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When people decide to relocate, how do they choose a destination? Key factors will include job opportunities, family situations, and lifestyle changes, such as retirement. According to a recent study from the Tax Foundation, income tax rates are also a factor, especially for upper income folks who have more resources to draw upon in making …
Sometimes a sound estate plan may need to be modified after it is put into effect. One such situation was recently outline in Private Letter Ruling 202504006 from the IRS. A decedent’s estate plan called for the creation of two trusts, a marital trust for the surviving spouse and a decedent’s trust. Although the ruling doesn’t mention …
Most clients we work with need to supplement their Social Security and/or pension income by taking distributions from their portfolio to cover ongoing expenses. Insert the “Bucket Strategy” to solve this need. The strategy separates investment assets into “buckets” according to the time horizon of when those dollars will be needed. A diagram of how …
Jeffrey and Margaret were in their 20s when they met in a park and began dating. They moved to Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, living together while Margaret waitressed and Jeffrey got a job at Proctor and Gamble. In 1987, Jeffrey signed up for P&G’s profit sharing and savings program. He listed Margaret as his beneficiary, stating …
Once upon a time, distributions from an inherited IRA could be spread over the beneficiary’s lifetime. For young beneficiaries, the RMDs might be small enough that the inherited IRA would continue to grow handsomely. This changed with passage of the SECURE Act. In general, subject to important exceptions, the assets of an inherited IRA must …
The Brady Bunch Breaks Down: Estate Fights Tear Stepfamilies Apart—Wall Street Journal headline, June 1, 2024 According to that Journal article, the U.S. Census Bureau has determined that one in five opposite-sex couples who lived together in 2021 had a least one partner who had a child with a prior partner. That’s a lot of …
When the tax system was reformed in 2017 in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, there was much concern about the effect the changes would have on charitable giving. First, the rough doubling of the standard deduction meant that far fewer taxpayers would be itemizing, and without itemizing there is no tax benefit at all …
The CFP® Board defines estate planning as the legal planning that helps you control who will inherit your money and property, and who can make medical and financial decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so yourself. Your estate consists of everything you own. Estate planning is simply getting the right stuff to …
A recent survey from the Nationwide Retirement Institute suggests growing anxiety about retirement among those in the last decades of their careers. Some 69% of those aged 55-65 agreed that retiring at age 65 “doesn’t apply to them.” 22% reported that in the last 12 months they’ve decided to retire later than planned. More than …
The Federal Trade Commission has issued an alert for a new scam for stealing from vulnerable families, one which the agency believes should be in the Top Ten List of the Scammers Hall of Shame. The scammer impersonates a representative of the funeral home, and says that additional funds must be paid immediately or the …