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• Distinguished Speaker Series: Advanced Planning and Valuation Strategies for Life Insurance Assets

  • When
    Tuesday, September 15, 2026
  •  
    11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34237

  In partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, please join us for a Distinguished Speaker Series program.

  Date: Tuesday, September 15, 2026

  Speaker: Jamie Mendelsohn, Ashar Group

  Topic: Advanced Planning and Valuation Strategies for Life Insurance Assets

  Synopsis: Life insurance appears in virtually every planning context, yet is rarely valued as a dynamic asset with measurable fair market value. An aging population, outdated valuation methodologies, and increasingly complex policy structures drive the importance of integrating fair market value analysis into routine planning conversations to protect client best interests and mitigate liability and reputational risk.

  Through interdisciplinary case studies, this session explores how valuation influences estate, tax, and charitable planning, trust administration, and business succession strategies, while supporting informed decisions on whether to keep, surrender, restructure, or sell existing policies.

  Registration and Lunch: 11:30 a.m.

  Program: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

  Location: Community Foundation of Sarasota County
  2635 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34237

  SWFEPC Members: Click Here to Register
  
  Please Note: In-person seating is limited, but online participation via Zoom is also available. Once the in-person capacity is reached, Zoom will be the only registration option.

  Registration Deadline: September 11, 2026

  Continuing Education Credit: For this Distinguished Speaker Series program, we are offering 1.0 credit (Attorney, CFP, CPA, and Trust Officer).
  
  ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:
  Jamie L. Mendelsohn is the Executive Vice President of Ashar Group a family-owned business with a national footprint. Since 2003, they have focused solely on the life settlement and life insurance policy valuation market. Ashar Group partners with financial professionals, fiduciaries, broker-dealers, and institutions serving as an independent advanced planning resource in the secondary market for life insurance.

  Throughout her tenure at Ashar Group, Jamie has earned the reputation of a determined client advocate. She is the go-to resource for advanced planners and fiduciaries who integrate life insurance policy valuation into their planning process. If the decision is made to sell the policy as a life settlement, she negotiates with licensed buyers on behalf of their clients. Jamie speaks nationally at financial services conferences and estate planning councils providing continuing education for both financial and insurance professionals.

  THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM SPONSOR: 
  

  
          
  

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• Distinguished Speaker Series - Heart and Soul: Techniques to Merge Family Dynamics and Estate Planning

  • When
    Tuesday, November 17, 2026
  •  
    11:30 AM - 1:00 PM
  • Location
    Community Foundation of Sarasota County, 2635 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34237

  In partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, please join us for a Distinguished Speaker Series program.

  Date: Tuesday, November 17, 2026
  

  Speaker: Marve Ann Alaimo

  Topic: Heart and Soul: Techniques to Merge Family Dynamics and Estate Planning

  Time: 11:30 a.m. – Registration and lunch

  Program: 12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.

  Location: Community Foundation of Sarasota County
  2635 Fruitville Rd, Sarasota, FL 34237
  
  More details and registration information will be shared as we near this presentation. 

  THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM SPONSOR: 
  

  
          
  

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• Joint Councils Meeting 2027

  • When
    Tuesday, January 19, 2027
  •  
    5:15 PM - 7:30 PM
  • Location
    Michael's On East, 1212 East Ave South, Sarasota, FL 34238

  In partnership with the Community Foundation of Sarasota County, please join us for a Distinguished Speaker Series program.
  

  Date: Tuesday, January 19, 2027 – Joint Council Meeting

  Speaker: Sam Donaldson

  Topic: 2027 Federal Tax Update

  Time: 5:15 p.m. – Registration and cocktails, 6:00 p.m. dinner and opening remarks

  Program: 6:15 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.

  Location: Michael’s On East
  
  More details and registration information will be shared as we near this presentation. 
  
  

  THANK YOU TO OUR PROGRAM SPONSOR: 
  
          
  
  
  ABOUT OUR SPEAKER:
  
  Michele A. W. McKinnon
  Partner, McGuireWoods LLP

  Michele McKinnon is a Partner in the Richmond, Virginia, office of McGuireWoods LLP and is a member of its Private Wealth Services Group and head of its Nonprofit and Tax-Exempt Organizations group. With 40 years of experience, she represents many public charities, major colleges and universities, supporting organizations, private foundations, and charitable trusts in all aspects of compliance with the federal tax laws, as well as with governance, endowment, and investment matters. Her work also includes planned giving, estate planning, and estate and trust administration.

  She is a Fellow in the American College of Trusts and Estates Counsel and a member of its Board of Regents. She previously served as ACTEC’s Virginia State Chair and is a past Chair of its Charitable Planning and Exempt Organizations Committee. She lectures and writes regularly including presentations for Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, ACTEC, ALI-ABA, Southern Federal Tax Institute, and Virginia CLE.

  Ms. McKinnon received her B.A. degree from the University of Virginia (1982), her J.D. degree, magna cum laude, from the University of Richmond (1985), and her LL.M. in taxation from the College of William and Mary (1992).

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