well, I appreciate that. So, yeah, guys, my father…I was born into it. My father in the late ’60s was in a street gang, not really a gang, but street racers. And after the cops got them off the street in the early to mid-’70s, which I was born in the early ’70s, my father started going to the racetrack and my mother passed away when I was born, so my father had a three year old, a two year old and a newborn. So we were forced to spend time together and that time was at the racetrack. Kyle: And then your dad, there’s a real interesting story, too, I think, about the family station wagon, too. Talk about how dad got started with the racing and how Biondo Racing Products really got going too. Peter: Yeah, so that that’s interesting you said that because the station wagon. And so basically, we grew up at the racetrack. Like I said, as a toddler, I had no choice. But as we grew up and got into our early teen years, my father gave us a choice and we played sports and did some other stuff, but we always gravitated to the track – we loved it – to the sport of drag racing. And so the way the business started, we would race the family station wagon. We would literally tow – the family station wagon would tow the race car on an open trailer. We would get there. Of course, the station wagon was 200 degrees by the time we got there, we’d unhook the trailer, and my brother or I would go race it when we were of age. First, my brother; my father would unload the race car, and that was our weekends. Now, to beyond the racing products part of it, my father, I didn’t really know what he was doing. He was very, I mean, we spent a lot of time together, but he didn’t tell me that much about business when I was 13 years old. But all of a sudden he writes “Practice trees for sale,” on the side of the station wagon. And I’m racing. And he goes, yeah, if anyone asks you, just tell them we have practice trees for sale $299. And he really was the pioneer of that. And a practice tree, for those who don’t know, are basically the starting line simulation of a drag race and which is very important to master. So we started selling them. His best friend was making them out of his bedroom and we started going to UPS from my one car garage, which I live in that house now, and as a team, my brother, as we were in our teen years we just stayed as a group, stayed together and worked together. And that’s how the business started. Kyle: So your genesis to there’s the family business you started talking about racing with your brother. How did your racing career progress from those days going with the family in the station wagon to really being like a multi-time NHRA (National Hot Rod Association) champion,...
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  • Episode 10: What matters most in the Big Beautiful Bill
    Jul 9 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most Podcast episode 10 Kyle: Welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast with Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters. I’m joined by Danton Troyer. Danton, coming off of a holiday weekend where the fireworks weren’t the hottest thing maybe that was going on throughout the weekend. The One Big Beautiful Bill signed into law on Independence Day itself. For a juxtaposition of numbers, America celebrating 249 years of independence with a bill that’s 1,116 pages long. Danton: It’ll be interesting. We get a lot of questions over what’s going to be in the bill and a lot of news. And so now we know. Sort of. Kyle: It’s sort of. To that point, that’s why we emphasize the 1,116 pages to it. What we really wanted to do here with this edition of the podcast, though, was really look at this bill, you know, obviously the political situation in Washington is very distinct, but really taking a look at this solely through the eyes of two CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERS.® What are some of the opportunities? What are some of the key provisions of this tax bill that will affect a lot of different people? Because there are individual tax provisions. There’s changes to the estate tax as well as certain things for business owners to be aware of and to keep their eyes on as well, too. So we’re not going to cover it all. There’s no possible way. And obviously to check in with CPAs and other tax professionals as well, too, before making any final moves. But we wanted to go through some of the things that as we read through this bill and summaries of this bill, some of the things that just kind of jumped out to us as unique kind of planning opportunities. Danton: Yeah, and also discuss what were some of the things that made it into the bill and what were some of the things that got cut last minute and how that might have affected some of the folks that maybe didn’t get everything they wanted to or at least the devil being in the details. Kyle: A hundred percent. And Danton, one of the things that I thought was the most unique about this bill versus the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 was there,and it has to do with when the bill is passed. I remember Tax Cuts and Jobs Act was passed right at the end of the year. A lot of CPAs and tax professionals were literally pulling their hair out as the final bill gets passed in December and goes into effect January 1st. This bill passed more at the midpoint of the year. So there’s some provisions that affect 2025 and we’ll get into those. And then there’s also some that don’t start until 2026. But I think one of the biggest things for us to talk about here real quick is the impetus for this bill. Or one of the big ones was that the TCJA, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, like we referred to, was scheduled to sunset at the end of 2025, so that’s really what kind of kick started a lot this legislative process. Danton: Yeah, so what do you see as the things that are going to be continuing and what’s getting cut from there? Kyle: There was a lot in this bill that really codified the changes that were temporary and made them permanent. One of the biggest things is keeping the rate and brackets that we currently have in making them permanent and adjusting them for inflation every year. So, it is definitely more solid footing, if you will, on tax strategy as we’re having conversations about things like Roth conversions, charitable giving, knowing where people are going to end up in the tax brackets. We were honestly having quite a few conversations and modeling sessions with folks had the election gone the other way at the end of 2024. Fortunately or unfortunately, we wadded up a lot of those and threw them in the waste paper basket. But now we know at least for a while, because we never know what politically will happen, but we at least know for the foreseeable future what brackets we are dealing with. And a couple of other things that made this permanent, the standard deduction, that was a big leap back in 2017. And it increased a little bit for 2025. It will be indexed for inflation, but we’ve made that increased standard deduction permanent. Personal exemptions, which used to be a big thing in the tax code, are still removed. And another thing that was kind of codified in this was an Expanded Child Tax Credit. Now the House bill originally was $2,500 per kid. The Senate’s decided on $2,200, starting next year is kind of the final lay of the land. But you got to remember, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act basically doubled that. And we saw a much higher one during the pandemic as well, too. And that was also, too, when we got into the situation where they kind of doled out that child tax credit early via direct deposit under the Biden administration. So those are a couple of things there. And we’re going to kind of hop around here a ...
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  • Episode 11 Leave room for the other important things in life
    Jun 27 2025
    Wit, Wisdom, & What Matters Most podcast Episode 11 featuring Scott Stork Kyle: Welcome to another edition of Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most. It’s a podcast with Moneta’s Gast Freeman Troyer Racen Team. My name is Kyle Luetters; I am joined by Danton Troyer. And, Danton, on this episode, someone that we’ve gotten to know here as of late, we’ve been able to work together a bit, is Scott Stork, an estate planning attorney with Polaris Law Group here in the St. Louis area. And I thought a really interesting conversation with a key moment that folks will hear about, about how he decided to truly pursue estate planning. Danton: Yeah, it’s one of the most chilling and maybe motivating “whys” out there, especially for a career and kind of getting that going as well. And then talking about how you balance that with family and just the day-to-day that is life. So, a great, great interview with Scott and just talking about how he’s been able to achieve his success. Kyle: And here’s our conversation with Scott Stork. And welcoming to Wit, Wisdom, and What Matters Most, it is Mr. Scott Stork. Scott, welcome to the podcast today. Scott: Thank you very much. I appreciate being here. Kyle: This has been a long time coming. We met each other here a while back, had a wonderful cup of coffee at Picasso’s, talking shop. And then, kind of throughout our journeys together, we got to learn more about one another’s businesses and our practices. So, you know, for everyone that is taking the time to listen to this, kind of describe your background, like where you came from, how did you get into estate planning, and how did basically, how did we get here? Scott: Okay, yeah, absolutely. So, I’ve been a lawyer for longer than I care to admit. So, since 2002, which I think makes me very officially middle-aged. So, I actually didn’t start out my career doing this. I never had any idea I would be doing this. I spent the first half of my legal career as a prosecuting attorney between Virginia and here in Missouri, and did that for quite a long time and did a lot of trial work and litigation and things like that. And when I went into private practice, I had anticipated I was going to stay doing litigation and trials and all of the things that I really liked to do. But through kind of a confluence of events, I started to do, to dabble, I would say, in estate planning, which a lot of people in private general practice do. And I had a friend that got very sick. He was 35, so he was certainly not old. He got cancer. And kind of a long story short, we ended up signing some of his estate planning documents the day he passed away in the hospital. And that had an enormous effect on my complete outlook on everything. I realized that nothing that I had done up to that point with him made any difference as far as his family’s future or anything like that. And so I made the decision basically right there that I wanted to focus on estate planning and not do litigation anymore. And that was pretty much the change in my practice and I’ve been doing estate planning as the only thing that I that I do ever since. Kyle: Yeah, that’s incredible that you have that story. And for a lot of people that get into business, especially entrepreneurs, there’s like a seminal moment that you really, that like a switch flips. And you may not become an entrepreneur right at that point, but there’s usually something, an event you can tie back to that really kind of flips that switch into getting you on the path that you’re on now. Scott: Yeah, absolutely. And it really was the kind of the moment where, again, my worldview changed. I also realized I didn’t know enough to really do good estate planning for clients. And so it caused me to join some organizations where I basically got a post-secondary, so to speak, education in estate planning. And it’s really changed the way that my partner and I practice and that our law firm practices. So yeah, that was kind of the, that’s my background and that’s my why of what I do. Danton: Yeah. So with that, that’s a pretty big transition. And I know you have a family. How are they affected or how are they able to support you through that? Scott: Yeah, so it’s actually, I didn’t have kids when I started this. Danton: Makes it easier. Scott: Yeah, right. So like, hey, I can make a, make a shift and not a big deal. I think it’s actually made a very positive transition. So when you’re doing litigation and, and lawyers who do litigation and you’re off to different courtrooms and in different municipalities or, you know, St. Charles or St. Louis County or the city or wherever you’re at…it tends to just kind of be hair on fire, even though I don’t have any. Kyle: That’s where it went! Scott: Yeah, that’s right. Yeah, exactly. So when you do that, it’s really difficult to do a lot of the work-life balance. One of the ...
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