Lisa Rispoli is the partner-in-charge of Trust & Estate Services at Grassi, an advisory and accounting firm based on Long Island. For 30 years she has worked with clients and their professional advisors to develop estate plans to transfer family, business, and personal wealth to the next generation and charitable organizations. She is president of the New York City Estate Planning Council and was named to Crain’s New York’s list of Notable Women in Accounting and Consulting. She is a proud Long Islander who can’t live without the beach, and she shares homes with her family in Rockville Centre and Southampton.
“Over the years, I helped build Grassi’s Trust & Estate department from a few employees to more than 25 advisors who handle estates of all kinds. In addition to basic estate planning, we’re also helping people sell businesses, manage an inheritance, or deal with complicated assets. Our services allow some clients to avoid probate, and in other cases, we’re providing the administration needed to resolve contested estates in court.
My favorite part of the job is seeing how our services help make people’s lives better. For example, I’ve helped owners and operators of construction firms plan before and after the sale of their businesses. It’s a huge transition to go from working 14-hour days, getting up at the crack of dawn, and working weekends to retiring with considerable time and a large sum of money on their hands. We don’t advise our clients on tax implications only; we are guiding folks through family, charitable, planning, and even health considerations. These are not easy topics—that’s why this holistic process is centered on helping people make decisions that avoid unnecessary conflict, regrets, or hurt.
I have a special place in my heart for helping widows and other women who don’t have experience with financial strategies. I am someone they can trust and who doesn’t talk down to them. I’m able to help them understand the assets they have and talk through their choices. I had one client who was worth $160,000,000 but had no idea until her husband passed away. It takes a lot of trust to let someone handle that much money for you.
For many of my clients, charitable giving is both smart tax planning and something they’re eager to do—but they may be new to it. They’ve spent years growing their fortunes, and now it’s time to give some of it away, but how?
I refer many clients to the Long Island Community Foundation, a division of The New York Community Trust, for their charitable giving decisions. I like the foundation because of their high-touch relationship with clients and their local, personalized approach. They work in the same holistic, hands-on way with my clients to carry out their charitable goals, whatever they may be. I often recommend creating a donor-advised fund (or DAF). The client gets the maximum deduction and can decide where to give later. A DAF is much easier to manage than a private foundation. The client can still have their name on the DAF, which is important to a lot of people, and it eliminates the need for all the paperwork a foundation demands.”
This material was developed for the use of professionals by The New York Community Trust. It is published with the understanding that neither the publisher nor the author is engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional advice. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, you should speak to your own tax or other legal or accounting advisor.