Stories: Advisor Stories

Attorneys, CPAs and financial advisors certainly are not strangers to tough questions. Indeed, the mix of money, family and mortality is a potent combination that almost always creates an emotionally-charged planning environment, whether the matter at hand is...

Business owners who have enjoyed summertime's more relaxed energy can deservedly daydream about the "extended vacation" that comes with selling the business. While it all sounds good, business brokers will tell you that many business owners fail to optimize...

We're hearing from more and more attorneys, accountants and financial advisors that your clients are expressing interest in giving real estate to charity. You're certainly aware that gifts of real estate to a fund at the community foundation, just like gifts...

How much is too much? That's a question many parents ask as they structure lifetime gifts and bequests to children in their financial and estate plans. Wealthy clients are sometimes concerned that leaving millions of dollars, or even hundreds of thousands, to...

Over the years, you've no doubt experienced a wide range of what clients perceive as wealthy. You've likely also observed that clients have different assumptions about what it takes to be a "philanthropist." The interplay between a client's perception of...

Without legislation to prevent it, the sunsetting of current estate tax laws at the end of 2025 will dramatically reduce the federal estate tax exemption from $13.61 million per person in 2024 to approximately $7 million in 2026 (this includes adjustments for...

At the end of 2024's first quarter, an estimated 485,000 Americans could count themselves among the so-called "401(k) millionaires," meaning the balance in their employer-sponsored retirement plans has reached the $1 million level. Thanks in part to stock...

It's relatively straightforward to see how philanthropy figures into the financial and estate plans you build for individuals and families. After all, many of these clients are already supporting their favorite community causes, and it's your job to make sure...

When your client is getting ready to make a contribution to a fund at the community foundation or another charity, remind them not to automatically reach for the checkbook! Here are other (and typically more tax savvy) options to consider.  Marketable...

No matter how frequently you remind clients to pause before they automatically reach for the checkbook to make their charitable gifts, many clients still give cash! As an attorney, accountant or financial advisor, you are well aware that giving long-term...