Each December, we offer planning suggestions for the year ahead. But this isn’t meant to be a one-size-fits-all list. It’s up to you to take our broad collection of ideas and narrow them down to your personal “Top 10” for
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September 26, 2018
Will Ertel, CFP®, CPA, PFS
Many people haven’t drafted a will because they think wills are only for the wealthy. Scripture, however, teaches that responsible stewardship isn’t a function of the size of one’s wealth. Stewardship is about obedience
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Just reading the phrase “long-term care” can strike fear in a Baby Boomer’s heart. Many assume it’s synonymous with nursing-home care (it isn’t), and believe the cost could ruin them (it could; while the odds are
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Many older people say they “don’t want to be a burden” on their families. And yet, by not making a handful of key decisions and not completing the associated paperwork, they are leaving themselves vulnerable to the very
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May 25, 2017
Jenny Migdal, CFP®
As a financial planner, one of my responsibilities is to keep up with legislative changes and their effects on clients. Estate planning is an area where change is so frequent — and so confusing — it’s a challenge to stay
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There are countless important decisions to make as you get older. Many of them have a financial focus—how much to withdraw from the nest egg you’ve built, when to take Social Security, how to pay for healthcare and the
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In the January issue of the SMI newsletter, we ran an article that recommended taking a “fiscal health day.” The idea is to take a day off from work to catch up on your financial chores and tackle all of those
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There are turning points in life that prompt important financial decisions. What you choose to do — or not do — at such times can have a significant impact on your long-term financial well-being. The death of a spouse is
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When you think of estate planning documents, certainly wills and trusts come to mind. But two other planning instruments are also important: titles and beneficiary designation forms.
Estate planning essentials
The
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More than any other document, a will puts you in touch with your mortality. Perhaps that’s why more than 60 percent of adults in the U.S. don’t have a will!
However, if you care about what happens to your property after
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