Spring Cleaning Your File Cabinets
April 3, 2018
With warmer weather, more sunshine, and opening day baseball (Go White Sox!) on the horizon, I was feeling ambitious last weekend and decided to get a jump start on my Spring cleaning. As I sifted through file cabinets I was shocked as to how many statements, bills, and receipts can pile up over 12 months, […]
3 Reasons to Change Your Estate Plan After the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017
March 13, 2018
The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 created many planning opportunities. The Act raised the per person estate tax exemption to $11,200,000. Therefore, the estate tax will apply to very few people – that is until at least December 31, 2025, which is when the new law “sunsets.” Estate planning has changed to focus […]
This is Your Brain on Love
January 30, 2018
I am about to celebrate the first year of marriage to my beautiful wife. In just a short year, we got married, traveled throughout southeast Asia on our honeymoon, purchased a home, and had a lot of fun along the way. Naturally, we also started to combine our finances and think of ourselves as a […]
4 Critical Estate Planning Considerations – Keeping Your Plan Current
January 16, 2018
Estate planning documents receive very little attention after they are drafted. Why? People find the process emotional and burdensome and that is motivation enough to put off updates until next year – or several years from now! Family and law changes often make estate plans fall far short of intended goals. Here are four critical […]
10 Easy Steps – Starting a Business Owner’s Financial Plan
November 14, 2017
Business owners can be like running backs in football – put your head down and go! However, there are many obstacles – or defenses – in the way of sustained financial success. To transition business wealth to personal retirement assets, consider the preliminary steps presented below. Net Worth and Cash Flow Statements – Constructing a […]
Protecting Assets Given to Children – What If They Get Divorced?
September 12, 2017
It is common for parents to make gifts of assets to their children. Mom and Dad often make cash gifts while they are living or leave their assets to their children when both spouses have passed. Sometimes, substantial gifts or distributions are made to children such as stock in family-owned businesses. Can those assets be […]