Taxes often get the spotlight in financial decisions, but they’re rarely the only factor that matters.

How do you balance tax efficiency with family goals, business transitions, lifestyle preferences, and long-term planning without letting one consideration dominate every decision?

In this episode, James Knapp sits down with Greg Carlson, Tax Partner with Boyum Barenscheer, for a conversation about business succession, entity structure, tax planning, and family decision-making. Greg shares how he found his way into accounting, why creativity plays a role in tax strategy, and how thoughtful planning can improve outcomes for both buyers and sellers.

They also explore estate planning considerations, charitable giving opportunities, business transitions, and why personal priorities often matter more than reducing taxes.

Key takeaways:

• How business entity selection can influence taxes during operations and eventual ownership transitions
• Why buyer and seller goals should guide transaction planning before tax strategies are considered
• A real example where minor structural changes created substantial federal income tax savings
• How charitable giving strategies may create favorable outcomes when coordinated with tax planning
• Why family, community, healthcare, and lifestyle often outweigh tax considerations in retirement
• And more!

Connect with us!

• Boyum Wealth Architects
• LinkedIn: James Knapp, CFP®
• LinkedIn: Boyum Wealth Architects
• info@boyumwa.com
• Subscribe to the podcast here!

Connect with Greg Carlson:

• Boyum Barenscheer
• LinkedIn: Greg Carlson

About Our Guest:

As a CPA focused on estate and trust planning for high-net-worth individuals and families, Greg Carlson helps clients preserve wealth, reduce complexity, and plan for the efficient transition of assets across generations. His work extends beyond compliance, providing strategic guidance on the financial, tax, and structural decisions that contribute to a lasting legacy.

At Boyum Barenscheer, Greg collaborates closely with estate attorneys, investment advisors, and family offices to develop coordinated, tax-efficient strategies tailored to each client’s goals and values. His experience includes sophisticated trust planning, business succession strategies, charitable giving planning, and estate tax mitigation.

Clients value Greg’s ability to bring clarity, precision, and discretion to complex planning matters. He recognizes that estate and trust planning is about more than financial outcomes. It is about families, values, and responsible stewardship across generations. His goal is to help clients move forward with confidence, knowing their plans are both financially sound and aligned with the legacy they hope to leave behind.

Insurance is changing fast, and business owners can’t afford to treat it like just another expense line item anymore.

In this episode, James Knapp sits down with Jake Jeatran of Marsh McLennan Agency to talk about AI, cyber risk, underwriting, and why strong advisory relationships still matter in a tech-driven world.

James and Jake explore how insurance has evolved into a strategic business decision, especially for manufacturers, distributors, and growing companies. Jake shares insights from both the underwriting and brokerage sides of the industry, along with practical perspectives on cyber insurance, captive insurance structures, M&A planning, and the future impact of AI on risk management.

What to expect:

• How AI is changing underwriting and cyber insurance
• Why insurance matters during mergers and acquisitions
• What business owners should know about captive insurance
• Why relationship-driven advisory work still matters
• And more!

Connect with us!

• Boyum Wealth Architects
• LinkedIn: James Knapp, CFP®
• LinkedIn: Boyum Wealth Architects
• info@boyumwa.com
• Subscribe to the podcast here!

Connect with Jake Jeatran:

• Marsh McLennan Agency
• LinkedIn: Jake Jeatran
• LinkedIn: Marsh McLennan Agency

About Our Guest:

Jake Jeatran is a third-generation insurance professional at Marsh McLennan Agency, specializing in middle-market manufacturing and distribution companies. With experience in both underwriting and brokerage, Jake helps businesses navigate complex risk management decisions, including cyber insurance, captive strategies, total cost of risk analysis, and mergers and acquisitions planning.

Disclaimer:

At 10:25, single parent captives are 831(b) not 531(b).

What happens when no one explains the rules, and everyone assumes someone else is handling it?

In this episode of Zombie Advisor, James Knapp sits down with Shawn Van Winkle, a retirement plan advisor whose path into financial services began with a personal mission to help others avoid the financial struggles he faced growing up.

Shawn shares how his early experience in large institutions shaped his perspective, what he learned about both good and bad client service, and why education is often the missing piece in retirement planning.

They talk about what a retirement plan advisor actually does, how small incremental changes can change outcomes over time, and how a lack of communication can quietly cost employees and employers more than they think.

What to expect:

• Why most employees feel stuck or unsure when it comes to retirement plans
• How small, consistent increases, even 1%, can change long-term outcomes
• The hidden risks employers take on when retirement plans aren’t clearly structured
• The difference between transactional service and true partnership in financial planning
• And more!

Connect with us!

• Boyum Wealth Architects
• LinkedIn: James Knapp, CFP®
• LinkedIn: Boyum Wealth Architects
• info@boyumwa.com
• Subscribe to the podcast here!

Connect with Shawn Van Winkle:

• Boyum Wealth Architects
• LinkedIn: Shawn Van Winkle
• info@boyumwa.com

About Our Guest:

Shawn Van Winkle is a retirement plan advisor at Boyum Wealth Architects. He began his career in law enforcement before transitioning into financial services, joining Principal Financial Group in 2017. There, he focused on retirement education and later expanded into executive compensation strategies, working with stock options and equity-based planning. Today, Shawn focuses on helping business owners and their employees better understand and engage with their retirement plans through education, efficiency, and partnership-driven service.