We’ve been in the biz for so long that oftentimes we forget to take you back to the BASICS. It’s always good to get a refresher, especially if you’re nearing retirement. Suddenly, all of the words that you’ve taken for granted become very important. The wide-angle lens you’ve had on the future will start to hyper focus. We’re here for you whether you’re in the middle of your accumulation phase or if you’re starting to strategize your new spending plan in retirement.

This week Shea is back in the studio with Dennis to ask the questions you’ve always wanted to know the answers to.

Maybe you’ve already heard? You have two extra days to file your taxes this year. On another high note, you don’t have to understand the new tax law for this year’s return. What will one do with all of this extra time? Have no fear, Kiplinger is HERE, and they have written a great article, “Last-Minute Tax Tips for Procrastinators.” Sound like you? If so, tune in!

There’s a lot of T’s to cross and I’s to dot. It just so happens that this is our specialty, and we’re here to help during tax season.

You’ve heard it said that the only reason to have a trust is if you don’t trust. To some extent, that can be true. However, as estate laws change and modern families are forced to get with the times, there are other reasons too. Not only will we discuss those reasons, we will test you. There are 15 questions that a trustee of an IRA trust MUST know the answers to. So whether you are the grantor of the trust, or the trustee, answering these questions will get you ahead in your planning.  

No one says it better than Ed Slott: “An inherited IRA may be a client’s single most valuable financial asset … but simple mistakes can be very costly or even fatal!” His follow-up advice to those inheriting an IRA is to “Touch nothing!” You might wonder what all the fuss is about, right? There are 10 costly mistakes that occur when inheriting an IRA. We will go through them with you one-by-one to help you avoid adding insult to injury.

And finally, what is happening with the stock market? Why should it matter to you and your portfolio? As always, we have a lot to talk about.

I have a confession. I (Shea) grew up here surrounded by lakes – the big freshwater kind with lots of little ones as extra bonuses. I love to swim, but I refused to go in the “dark water.” If I could see the drop-off, I wasn’t going anywhere near it. But that all changed two summers ago. My sister-in-law, who was eight months pregnant, jumped into the deep, dark water of Lake Leelanau. After watching her effortlessly enjoying the refreshing water on a hot August afternoon, I decided to try it. It wasn’t any less terrifying as an adult, but it certainly helped that I couldn’t see the drop-off that far out in the water.

For those of you who are near the edge of your working career and retirement, you can see the drop-off. You know the time is coming when you’ll need to swim out into the unknown away from the familiar shores of employment. Assuming you have saved, planned and are ready – what happens if the market takes a plunge before you do? Are you ready if the drop-off gets moved closer to you? How can you prepare your portfolio for something dramatic and completely out of your control?

Join us this Thursday as we run some numbers and give you “worst-case scenarios” to consider so that you’ll be prepared. Bring your paddle board, life jacket and floaties – no wake allowed in these waters.

Recent Gallup studies found that the average retirement age is 62. However, when working Americans are asked, they expect to retire at age 66. Recently, personal finance guru Suze Orman has been quoted as saying, “Yes, you heard me right: 70 is the new retirement age – not a month or year before.”

An extra five to seven years of working and delaying Social Security could really make the second chapter in life a lot sweeter! In fact, you could call it a Re-WIREMENT! We want to encourage you to think about the possibilities.

Join us in this episode to dream about the future and what you could do create more flexibility and freedom in your “re-wirement” years.

We tend to make a few jokes here and there about how wonderful it would be to be a beneficiary. However, it’s all fun and games until you ARE one. Not only will you deal with the pain from loss, you’ll have to figure out how to navigate your inheritance. Ed Slott gives great advice, “Touch nothing!” This may feel counter-intuitive, but it is wise considering the potential pitfalls ahead for someone who has landed themselves a new role in the family. Among the topics you’ll have to understand as beneficiary include: life insurance policies, beneficiary tax basis, inherited IRAs, depreciated assets, estate income tax reporting, donating dependent’s property to charity, and the executor’s duties and compensation.

Join us in this episode as we begin the conversation for those of you who will become a beneficiary. There is a lot to know, but we know that we can help you out!

Am I the only person who avoids using either “affect” or “effect” in a sentence? I just replace it with the word “impact” and move on. We all have our tricks for getting around the rules. This applies to both grammar and politics. 

On Friday, February 9, President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Act of 2018. Guess what? It can directly affect (or is it effect?) your retirement plan! Ed Slott has a lot to say about it, and we are going to share that information. You’ll need to figure out how to navigate certain provisions.

We will also cover the Eight Ways to Help IRA Planning with 2017 Tax Returns. From now until April 17, it’s going to be a detail-heavy program. Stay tuned and stay informed!

According to husband-and-wife psychologist team, Drs. John and Julie Gottman, about 69% of relational conflicts are perpetual problems. All couples have them, and the chance for marital success is not in being able to solve the problems but establishing dialogue about them. If this doesn’t happen, a couple will enter gridlock, and gridlocked conflict eventually leads to emotional disengagement. 

That being said, we don’t often hear the word “divorce” in our office. We’re thankful for that. However, when a marriage is “over” there’s a lot for a couple to navigate, and it’s almost always more expensive than they anticipated – especially later in life.

In this episode, Dennis is going to spend time giving you the “how-to” guide in evaluating your finances in divorce. His guest is Bob Guyot, a retired local attorney who has been navigating the complex issues of family law since 1975.  

On this day, in 1986, the Beechcraft Starship made its maiden flight. One month prior, the Space Shuttle Challenger disintegrated just 73 seconds into its flight killing all seven crew members. In that same year, the annual U.S. inflation rate was 1.91%; the Dow Jones Industrial Average year-end close was 1,895; the year-end Federal Reserve interest rate was 7.50%; the average cost of a new house was $89,430; the average annual income was $22,400; a new car cost $9,255; and a gallon of gas was just 89 cents. The first American Girl doll entered the market and DORITOS introduced its Cool Ranch flavor. Oh, and the average life expectancy? Males: 71.2 years/females: 78.2 years.

It was also the last time we had an overhaul of the tax system, under the leadership of President Ronald Reagan.

Thirty-one years later we find ourselves here, facing another tax overhaul under the leadership of President Donald Trump. Who would have guessed? Listen in to this episode to find out how this affects you as a retiree.

Today we are witnessing two things going in the opposite direction - the stock market and the changing tax laws.  We know you’d like us to talk about both of them more frequently, but there’s many good reasons why that’s difficult to do.

By the time I’m finished writing this email, for example, the stock market will have changed. Also, compliance keeps our industry “in check” so that we don’t give misinformation or give any indication of being promissory.

As far as the changing tax laws, the key word here is “changing” and the ripple effect has just started.

These are two very large elephants that are in the room. We are hoping to give you tools to navigate the game and put you in the offensive position knowing full well that both can change our situations in the blink of an eye.

Few people plan on being alone in life. Your future is imagined with someone next to you, fulfilling everything you planned TOGETHER. But then life happens, and you lose half of the dream. In this show, we want to talk about that reality. “Money can be a source of stress for couples to discuss, or one spouse isn’t interested, or simply busy couples divide and conquer. Either way, the surviving spouse is at a huge disadvantage when left out of the day-to-day money management.” (Kiplinger)

Regardless of where you land on the spectrum of loss, the struggle is real and it doesn’t disappear. “Friends and relatives alike must understand that being a widow is not like having a cold from which you will recover. Rather, being a widow is like having a chronic disease – you may be in remission for a period of time, but you will have flare-ups.” (Nasdaq)

We are aware of this reality and hope to give you some fresh financial perspective to move you forward.

In this episode, Dennis Prout and Shea Petaja discuss the cha-cha-changes of 2018 to your Social Security, 401(k) plans and Roth IRAs. They also discuss the contribution limits for all retirement plans. Perhaps this information will give you better parameters for your financial resolutions this year.

Did you know that approximately 50% of the population makes a resolution each New Year, and 80% of them will fail by February? Not only is this not shocking, it’s discouraging. Why start when there’s no guarantee of finishing? What’s the difference between the 80% who fail and the 20% who succeed?

I think the better question is this: “A year from now, what do you want to be celebrating? And, how much will it cost?” Every goal requires resources, and starting at the very beginning is a very good place to start. 

Join us as we help you dream a little bigger and think a little more clearly about the financial realities required to make those resolutions come true. 

According to Money Magazine, “Indeed, 70% of wealthy families lose their wealth by the second generation, and a stunning 90% by the third, according to the Williams Group wealth consultancy.” Not in the 1% of the population of ultra-affluent? Consider this from CNBC, “Over the next several decades, the biggest and wealthiest generation in U.S. history will transfer roughly $30 trillion in assets to their Gen X and Millennial children.” Even more shocking, “Most of those children will promptly fire their parents’ advisors.”

Want to have control of that money now versus when you pass?

In this episode Dennis Prout will give you several options for gifting your assets. And, if you’re on the receiving side, he can help you navigate that as well.

Oh, and last (but not least) … that tax plan? They talk about that too!