Preparing for a New Administration

Posted by Robert L. Arone – Risks And Opportunities For Your Clients Under President-Elect Trump A new Presidential administration can bring sweeping changes in the tax codes, new rules for how wealth is taxed, and a litany of other legal and regulatory changes. As a result of Donald Trump’s electoral victory on November 8th combined with Republican majorities in the House and Senate, we expect that there will be significant changes starting on January 20, 2017, when Mr. Trump takes office. Your clients may be feeling a bit of anxiety right now about their financial future, and they are depending on you, their trusted advisor, to be on top of any upcoming changes so they can minimize risk and exploit opportunities. We, too, are watching carefully, and in the weeks and months ahead, we’ll be sharing the latest updates and information you need to help your clients make informed decisions

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How and Why Life Insurance Still Matters in Estate Planning

Posted by Robert L. Arone – A frequently overlooked aspect of a client’s life insurance is proper alignment with estate planning goals. Between the typical set-it-and-forget-it mentality and a simple beneficiary approach many people take, a neglected life insurance policy often fails to achieve the goals that initially led to the purchase of the policy. But, you can help. You, as the trusted financial advisor, and us, as the estate planning attorney, can thoroughly review your client’s life insurance needs and policies. You may be able to recommend modifications or new policies to address vulnerabilities, and we can ensure that the ownership of the policy and death benefit are properly aligned to achieve your clients’ estate planning goals. By building deeper and broader relationships with your clients, you can grow your own business through referrals, earn commission on any newly written life insurance, and, potentially, undertake management of assets when

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Help Your Clients Save at Tax Time

Posted by Robert L. Arone – 6 Important Conversations to Have with Your Clients Before the Hustle and Bustle of the Holidays As summer gives way to fall, it’s time to start thinking about year-end tax planning. This is an opportunity to communicate with your clients, offer solutions, and deepen your relationship by helping them save thousands of dollars next spring at tax time. To help your clients make the most of these opportunities, here are five conversations you can have with them before the holiday season sets in. 1. Discuss any tax changes for 2016 that might affect the client. Yearly changes in the tax rules can either save or cost them at tax time. Since you’re already familiar with your clients’ financial structures and strategies, you can determine which of your clients are affected by tax law changes, using that conversation as an entry point to a discussion

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Elder Law: Plan Early, Update Often

Posted by Gerald Turner – For any of us that have helped an elder family member with healthcare issues or end of life planning, we have been asked by doctors about healthcare proxies, advance directives, and powers of attorney. We are often asked if we have these documents when seeing our primary care physician even on a routine annual visit. There is a reason they ask. They know how important these documents are and have worked with families who have and have not had these documents prepared BEFORE they were needed. Most of us periodically have discussions with others about what we want for ourselves should something happen to us. We know who we’d like to make important medical decisions for us should we not be able to make these decisions ourselves. We most likely know who we want to take care of our financial decisions as well. We don’t

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How to Overcome the Challenges of Legacy Planning that Plague Blended Families

Posted by Robert L. Arone – As you’ve probably already noticed, estate planning can be challenging – not only for the “traditional” nuclear family but, also for the millions of “non-traditional” families. The blended family scenarios are virtually endless – a spouse with independent wealth that marries a younger new spouse, children from a previous marriage but no children from this marriage, children from a previous marriage plus children from this new marriage, and more. Sometimes, an estate “plan” of a blended family seems less like a plan and more of a grab bag of joint and solely owned assets with no clear plan about who gets what and why. Although the increased complexity and variety of family structures makes effective planning more challenging, the need is greater now than ever before. Of course, no single newsletter could ever cover all the potential issues, so always feel free to contact

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