Insights

Retirement is far off until it isn’t. This chapter of life can sneak up on just about anyone, and we do ourselves a favor to be as prepared as we can. Like anything involving the government, finances can be confusing, with different tax treatments, contribution limits, beneficiary rules and more.

As a financial advisor who’s spent her career in the midwest, I’ve worked with more farm families than I can count. From buying new expensive equipment to riding out the drought years, there can be millions in play even on small family operations. Estate planning – splitting up the land bet …

As a CPA, one of the questions that I have been getting more frequently is, “What is a donor-advised fund?” This is not surprising as the number of individual donor-advised fund accounts has grown by over 50% for the second year in a row, according to the National Philanthropic Trust’s 2019 …

COVID-19 caused an economic shockwave that we’ll feel for a long time. Nonprofits, from large global networks to the local churches, have been hit hard, too. In a recent survey of 110 nonprofits, 80% of them said revenue had fallen across the board.

Many of us think we don’t have enough assets for a will to be necessary, or we’ve simply put it in the “I’ll get to it” category. But planning carefully now can save your beneficiaries from legal fees, tax losses and the ugly relational stress that comes up all too often in the estate process. 

Have you thought about your legacy? We highly recommend that you appoint a trusted family member or friend as your power of attorney (POA), giving them the ability to help with your financial or health needs, should an unfortunate event occur in your life.

Giving is an important part of our society. It provides us the opportunity to support causes we believe in and make a positive impact. Giving isn’t always about donating money. It can also include volunteering time or donating goods and resources. Here are some examples of the impact:

The so-called “Peanut Butter Manifesto” written by a Yahoo! Executive in 2006 gave us a term that hasn’t worn thin yet. The “Peanut Butter Approach” is a derisive term used in business to describe spreading anything – money, energy, time – too far and too thin to be effective or useful. 

Return on Investment (ROI) is a term you learn about 5 minutes into your first class in business school. Maybe the business model is elegant and the organization is streamlined, but that all begs the question: what is the ROI? How much will we make?

Estate planning, no matter how large or simple your assets, is a conversation everyone should have. From dividing up gigantic bank accounts to choosing the music for a funeral, putting a plan in place can keep a lot of stress and family tension from reaching fever pitch.