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6 Business Goals for a Prosperous New Year
The new year is fast approaching, and it is the perfect time to set up resolutions for your business. Whether you want to increase your sales, gather a more extensive customer base, or just accomplish needed business improvements,...
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Business Succession Planning
When developing a succession plan for your business, you must make many decisions. Should you sell your business or give it away? Should you structure your plan to go into effect during your lifetime or at your death? Should you...
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A Year-End Wealth Planning Guide
As we approach the end of the year, you may want to review areas that may impact your wealth and estate planning next year. In this year-end planning guide, we examine four critical areas to consider that may affect your finances:...
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Year-End Planning for Retirees
As we approach the last quarter of each year, it is a good time to plan for the next one. Year-end planning is especially important for existing retirees and those hoping to retire in the next few years. There are tax and income...
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7 Estate Planning Topics to Discuss with the Family over Thanksgiving Dinner
One of the more difficult conversations for family members to have is talking about estate planning. There are several reasons for this, including the reality of our own mortality and that of our loved ones. In some families, it is an...
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When Your Child Has Special Needs
As the parent of a child with special needs, you face many of the same challenges that any parent faces. But you'll have to cope with some unique financial, medical, educational, and legal issues as well. Where do you start? Getting...
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Estate Planning for Children and Adults with Special Needs
As you go through life, planning for life's unpredictability is essential. If your family has children or adults with special needs, estate planning for their future care becomes vital. Estate planning for them is unique as it needs...
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Family Wealth Transfer Planning: Keeping it in the Family through Generational Giving
What is family wealth, and how do you preserve it? You have worked hard for years and accumulated wealth. You earned this money through your job, investing, and saving, and you want to preserve it for yourself and to take care...
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Navigating the 4 Phases of Retirement
Retirement seems like a long way off, but it arrives faster than you think. The big question is, are you ready? What exactly does retirement entail? Analysts suggest there are four designated phases of retirement that a person often...
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Estate Planning and Asset Protection: Are They The Same?
You may sometimes hear the terms "estate planning" and "asset protection" used interchangeably. They actually have different meanings, and it's important to incorporate both strategies into future financial plans. Below, we discuss key...
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Retirement Security Starts With Visualizing Your Future
Planning for your financial future and retirement looks much different now than in previous years. Some people must supplement their Social Security to have enough to maintain their desired lifestyle. This means financial planning is...
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Special Needs Trusts
What is a special needs trust? If you have a child or other loved one with special needs you may want to establish a special needs trust. A special needs trust (or supplemental needs trust) is an estate planning tool that can...
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Planning for Succession of a Business Interest
Business succession planning — what is it? One of the important decisions a business owner must face is when and how to step out of the business — in other words, business succession planning. Do you expect to retire from...
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6 Important Components of Estate Planning
Basic estate planning is something that everyone should do, regardless of your age, marital status, the value of your assets, and if you’re a parent or not. According to a 2021 poll by Gallup, less than half of U.S. adults...
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A Financial Planning Guide for Families with Disabilities
About 61 million adults in the U.S. live with a disability. Many of these disabilities are serious enough to impact a person’s daily life.1 There may be financial benefits available to those whose disabilities leave them unable...
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Retirement Planning Does Not Stop in Retirement
Five easy pointers to help you plan during all of your retirement years If you’re retired, there’s good news in that you’ll probably live longer and perhaps better than your parents and grandparents did. The bad news:...
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A 529 Plan is a Powerful Tool to Save for College
Tax benefits, flexible contribution options and potential investment growth For many families, there’s a sense of excitement and anticipation that fills the air as high school seniors prepare to embark on their next journey:...
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Financial Planning Challenges and Strategies for the Sandwich Generation
Almost half of all adults are part of the "sandwich generation." These are adults in their 40s and 50s who are helping support or care for a parent while also supporting or caring for a child.1 Being caught between two generations of...
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Retirement Planning: Investing in Your Health
Do you have $300,000 ready for health care costs? When people plan for retirement, most think about the stock market, potential returns, and occasionally what their future retirement expenses might look like. And while it’s...
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401(k) Rollovers Can Make or Break Retirement
Making informed decisions about retirement is crucial to financial independence In an era characterized by high job turnover, it is more important than ever for employees to carefully manage their retirement savings. With a significant...
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Securing Your Future with Life Cycle Planning
The need for regular saving and investing spans many life stages. Through the years, your goals will change and your strategies will shift.
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Five Questions about Long-Term Care
1. What is long-term care?Long-term care refers to the ongoing services and support needed by people who have chronic health conditions or disabilities. There are three levels of long-term care:Skilled care: Generally...
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5 Homeowner Estate Planning Tips to Consider
Estate planning helps disperse your assets according to your wishes. The effort may seem daunting at first, but estate planning does not have to be overly complicated. With the proper planning, you may find yourself resting a little...
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Charitable Gifting
What constitutes a gift to charity?A gift to charity is simply a gratuitous transfer of property to a charitable organization. The key is that your gift must be some kind of property--your time or personal services do not count. There...
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The Resurgence of the Classic 60/40 Strategy?
After a disastrous 2022, the 60/40 strategy might be poised for a comeback After a tumultuous 2022, investors are once again turning to the classic 60/40 investment strategy, with many finding renewed success in this historically...
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529 Plans: The Ins and Outs of Contributions and Withdrawals
529 plans can be powerful college savings tools, but you need to understand how your plan works before you can take full advantage of it. Among other things, this means becoming familiar with the finer points of contributions and...
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Getting Started: Establishing a Financial Safety Net
In times of crisis, you don't want to be shaking pennies out of a piggy bank. Having a financial safety net in place can ensure that you're protected when a financial emergency arises. One way to accomplish this is by setting up a cash...
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3 Tips for Preserving Wealth in Your Golden Years
After spending so much of your life saving for retirement, it may be challenging to transition from depositing funds to withdrawing them. You may wonder whether there is any way to maintain your lifestyle and preserve your wealth to...
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Strategies Using Life Insurance
What is it?Life insurance is not only about protecting your survivors in the event of your death. Depending upon the type of policy you purchase, it can also enable you to meet specific life goals: retiring comfortably, paying for your...
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From Riches To Rags In Three Generations: Managing Generational Wealth Checklist
When discussing multigenerational wealth it is common to come across proverbs that acknowledge the fact that generational wealth typically won’t make it past the third generation. In the United States the saying goes, “from...
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Optimizing Your Social Security Retirement Benefits
What does it mean?Getting the most out of your contributionsOptimizing your Social Security retirement benefits means getting the best return possible on each dollar you've contributed to the system. Every pay period, you pay 6.2...
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Financial Care for Children With Special Needs
Overview: Parents of children with special needs may have never-ending concerns about their child’s care. For instance, where will the child live should something happen to the parents? Who will care for the child, and from where...
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The Debt Ceiling and Deficit Spending
On January 19, 2023, the outstanding debt of the U.S. government reached its statutory limit, commonly called the debt ceiling. The current limit was set by Congress at about $31.4 trillion in December 2021.1On the day the limit was...
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