Our Commentary

If you are age 65 or older then you have likely been receiving a lot of correspondence from companies promoting their Medicare health and Medigap plans. Open enrollment period for the 2011 Medicare Health Plans, Medigap, and Part D Prescription Plans begins November 15. If you want to change to a different plan or you […]

Republicans gained sixty seats in the House of Representatives, the largest gain since 1938 while also gaining six seats in the Senate. If nothing else, the mid-term elections have sent a clear message to all of our congressional representatives, “We don’t like what we’ve been seeing!” Republicans now have control of the house while the Democrats maintain […]

Last week I discussed several tax saving strategies to consider and this week I am continuing with the checklist of ways to cut your tax bill. Don’t let taxes “spook” you this year!     §         Income and expense shifting:   Review your income and expenses and, to the extent possible, shift them between this year […]

With less than three months remaining in 2010, now is the time for year-end tax planning. Most people can exert some degree of control over their tax bill if they maximize certain tax strategies available to them this year. Here’s a checklist of items you should review now:   Green Home Improvement Credit: You can […]

In 2009 I wrote a column about an obscure financial strategy that may mean tens of thousands of dollars in additional Social Security benefits if you fall under the right circumstances. Apparently more and more people are taking advantage of this strategy and the Social Security Administration has indicated their intention to change the rules. Here’s how […]

In these troubled times a lot of people could use some sound financial advice concerning their particular situation. Well, help is on the way! The Financial Planning Association has declared October 4th-10th ‘Financial Planning Week’ all across America.     Financial Planning Week is a time when the Financial Planning Association (FPA) strives to increase public awareness of […]

Many retirees have had their incomes devastated because of low interest rates. Historical returns for five to ten year bonds have been 4.5% to 5.5%. Today 10-year treasury bonds yield a paltry 2.6% and the average money market account is paying less than one percent. One of the primary drivers behind low interest rates is the Federal Reserve […]

I was twelve years old when my father drove me to an unfamiliar neighborhood and let me out with a case of aerosol-size cans of fire extinguishers and said, “Son, when you finish selling this case, I have two more cases!” So I went door to door, ringing door bells, selling my wares. My first day I […]

My associates and I were recently working through a complex multimillion dollar estate planning case where the client owned real estate in multiple states. One of the central topics of discussion was how the probate process would work under the current will which we were in the process of revising. Probate is the court supervised process of […]

This time last year, my ninety-something-year-old father and I were cutting a tree down at the lake. He normally likes to run the chainsaw while I pull on a rope tied high in the tree so that it will fall ‘where he intended it to fall’. Well, as the tree fell it hung in another tree so […]