Stories: Advisor Stories

To alleviate the tax burden of required minimum distributions from IRAs, many advisors are recommending their clients use their RMDs to make qualified charitable distributions (QCDs) to their favorite charities. These tax-free distributions are a financially...

The beginning of the year is a good time to start helping your clients plan for their annual giving. With the year-end flurry of donations still fresh in many clients' minds, you may discover that clients will welcome your suggestion to make 2023 the year to...

Charitable gift annuities (CGAs) are becoming more attractive to philanthropists, making this planned giving vehicle a good fit for your clients who like the idea of an upfront tax deduction, a steady lifetime income stream, and a remainder gift to charity....

New legislation offers 'Legacy IRA' provisions and a boost for QCDs Congress passed the much-anticipated, $1.65 trillion-dollar omnibus spending bill known as the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 on Dec. 23, 2022, followed by President Biden signing...

Don't be surprised if your clients are walking into your office in a state of bewilderment over something they've read recently about the IRS's distribution rules for inherited IRAs.  What's the back story? Until the law changed a few years ago, a client...

Earlier this year, Bankrate and Psych Central released the Money and Mental Health study and, not surprisingly, a large number of people surveyed in the research reported that money has a negative impact on their mental health. Needless to say, every...

Before your clients ring in the new year, make sure they have maximized their charitable giving for 2022. Gifts made to a charitable fund by Dec. 31 will earn them a tax deduction for the current year while supporting the causes they love for many years to...

Charitable giving habits are an important window into helping a client make planning decisions around their philanthropic intentions. By noticing patterns in their charitable giving and making recommendations to maximize those gifts, you can add even more...

On Aug. 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act. A few tax provisions made it into the final legislation (e.g., a corporate minimum alternative tax). Other items were taken off the table at the last minute, most notably the...

August is National Make a Will Month, and the publicity surrounding this designation may prompt your clients to ask you about whether their affairs are in good order. Of course, making sure a client has established an estate plan and executed corresponding...