Family Milestones = Estate Planning Milestones

Any parent will tell you that the birth (or adoption) of a child shifts the nature of your thinking irrevocably. One day you look around and discover that your own wants and needs are no longer at the center of your life. We see evidence of this shift when planning for parents of young children,… Read More »

The State of The Estate Tax Under President Obama

When President Bush was elected in 2000, one of his campaign pledges was to make the estate tax go away. And Congress did, in fact, pass legislation that would abolish the estate tax. Kinda. Sorta. What they passed, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGGTRA),  enacted a series of increases in… Read More »

Beware of a “One Size Fits All” Financial Plan

Most Americans have become aware of the benefits of financial planners, and of having a financial plan of their own. And now with the recent Wall Street crisis, public talk about financial plans and goals (and how yours may be weathering the storm) has become a lot more common. With all of this, it may… Read More »

4 Common Estate Planning Mistakes

Estate planning can be a touchy subject. Luckily, more and more people are coming to realize just how crucial it is to plan for their deaths, but even knowing its importance, few people want to spend time thinking about it. We understand why people might shy away from it. After all, estate planning deals with… Read More »

Could YOU Be A Trust Fund Baby?

It used to be that trusts were for the wealthy. Those who had inherited money in trust were often labeled “trust fund babies,” and these were the people who had everything paid for and worried about nothing. This is no longer the case. Trusts are used by the middle class more and more, as a… Read More »

When Planning for the Future, Don’t Forget Your Pets

In our blog we often address how estate planning can help you provide for your children or protect your elderly parents or grandparents, but today let’s talk about another member of the family—Today we would like to address how estate planning can help you take care of your pets. According to this article by Angie… Read More »

…And A Happy New Year!

New Year’s Eve has come again, and it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions. A new year means a fresh start; it is an opportunity to reassess—your life, your work, and your self—and separate the wheat from the chaff; an opportunity to leave the unhelpful things behind with 2008 and bring in new and better habits… Read More »