Year: 2017

In 2015, Congress made permanent the law allowing Qualified Charitable Distributions (QCDs) which allows someone who is age 70½ or older to make Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) directly to a qualified charity and exclude that distribution from income. As a reminder, when you turn age 70 ½, you must begin to take IRS-mandated minimum distributions […]

Caveat Emptor…let the buyer beware.  Caveat emptor should not apply when you buy life insurance to protect your family, but it most certainly does. Imagine that you purchased a life insurance policy and you die while the policy is in force. Your family never collects because they don’t realize (or remember) that you had the […]

Think…do you know anyone who turned age 70 last year?  If yes, and they turned seventy during the first half of 2016, then they must take a Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from their IRA(s) no later than April 1, 2017.  Failure to do so will result in a 50% federal penalty unless they can get […]

Ok, I know life insurance is one of the more boring topics in financial planning but let me begin this topic with a true story. Not long ago a gentleman in his early seventies called asking to meet to get our advice regarding a life insurance policy he had purchased decades earlier.  During the meeting, […]

Term life insurance is purchased by the billions every year to solve a myriad of potential problems.  Perhaps the most-often reason is to provide financial protection for the family should the primary income earner die prematurely. A case in point… Many years ago, as part of a routine financial planning survivorship analysis, we recommended a […]

Financial planning can be helpful for everyone, regardless of their income or their experience handling their money.  Deciding on which planner to hire is a key decision, akin to finding a physician or attorney. Since you don’t want to make this decision more than once, you should make your choice very carefully.  Here are the […]