Generally speaking, Americans are a generous group. Once we meet our own financial needs, we start thinking about others who could benefit from what we’ve earned. [More]

Most of us work hard throughout our lives, and hope that what we’ve earned continues to provide benefits after we’re gone. Whether you want to help your children or grandchildren, or whether you’d like to see your hard-earned savings help a cause that’s important to you, you’ll be more likely to achieve those goals if you take some time to plan. [More]

Even though summer is almost here, you can still take a couple of actions to “spring” clean your investment portfolio for 2010. [More]

There is a lot of conflicting information about living trusts. Some experts say you must have one to keep your estate out of probate court. Other experts say there is no benefit whatsoever to having a living trust. I did a little research and will try to list some advantages and disadvantages of living trusts so you can consider what is best for you. [More]

People devote several hours to planning their retirement. They seek expert advice and watch the performance of their investments regularly but when it comes to naming a beneficiary, it is often done as an afterthought. If you don’t take into consideration this very important step of correctly naming a beneficiary(s): your wishes may go unheeded, your family may suffer because of difficult decisions that might need to be made, taxes that could have been avoid may reduce the value of your estate or your estate could very likely end up in court. [More]

It has always been worth the cost but in these economic times, the value of a sound financial plan is probably even more valuable. Good planners are communicating with you regularly and keeping you updated on your progress along the plan that was developed. [More]

After working hard to build up your retirement savings through your IRA, company plans and other investment options don’t let decisions made 40 years ago impact your estate plan. The naming of a beneficiary is probably the most important component of estate planning that is overlooked the most. [More]

We never want to think about it but what if your parents are really not prepared as much as you would hope them to be for their retirement or for some unfortunate event. It’s never easy to have that discussion with your parents and you certainly don’t need to analyze financial statements but you should have the discussion on a few of the basics… [More]