Month: November 2021

Ep 57 – Prince: Planning for Intellectual Property With Matthew Erskine

Ep 57 – Prince: Planning for Intellectual Property With Matthew Erskine

From his home and liquid possessions to his image and royalty rights, settling Prince’s estate would have been a complex process, even with a will. But Prince did not have a will, and this led to one of the largest and most complex estate battles in Minnesota and even American history. 

However, the most mysterious part of Prince’s estate is the bank vault with a code that even Prince himself forgot.

In this episode, David Lenok is joined by Matthew Erskine of Erskine and Erskine revisiting the topic of Prince. Focusing on the sealed vault filled with unpublished songs and recordings, David and Matthew discuss the relevance of protecting your intellectual property (IP) regardless of your celebrity status. They reveal the potential ramifications of posting content online and why the importance of understanding your collection for future heirs.

Matthew and David discuss:

  • How the internet has immortalized intellectual property
  • The ramifications of self-selling when it comes to IP ownership
  • The impact of fan-made creations on the original creators
  • Why you should categorize your collection for you heirs
  • And more

Connect With Matthew Erskine:

Connect With David Lenok:

About Our Guest:

Matthew Erskine is the managing partner of this fourth generation law firm. He focuses his estate planning and trust services practice on serving business owners, professionals, individuals, families, collectors, and inheritors of significant assets. Helping his clients and their families achieve their goals by providing customized solutions. Matt carries on his family’s tradition of integrity, continuity, and service.

Matt has a particular expertise in the stewardship of special assets that few other estate planning and trust attorneys can match. Working with collectors of art, jewelry, heirlooms, and other valuable assets, as well as owners of real estate and family businesses, Matt brings his and his family’s generations of experience and intimate knowledge of unique areas of the law to help clients achieve their desired investment and personal goals.

The Erskine family has been counsel to client families since 1876, overseeing litigation, estate and income taxation planning, residential and commercial real estate conveyances, close corporations, nonprofit corporations, personal trusts, dynasty trusts, private foundations, and family offices. Matt is also active in numerous community organizations in the Worcester, Massachusetts area, including the American Antiquarian Society, the Council on Foreign Relations Worcester Committee, Inc., the Worcester Economics Club, and the John J. Kittredge Numismatic Foundation.

Matt is an active member of Wealthcounsel, Wealthcounsel Advisors, Vistage, the American Bar Association and several other professional organizations.

After graduating from Lawrence Academy, Matt received his B.A. in Medieval History from Carleton College and his J.D. from Suffolk University Law School.

Ep 56 – Elon Musk’s Charitable Limits With John Pantekidis

Ep 56 – Elon Musk’s Charitable Limits With John Pantekidis

Between his six children and his illiquid assets in Tesla and SpaceX, Elon Musk’s claim to give half of his fortune to charity falls short. Yet only a few small steps would be required to increase his charitable giving and arrange support for his family.  

In this episode, David Lenok is joined by John Pantekidis of Twin Focus Capital. John shares his insight into the financial situation of Elon Musk, who was recently named the richest man in the world. 

John discusses Elon’s struggle to uphold his claims of philanthropic giving between his illiquid assets and support for a large family. John also discusses how others can avoid the pitfalls of keeping your wealth in illiquid assets and familial drama through premarital agreements and including the children in charity foundations. 

John discusses:

  • Why a premarital agreement should have been included when Elon Musk first married 
  • How his assets restrict his donation amount
  • What he should be doing to increase his charitable giving and passing money on to the next generation
  • The role of philanthropy in charitable giving

Connect With John Pantekidis:

Connect With David Lenok:

About Our Guest:

John is a partner at TwinFocus Capital and serves as the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) and General Counsel. In this role, John maintains a close working relationship with TwinFocus clients to help them design and expedite their investment strategies. He also leads the firm’s research efforts to develop new and creative asset allocation policies, oversee due diligence for manager search and selection, as well as write thought leadership commentary on global macroeconomic topics. Additionally, he has a keen interest in alternative investment fund formation and structuring, as well as analyzing complex tax aspects of alternative investments, pioneering studies on how to make hedge fund investing more tax efficient from an income and wealth transfer tax perspective. He is especially active on behalf of offshore clients, developing strategies to overcome cross-border impediments, tax, legal, and regulatory challenges, as well as cultural sensitivities to maximize inter-generational wealth transfer and succession planning.