By: David R. Foster, JD, AEP, CLU, ChFC, CAP FLMI “The only constant in life is change."Heraclitus Developing a strategy to accomplish your wealth transfer goals is a unique experience. Other forms of financial planning generally involve a known time frame to reach your goals. When you plan for your retirement, you probably have a
Read MorePlanning Your Charitable Gifts During A Crisis Event
By: David R. Foster, JD, AEP, CLU, ChFC, CAP FLMI During moments of crisis, be that a global pandemic, a natural disaster, or economic downturn, many individuals and families step up to provide support for those who are negatively impacted. They use their time, effort, talents and financial resources to help out those in their
Read MoreLow Interest Rates Present Numerous Wealth Planning Opportunities
by David R. Foster, JD, AEP, CLU, ChFC, CAP, FLMI One of the few silver linings in the recent economic cloud is that interest rates are at historically low levels. In addition to mortgage refinancing opportunities and low payment obligations on variable loans, low interest rates present an opportunity to take advantage of certain wealth
Read MoreFamilies and Young Investors Should Consider These Financial Planning Opportunities
The Coronavirus has presented many unique challenges to every world citizen. In response to the spread of COVID-19, a number of relief options have been made available to American taxpayers in an attempt to financially navigate our challenges. We want to help you identify the opportunities within these options and focus on the valuable financial
Read More2020 CARES Act and You
Financial Considerations for Individuals and Business Owners On March 27, 2020, President Trump signed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to provide nearly $2 trillion of support to families and businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the largest economic relief package in US history, with provisions that will affect nearly every
Read MoreWhat Your Trust Can Truly Do
Nine Tips for Maximizing the Impact of your Trust Trusts are commonly used as an effective means of managing, protecting and transferring a family’s financial wealth. But like so many things in life, you only get out of it what you put into it. Trusts should not be parked in your estate planning garage and
Read MoreInvestment Returns After Major Market Sell-Off
History, Repeat Yourself Already!By: Ryan Johnson, AAMS® and Joseph Calhoun, CFP® It is certainly not fun to watch investments fall but history tells us that they always will at some point. Nobody knows when, why, or how much – what we do know, though, is that they will eventually go higher, if history is any
Read MoreThe SECURE Act of 2019
The U.S. Congress often uses the tax code to influence the behavior of American citizens. For example, it is in our nation’s best economic interest to have a robust real estate market. Therefore, our tax code provides many favorable tax provisions related to home ownership. It is also in our best interest to have people support charitable causes. Therefore, the tax code offers numerous tax deductions for gifts to charitable organizations. In a similar fashion, it is in our nation’s best interest for individuals to save sufficiently so they are capable of financially supporting themselves during retirement. Therefore, our tax code contains numerous tax advantages for employer sponsored qualified retirement plans and individual retirement accounts (IRAs).
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