Category: Financial Planning

As the year comes to a close, you may be considering charitable gifting. With so many mechanisms to do so, it is necessary to plan ahead. Start by deciding who will receive your donation. We are here to help with the what, how, and when of charitable giving. Although using cash is the simple and [...]

Year-end tax planning may be especially challenging this year because Congress has yet to act on a host of tax breaks that expired at the end of 2014. Some of these tax breaks may be retroactively reinstated and extended, but Congress may not decide the fate of these tax breaks until the very end of [...]

Many parents in the Pacific Northwest choose to start saving early for their children’s education, including participating in Washington state’s Guaranteed Education Tuition (GET) program. However, as tuition starts lowering with the College Affordability Act, the state felt it was necessary to reevaluate the GET program. Board members announced this August that they would be [...]

In estate planning, there are some common stumbling blocks to completing a plan. Who will care for your children? At what point do you end life-sustaining care? How much should you leave to your children? Perhaps the most challenging of these is the last. Picking a number that provides a leg-up for your heirs while [...]

Have you ever sent a text message while driving? Taken a phone call in the car and your Bluetooth didn’t sync – phone held up to your ear – multi-tasking, juggling work, family and deadlines? In the blink of an eye, perhaps traffic stops, a motorist swerves, a pedestrian pops out unexpectedly and you’re responsible [...]

10 Potential Pitfalls and How to Protect Your Beneficiaries 1) Naming a Minor Child Insurance companies will not pay the proceeds of a life insurance policy directly to a minor. Absent a trust or other specified legal arrangement, a court-appointed guardian will handle all proceeds until the child reaches legal age (18 or 21, depending [...]

Deadline for Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs): Clients who are 70½ or older must take an RMD from their IRA and/or their QRP for the 2014 tax year. All RMDs must be withdrawn by December 31, 2014, with the exception of those clients who turned or will turn 70½ during this calendar year; these clients may [...]

Please take a look at the following risk measures to protect your finances during the most wonderful time of the year. Tips on Preventing Fraud Unfortunately, in our ever interconnected and automated world, we are seeing a big uptick in cases of fraud. While it is unlikely all cases may be prevented there are several [...]

After you have a valuable financial interest in your company, you may want to think about various exit strategies. A funded buy-sell agreement with your co-owner or partners can provide security to you, your partners and your family. A buy-sell agreement is a legal contract that is common in closely held businesses. It is an [...]