How Reproductive Advances Affect Financial Planning
May 20, 2013Choices about reproduction are among the most personal most of us will ever face. However, assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) can cause financial complications that are important to discuss with an adviser.
New Tax Rules, Responses In 2013
April 1, 2013Recent tax law changes will impact many taxpayers in 2013, even those who don’t meet the government’s various definitions of “high-income.”
Curious Case Of The Shanghai Exchange
April 1, 2013Imagine two countries. In one, the economy grows slowly and its stock market moves at a similar pace. The other country’s economy grows by leaps and bounds, but its stock market just seems to get worse and worse.
The Fine Art Of Establishing Value
April 1, 2013Tax planning is not a glamorous profession. But now and then, you find yourself staring down the wallet of an imaginary Chinese billionaire.
Duly Noted
April 1, 2013IRS Will Keep Fighting Tax-Saving Gift Structures. The Internal Revenue Service says it will continue to litigate cases in which taxpayers seek to specify the value of gifts they make to avoid triggering unanticipated taxes. The agency suffered a major setback last year in Wandry v. Commissioner, in which the Tax Court rejected IRS arguments that such “formula” gifts violate public policy. In Wandry, the taxpayer made gifts of a …
Gifts That Keep Giving: Charitable Gift Annuities and Remainder Interests
March 8, 2013Conventional wisdom holds that it is better to give than to receive. While this may be true, some givers may find it best to plan for an option that is a little bit of both.
Don’t Fear Death – Plan for It
February 4, 2013We all share the same inevitable fate. We do not know exactly when or how, just the final outcome. While life insurance will not delay your death, it will help leave behind a more secure financial future for your heirs.
Palisades Hudson Turns 20, As Planned
January 2, 2013There is no such thing as an accurate 20-year business plan, which leads me to wonder how the business I launched 20 years ago turned out almost exactly as I envisioned.
Annuities Amid ‘Financial Repression’
January 2, 2013In the arsenal of retirement planning tools, annuities are among the most expensive – but that does not necessarily make them the best. Entering into an annuity contract at the wrong time can be costly. A period of “financial repression,” for example, renders annuities ineffective and unattractive. Financial repression describes measures by which a government channels funds to itself as a form of debt reduction. Main characteristics include large government …
Sentinel Chronicles The Issues Of An Era
January 2, 2013If you want to stand out, you can’t be content just to blend in. This seems obvious, but it is a truth that apparently has not been revealed to many people who write newsletters for accounting and law firms. I have seen a lot of those newsletters over the years, and even wrote a few myself when I was with Arthur Andersen, the big accounting firm, in the late 1980s …
