At the end of 2015, Congress passed a bipartisan act called the “Protecting Americans from Tax Hikes Act of 2015” (PATH Act). The bill extends some tax breaks for individuals and businesses which were due to expire at the end of 2015. Some of the previously set to expire provisions were made permanent by the… Read more »
Something our Kids Don’t Learn in School – How to Secure their Finances
Proud moms and dads across the country spend millions of dollars every year on their children’s education, beginning with private grade schools and continuing to Ivy League graduate programs. One would think that with the amount of money Americans spend on education that Personal Finance, one of the most important areas of life, would be… Read more »
Estate Planning is Ever-Changing
Amy Vos – Case Coordination and Support Estate planning is changing as tax laws are changing. Factors that impact the decision to use a lifetime gift or include as an asset in an estate during estate planning decisions include: (1) Asset basis (2) Appreciation/ Growth Potential (3) State Taxes Below is further detail on how… Read more »
The Latest on Retirement
Lindsey M. Bessy, ALMI, CLTC, MBA, CLU, CASL – Financial Advisor The idea of retiring at age 65 might be a trend of the past according to recent surveys such as Northwestern Mutual’s “2015 Planning & Progress Study”. Actually, 62% of adults are anticipating working beyond the age of 65 as a matter of necessity…. Read more »
Estate Planning is Changing as a Result of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012
Sataya Froemming- Client Service for Estate Markets With the enactment of the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, balancing income and estate tax planning has become a focus of clients wanting to minimize overall tax exposure. Due to the flexibility that life insurance can present, it offers important aspects that shouldn’t be overlooked when creating… Read more »
Permanent Life Insurance: Policy Loans Provide a Living Benefit
Dylan Habeeb- Products and Case Design The words “life insurance” are generally associated with funds available at death. While this is true, there are also benefits to permanent life insurance that can be taken advantage of during one’s life, such as utilizing policy loans. A policy loan works by borrowing money from the insurance company… Read more »
Trust-Owned Life Insurance (TOLI)- To Have and to Manage
Trust-Owned Life Insurance (TOLI)- To Have and to Manage Patrick J. Marget, JD, CPA, CFP, CLU- Managing Director Facts: 25% of non-guaranteed TOLI will lapse during the insured’s lifetime, even with current scheduled premiums being paid. More than 70% of TOLI policies have no servicing agent. 83.5% of trustees have no policies or protocols in… Read more »
Avoiding Inadvertent Taxable Gifts: Crummey Powers and ILIT Trustee Responsibilities
Avoiding Inadvertent Taxable Gifts: Crummey Powers and ILIT Trustee Responsibilities Lindsey M. Bessy, ALMI, CLTC, MBA, CLU, CASL- Financial Representative Many individuals follow an annual gifting strategy that involves making gifts to trusts, including Irrevocable Life Insurance Trusts (ILITs), and rely on beneficiary withdrawal powers to avoid taxable gifts by qualifying the transfers as annual… Read more »
The Pickle of Term vs. Perm
Nikki Kook- Marketing and New Business Coordinator Longevity and insurance. What do these have in common? Although technological and medical advances are wonderful and give us more time with our loved ones, it is leaving many people financially unstable after retirement. In addition, the average retirement age is becoming later and later, and many people’s… Read more »
Net Investment Income Tax – A New Playing Field
R. David Fritz, Jr., CLU- Managing Partner, Founder With the advent of the new net investment income tax (“NIIT”), there needs to be a change in thinking related to income tax planning arrangements and investments. The new net investment income tax (“NIIT”) imposes an additional 3.8% tax on passive income received by individuals, trusts, and… Read more »