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Blog
17 Things You Need to Know About the New Stimulus Package
Congress passed the new $900 billion economic relief and spending bill on Monday. While most of the focus has been on a second round of relief payments to most Americans, there is plenty more in the 5,000-plus pages of the stimulus package.
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How to Make Sense of Retirement and Estate Finance
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.
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5 Ways to Evaluate Charities and Give Effectively
By: Abbey L. Henderson CFP® RLP® CPCC® CEO, Wealth Advisor, & Coach – It’s the season of giving, and as a financial advisor, I appreciate that my clients want to take a thoughtful approach to their philanthropy. It’s important to them for the money they give to make a real difference. Since charitable giving is part of their financial plan, they often ask me what to look for when deciding which charities to support. How should you go about evaluating your options so you feel good about your contribution? Let’s consider five ways you can evaluate organizations and plan your giving...read the full article
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Estate Planning for the Family Farm and Your Legacy
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 between the kids – can be one of the most complex parts of the journey.
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Why You Need More Than a Will in Your Estate Planning
By Abbey L. Henderson, CFP®, RLP®, CPCC®, Wealth Advisor – Have you prepared for your estate to be passed on? You may be thinking, “Of course, I have a will prepared!” However, there’s more to estate planning than a will – and the more planning you do now, the easier it will be for your loved ones to benefit from your legacy. I love this quote by Warren Buffet, “Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” Let’s look at how you can plant a healthy tree for the future with some savvy...read the full article
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How the Results of the Election Could Impact the Markets and Your Financial Plan
The votes have been cast and now it’s a waiting game. Our country now faces days of a counting, recounting, accusations, potential lawsuits and a runoff election or two. Only then will we know the results of the 2020 election.
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How Estate and Gift Taxes Can Impact Your Financial Plan
Heath Ledger’s death in 2008 is another tragic story of an extremely talented artist gone too young. The unfortunate circumstances of his death compounded the complexity of his estate, leaving lawyers and family in a difficult position.
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How to Take Advantage of Donor-Advised Funds and Special 2020 Tax Deductions for Donations
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 DAF Report.
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5 Steps to Care for Your Credit
By John Corron, Wealth Advisor – A read through of the New York Fed’s Q2 2020 Household Debt and Credit Report revealed some surprising changes, including: Overall debt held by U.S. Households has climbed steadily since 2013 to just below the Q1 2020 all-time high of $14.3 Trillion. Credit card balances decreased by $76 billion (largest drop since the measure has been recorded). Delinquencies have been steadily declining since 2009 to just under 4% of all outstanding debt. The percentage of consumers currently in collections is at its lowest level (just over 8%) since 2013 where just over 14% of...read the full article
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How to Make Charitable Giving Part of Your Financial Plan
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.
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