From time to time, I read “ruminations” published by David E. Hultstrom. Along with Anitha Rao, David is the co-founder of Financial Architects and is the smartest person who never successfully taught me how to use a financial calculator. In his July 1, 2023 post, David answered someone’s question about retirement this way: “You can […]
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Sean McKissick, a probate litigation attorney, recently wrote “the sad truth is that there is no impregnable suit of armor that will absolutely protect your estate plan from the slings and arrows that may come its way after you die.” He’s right. I began my career as a litigator and we would tell people that […]
On July 26, 2023, Investmentnews.com released a story titled “Our glass is half empty” — why your clients are worried. It discusses a recent survey conducted by Blackrock which indicates that the number of U.S. retirement savers who feel they are “off track” has more than doubled since 2021. As a result, nearly 30% of […]
A recent article in Kiplinger, How To Avoid Aretha Franklin and Prince’s Estate Planning Errors, discusses the Estates of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Prince. Each of them left estates that were the subject of years of litigation. Each of them could have avoided those problems by planning for their death. Among the recommendations in […]
A recent article in Kiplinger says Saving for Retirement Isn’t Enough: You Need a Wealth Plan. But haven’t we all heard that? If you don’t have a plan, then you’re planning to fail. The article likens retiring without a plan to boarding a plane with insufficient fuel, no emergency life jackets and no air masks. […]
What would you do if an emergency happened? Would you have enough money to replace a vehicle or put a new roof on your house. Could you survive several months of unemployment if you were laid off? A recent article on cnbc.com asks how much emergency savings you need during times of uncertanty? The answers […]
One of the fears shared by many retirees is running out of money. QLACS are a type of deferred annuity that hit the marketplace around 2014 designed to guard against this concern. QLACS, short for Qualified longevity annuity contracts, are designed to provide income late in life. They are purchases with retirement account funds and […]
The SEC approved: (1) the adoption of new FINRA Rule 2165 (Financial Exploitation of Specified Adults) to permit members to place temporary holds on disbursements of funds or securities from the accounts of specified customers where there is a reasonable belief of financial exploitation of these customers; and (2) amendments to FINRA Rule 4512 (Customer […]
