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Many families today are looking for planning and legacy tools to supplement their traditional estate planning documents. Beyond making sure taxes are paid and distributions transfer smoothly, families care about sharing values and carrying forward a lasting legacy.

 
Create a family mission statement

What would you do with an extra $10,000? Maybe you’d pay off some debt, get rid of some college loans, or take a much-needed vacation. What if you suddenly had an extra million or 10 million or more? Now that you’ve come into a windfall, you have some issues to deal with.

By definition, estate planning is a process designed to help you manage and preserve your assets while you are alive, and to conserve and control their distribution after your death according to your goals and objectives. But what estate planning means to you specifically depends on who you are.

There’s a pretty good chance that your parents and grandparents retired just because they turned 65. Today’s retirement is a bit more complicated than that. While age is still an important factor, your ability to connect your financial resources to your lifestyle goals is what will truly determine if you’re ready to retire.

IRAs have beneficiaries and "designated beneficiaries," and it is important to know the difference. If you wish your heirs to have the opportunity to take full advantage of "stretch" IRAs, and to avoid other possibly costly mistakes, be sure your heirs are designated beneficiaries. Here's the difference and why it matters.

Legacy planning is often the last piece folks tackle in their financial planning, because it’s the least appealing to think about.

Let’s talk about that for a moment. In our fast paced digital world we live in, when did our devices start ruling our lives? Do we truly value electronics more than ourselves? As I shopped around for a new mobile phone, I had to ask myself this question.

Teachers are on the front lines of our children’s futures, so it’s unsettling to see evidence that their own future is increasingly at risk.

Eight ways to help reduce your taxes now and in the future

Prior to the December 31 deadline, consider reviewing these options with your financial and tax advisors.

1. Making Annual Gifts

In schools across the country, there are countless teachers working through their lunch breaks trying to keep up with the demands of the day. But what many don’t know is that in the time it takes to eat lunch, they could conduct a retirement savings review with a financial professional.