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Category: Financial Planning

June 9, 2025

Helping children build wealth of their own: why the Roth IRA is an important gifting vehicle.

When it comes to gifting to children, especially teenagers, we often think of material items or memorable experiences. While those are meaningful, one of the most powerful and often overlooked gifts is helping them begin building wealth for themselves, particularly through one important tool: the Roth IRA. Roth IRAs offer a powerful opportunity for savers [...]

Vince LeeNoel Sanchez
Contributions from: Vince Lee, CFP®, CPA, Noel Sanchez, CFP®

June 6, 2025

Popular Trust Structures to Protect Your Wealth

Trusts are among the most powerful, common, and flexible legal tools used to protect wealth in the United States. Trusts can serve a variety of purposes, from minimizing estate taxes to shielding assets from creditors, predators, future ex-spouses, and oftentimes from beneficiaries themselves. You can use trusts to identify how you would like assets to [...]

Ian Curtiss
Contributions from: Glen Goland, CFP®, JD, Ian Curtiss, CFP®, CFA®, CPWA®, ChSNC

June 1, 2025

Maximizing Your Google Benefits: A Strategic Guide for 2025

Google provides an extensive range of benefits that can enhance your wealth, manage risk, and secure your future. By integrating Google’s compensation, retirement, and health benefits into your financial plan, you can better align these offerings with your long-term goals. Equity Awards Google’s stock units (GSUs) can be a powerful tool for achieving financial objectives. [...]

Katie Mietus
Contributions from: Katie Berntson, CFP®, Anne Marie Stonich, CFP®, CPA

May 29, 2025

Washington State Tax Changes: What Affluent Families and Business Owners Need to Know

On May 20, 2025, Washington State Governor Bob Ferguson signed a $78 billion state operating budget into law, significantly expanding state spending on public services, education, childcare, and early learning. To fund these initiatives, the Washington State Legislature passed several major tax reforms that will affect many of the state’s high-income residents, business owners, and [...]

Contributions from: Anne Marie Stonich, CFP®, CPA

May 27, 2025

Your Microsoft Layoff Roadmap: Seven Smart Financial Steps to Take Now

Being laid off—especially from a company like Microsoft—can be both jarring and full of unknowns. Whether your next chapter is another tech role, a sabbatical, or something entirely new, the financial decisions you make now can set the tone for your long-term security and flexibility. Here are seven smart financial steps to take if you’ve [...]

Contributions from: Anne Marie Stonich, CFP®, CPA

May 20, 2025

Don’t let your windfall become a tax nightmare!

Everyone loves a windfall! That is, until they see the tax bill. There are a number of circumstances that can result in a large amount of unexpected income in a single year, which may be great for your savings, but could have unforeseen consequences when it comes to your tax return. For anyone who has [...]

Contributions from: Glen Goland, CFP®, JD, Matt Sampson, CFP®, CEPA®

May 9, 2025

The Financial Impacts of Marriage

As we head further into spring, wedding season is in full bloom. It’s beautiful to witness a happy union, so it can be easy to forget that marriage is also a legal contract. Spousal partnership carries multiple rights, privileges, and obligations that are important to recognize. Here, we outline some of the critical financial implications [...]

Katie Mietus
Contributions from: Katie Berntson, CFP®

April 29, 2025

Bringing the Next Generation Into Your Financial Planning Discussions

Talking about money can be uncomfortable for many people; it’s taboo in our culture to reveal too much about our finances, often even with those closest to us. Additionally, discussions about money can generate strong emotions, or feel intimidating and overwhelming. But as parents become grandparents, retire, and begin thinking about building their legacy and [...]

April 8, 2025

Important Update: New BOI Reporting Requirements Under FinCEN – Are You Ready?

Update April 7, 2025: FinCEN Removes Beneficial Ownership Reporting Requirements for U.S. Companies and Persons On March 21, 2025, The U.S. Department of Treasury issued a press release announcing that its Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) is issuing an interim final rule that eliminates the requirement for U.S. companies, U.S. persons, and domestic reporting companies [...]

Contributions from: Anne Marie Stonich, CFP®, CPA

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