Authors of Success Biographies

Kelly Kidwell

Kelly Kidwell has been working in the Financial Services Industry since 1987. Kelly is President and CEO of Pacific Advisors, Inc., a Financial Services Firm with more than 25 affiliated associates, professionals, representatives and specialist offering assistance in Corporate Planning, Employee Benefits, Charitable Planning, Estate and Retirement Planning, Investments and Long Term Care, located in Claremont, CA.

Kelly is also founder of Philanthropy International, a 501(c)3, public charity created to educate, assist and develop planned giving programs for charities and community foundations that do not have established programs of this nature. Co-founder of Family Legacy Fund, a 501(c)3 established as a Community Foundation that focuses on child wellness and pediatric research. Member of the March of Dimes, Children's Hospital Medical Center Foundation and Boy Scouts of America.

Certified Financial PlannerTM licensed with the CFP Board of Standards: Chartered Life Underwriter (CLU), Life Underwriters Training Council Fellowship (LUTCF), Certified Specialist in Planned Giving (CSPG) through the American Institute of Philanthropic Studies as offered by California State University, Long Beach. (ChFC) Chartered Financial Consultant. CA DOI License #OA3892

Securities registered in 1987 in (CA, CO, FL, NV, MI), Series 7 (General Securities Representative), Series 65 (NASAA Investment Advisor), Series 53 (Municipal Securities Principal) and Series 24 (General Securities Principal).

Bachelor of Arts, in Education, Bethany College, Scotts Valley, CA; Master of Science, Educational Psychology, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA.

Kelly is a frequent lecturer for continuing education courses in Estate Planning, Charitable Planning and Corporate Planning for Financial Planners, CPA's and Attorneys. Instructor for LUTC since 1996 for Advanced Business Planning and Advanced Estate Planning courses. Instructor of Investment Planning and Estate Planning courses for the CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER© curriculum through the American College. Member of the Financial Planning Association, NAIFA National Association of Insurance & Financial Advisors, Planned Giving Round Table of Los Angeles and Orange County, and The Society of Financial Service Professional. Member of the Estate Planning Council of Pomona Valley, Inc.

Kelly and his wife Cristy, a Physical Therapist, live in Claremont, California with their four children. They enjoy sailing and tandem bicycle riding locally and internationally. Kelly is also a private pilot who enjoys taking his family on a variety of weekend adventures.

Henry Whiffen

Henry Whiffen, Chairman and Founder, is a Wealth Preservation Strategist with over forty years of experience. A nationally recognized leader in his field, his specialty is assisting clients and their advisors in planning larger estates.

He utilizes numerous techniques and financial modeling software to legally reduce or eliminate various taxes, especially the estate tax. In addition to benefiting the family, many of these saved taxes are redirected to charity. As a result of his planning, Mr. Whiffen’s clients have donated or have made plans to donate over $2 Billion to the charities of their choice. His planning also focuses on transitioning businesses, perpetuating family values, and assisting heirs in becoming closer together and more responsible.

He has created and is marketing, proprietary software that enables the planner to systematically eliminate a client’s estate taxes, asset by asset, by modeling various tax saving techniques and then comparing the effectiveness of each technique. This result is then combined into a comprehensive plan, along with before and after comparisons of cash flows, balance sheets, and respective amounts to the IRS, family and charity.

Education/Credentials

Mr. Whiffen has a degree in Business and Accounting, a Masters in Financial Services (MSFS), and has completed other post-graduate studies in Tax, Estate Planning, Business Finance, and Economics. His professional credentials also include Certified Financial Planner (CFP), Chartered Financial Consultant (ChFC), Accredited Estate Planner (AEP), and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designations.

Partial List of Affiliations and Activities - Past and Current

• Estate Planning Councils - East Bay, CA (Past President), Diablo Valley, CA (Director and President-elect), Tri-Valley, CA and Salt Lake City, UT (Director) Chapters. He has been a keynote speaker numerous times at Estate Planning Council meetings throughout the U.S.; twice at Salt Lake’s Annual Estate Planning Retreat.
• Approved Instructor: California and Utah CPA Societies, California Bar Association and Golden Gate University Graduate School, teaching Advanced Estate Planning Techniques.
• International Association for Financial Planning - National Ethics Committee, President and Chairman of Board, local Chapter. Mr. Whiffen has spoken at numerous IAFP Regional Conferences throughout the U. S. and at their National Convention.
• Society of Financial Service Professionals - Keynote speaker at the annual National Conference. Moderator and panelist on two (2) national teleconferences regarding Advanced Estate Planning Strategies, for audiences of professionals throughout the U.S. Past President, Board of Directors, East Bay (CA) Chapter, National Ethics Committee.
• National Philanthropic Affiliates - A "think tank" of tax planning professionals throughout the U. S., with a focus on generating ways to convert income taxes and estate taxes into large charitable contributions with little or no after-tax cost to the donor or family.
• Advisor to various charitable organizations assisting in the areas of planned giving. A few of these include: Boy Scouts of America, Catholic Charities, Huntsman Cancer Foundation, Junior Achievement, Kiwanis Foundation, LDS Philanthropies, Rotary International Foundation, Special Olympics, eight hospitals and three community foundations.

Mr. Whiffen has both authored and been highlighted in articles that have appeared in local and national publications. He has been interviewed numerous times on TV and radio, and he has been a featured speaker over 800 times at meetings and conventions throughout the U.S. He is currently co-authoring with two tax attorneys a book titled "Estate Planning From A (About One Million) To Z (Zillionaire)".

Dick Oshins

Richard A. Oshins is a member of the Las Vegas law firm of Oshins & Associates, LLC where he concentrates in tax and estate planning with a substantial emphasis on multi-generational wealth planning particularly with regard to closely held businesses.  He is regarded as one of America’s top estate planning lawyers advising wealthy clients throughout the United States. Mr. Oshins is also an advisor and consultant to many of the largest financial institutions in the United States. He has been listed in both The Best Lawyers in America and Martindale-Hubbell's list of Preeminent Lawyers from their inception, and has been honored as a recipient of the “Distinguished Accredited Estate Planner” award by the National Association of Estate Planners & Councils.  He received a J.D. degree from St. John’s School of Law, and holds an M.B.A. degree in taxation with honors from the University of California at Berkeley, and a LL.M degree in taxation with honors from George Washington University School of Law.

Prior to coming to Nevada, Mr. Oshins served as a law clerk for the United States Court of Claims in Washington, D.C. and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Office of Tax Legislative Counsel, U.S. Treasury Department, in Washington, D.C.  That office reviews and assists in the development of tax regulations, rulings and other tax matters, and takes part in the presentation of the Treasury Department’s recommendations for federal tax legislation before Congressional tax committees.  He is on the Advisory Board of the NYU Institute on Federal Taxation, the Editorial Board of Estate Planning Magazine, Advisory Board of CCH and the Attorney Advisory Board for Merrill Lynch Trust Company.

Mr. Oshins has lectured extensively on innovative tax and estate planning strategies and is the author or co-author of many articles including the Journal of Taxation, Trusts and Estates, The Tax Executive, Estate Planning, C.L.U. Journal, Real Property Probate & Trust Journal, NYU Institute on Federal Taxation, Southern California Institute on Federal Taxation, CCH Financial and Estate Planning, Community Property Journal and Tax Notes. He is an author of the “Practitioner’s Strategies” column of the CCH Estate Planning Expert Library which provides practice-focused commentary on hot topics, emerging issues and trends pertinent to practitioners in the field of estate planning and related fields.