A client asked a great question this week about an often-overlooked strategy to utilize tax-deferred IRA funds to make donations directly to charity. Let’s take a closer look at this strategy and determine when it may make sense for you to consider it as well. What is a Qualified Charitable Distribution (QCD)? A QCD is […]

In working with a client this week on an inherited account, the topic of step-up in cost basis arose. This is an important item to understand when someone passes away (and you inherit their assets) so I thought it was worth covering it herein. What is cost basis? As a reminder, cost basis is the […]

I recently worked on a financial planning project for clients who were quickly approaching their retirement years. The ultimate goal of the exercise was to determine the estimate of annual spending their portfolio can support in retirement. As you can imagine, this calculation relies on many assumptions concerning items such as asset class returns, asset […]

I talked with clients this week regarding their savings plan for the year. The question of timing came up – ie: when should they deploy cash they now have on hand into their various accounts. Let’s look at the items we discussed Roth IRAs One of the accounts my clients are able to fund in […]

We’ve talked about the term Safe Harbor before (in regards to estimated tax payments – you can revisit that post here). This week, a client reached out regarding another type of Safe Harbor. She said her friend had brought up the concept of Safe Harbor retirement plans and she wondered not only what they were […]

A client reached out this week with the exciting news that she had been offered a new career opportunity. She asked for a call to discuss the opportunity and sent me the offer specifics to review. Since this is a situation others may find themselves in amidst this active job market, I thought it was […]

This past week, I spoke with several clients in the middle of a career transitions for a variety of reasons (transitioning to a new role, opting to take some time away, and entering well-deserved retirement stage). With each of these clients, the items to consider during a career transition vary but there are some common […]

At the end of 2023, I saw a mention of new regulation in a newsletter from a law firm that noted an upcoming reporting requirement for various companies (including LLCs and corporations). As a member of two LLCs, I looked into this more to see if it applied. And sure enough, there was a requirement […]

In talking with a client this week, I learned that he has not completed his estate planning as I have been recommending for a while now. He recently got married and is expecting a child, so the establishment of these documents is more important than ever. He certainly appreciates and understands the importance of this […]

If there was ever a risk of me forgetting tax day, I have a feeling it would be mitigated by the numerous client questions I inevitably receive in the few weeks leading up to the important date! I thought I’d cover a few of them here as tax day approaches. When do you think I’ll […]