Gifts to Children – Making Them More Effective
February 27, 2020
Gifts are made to loved ones for many reasons. Parents may just want to give their children financial help or accomplish other worthwhile objectives. Well-planned gifts can reduce a donor’s estate for estate tax purposes and shift income taxation to or away from the recipient of the gift. Many objectives can be addressed in a […]
Top 5 Mistakes in Estate Plans – Does Yours Have Any?
December 17, 2019
The primary purpose of an estate plan is to provide for the thoughtful transition of asset ownership to intended heirs. After a plan is drafted, mistakes can creep in and upset a carefully-drafted plan. Below, are five of the more common problem areas to consider. 1. Misusing Joint Ownership Joint tenancy is a common form […]
Should My Agency Be an S Corp or a C Corp?
November 12, 2019
Recently I spoke at the Independent Insurance Agents (IIA) of Illinois annual conference on financial planning for agency owners. After the presentation which included a discussion on taxes, an owner approached me about the tax structure of his agency. He is currently structured as a C Corporation and wanted to know if that was the […]
Updating an Estate Plan – Organizing Your Thoughts
October 22, 2019
Preparing an estate plan can be an intimidating process, since final instructions for a family’s assets are memorialized. Upon death, those instructions are fixed – forever. Estate plans should be reviewed frequently as family circumstances change – children mature into adults and in-laws are introduced into a family. When children are very young, parents focus […]
Solve the 4 C’s Before Selling Your Agency
September 10, 2019
Last month I had the opportunity to moderate an M&A panel at NAHUs (National Association of Health Underwriters) Annual Conference in San Diego. The panel was focused on what agency owners should look for when considering buying or selling an agency. Panelist Mike Deagle of Benaxis and Lily Lam of OneDigital did an excellent job […]
Child’s UTMA is Ending – What Protection Exists?
August 13, 2019
Uniform Transfers to Minors Act, or UTMA, accounts are a popular way to hold investments and bank accounts for minors. Such accounts are owned by the minor but controlled by a designated adult custodian. The minor becomes the outright owner of the account assets when he or she reaches the age of majority specified in […]
Picking Up Pennies
July 11, 2019
In investments, there’s not much more boring than cash. Sure, it provides immense comfort when the markets go south, but in the long-term, cash is the piece of your portfolio which is basically set up to fail versus inflation. By that measure alone, it’s exposure should be limited. Even so, cash still plays a critical […]
Theo’s 20% Rule
June 25, 2019
I’m a lifelong Cubs fan as required by my grandfather who took me to my first Cubs game back when you could buy a bleacher ticket for $3 and bring your own cooler full of drinks into Wrigley Field (Grandpa Tom liked his Old Style). Wow, have times changed. My 12-year-old son Kevin and I […]
Annoying Averages
June 13, 2019
Growing up in school, no one wants to be average. From the start, averages are ingrained into us, and behaviorally, we always want to be better than average in everything we do. Take this question: Are you an above average driver? My guess is you’d answer yes. And I’d venture to say that more than […]
Long Term Care: Traditional or Hybrid Policies?
June 4, 2019
Long Term Care Environment Shifting Towards Hybrid Plans When reviewing our client’s insurance coverages, a question we’re often asked is whether to purchase long-term care coverage. To answer that question there are a lot of factors to consider from your family health history to your experience dealing with a loved one going through that difficult […]
Your Beneficiary Designations – Are They Correct?
May 28, 2019
Beneficiary designations are an extremely important component of an estate plan. They are found on many types of assets such as IRAs, 401Ks, life insurance and annuities and designate who receives the asset after the account owner passes away. The primary advantage of a beneficiary designation is that asset ownership transfers without the complexities and […]
The Pluses and Perils of Private Equity
May 9, 2019
As investors, there are a plethora of investment options out there and it’s important to keep track of them. Not to chase investments or a story, but to watch how things change, what data becomes available, and when something that might not have been an investment for you looking backward should become an investment looking […]