Targeted Planning For Individuals

Asset protection planning is primarily about protecting and preserving your “estate” (i.e. assets) from potential creditors, bankruptcy and possible future divorce.  Asset protection planning is increasingly important in today’s litigious world.  If you’re worried that someone may “get” to your assets, we can assist in creating a strategy to allow you to sleep well at night knowing your assets are not ripe for the taking.  Schedule a Meeting.

There are a number of scholarships, grants and loans available to students to help offset the expense of a college education.  Nevertheless, the projected costs of a solid education are staggering, and not everyone can qualify for scholarships or other types of financial aid.  That’s why you may need help when preparing for your children or grandchildren’s education. 

We are aware of the changing tax rules and different savings plans that impact the funding of your children or grandchildren’s education and can help you determine the best way to approach this need.  In addition to the traditional savings methods, including 529 plans, which are frequently used by default; we have also found success for our clients in utilizing alternative techniques that offer significant tax advantages over these traditional methods.  Schedule a Meeting.

Estate planning is primarily about protecting and preserving your “estate” (i.e. assets) during your lifetime in addition to distributing your money after your death.  A proper drafted estate plan primarily protects you and your spouse as the numerous documents form the foundation of your wealth management.  Every dollar you have is impacted in some significant way by these documents and it’s therefore important for your wealth advisor to understand every detail of your estate planning.  Additionally, proper estate planning is critical to deliver your assets to whom you want, when you want and in what manner you prefer.

We provide advice on issues including trust design, property ownership & titling, distribution strategies, estate tax reduction and tax payment techniques.  Proper planning can also help minimize future estate settlement costs and to help provide a comfortable living for your surviving family.  Transfer taxes can significantly shrink the size of your estate by claiming roughly half of everything you own.^[1]  We also identify potential liquidity and estate equalization issues and provide you with your options to solve these problems. Schedule a Meeting.

^[1] For 2020 the individual estate and gift tax exemption is $11,580,000.  However, you cannot depend upon the current estate and gift tax exemption amounts remaining in place forever as they are set to expire on January 1, 2026.

We assist you in identifying your investment objectives, evaluating your risk tolerance and analyzing your current portfolio.  With this information, we help you determine the appropriate asset allocation that’s right for you as well as exploring the various alternative investment strategies that are available that could help you meet your individual needs and goals.  We do not have a predetermined investment approach that is used with all of our clients as everyone’s situation is unique unto themselves.  And, based on your own individual preferences (not ours), we will then recommend specific investment strategies to fund your investment plan.  We also seek to maximize your accumulation through appropriate account aggregation and proper tax reduction strategies.  We will review your portfolio for tax efficiency including:  Schedule a Meeting.

With retirement often lasting 25 to 30 years or more, many of our clients are understandably concerned about outliving their savings.  To help our clients prepare for the retirement income they both desire and deserve, we help you leave as little as possible to chance by planning in advance and exploring all of your options.  To avoid a savings shortfall, it is critical to spend the time now to plan for you to have the capital necessary to afford the retirement lifestyle you desire.  Our goal is to help you choose among the various investment strategies for your specific situation in order to maximize your retirement income distributions including:  Schedule a Meeting.

• Recommendations regarding the most appropriate distribution strategy for your employer retirement plans and IRAs
• Comprehensive review of your income tax return to highlight opportunities to help reduce tax liabilities
• Control Timing of Taxes
• Tax Diversification
• Tax Bracket Management
• Tax-free Rebalancing
• Proper Asset Location
• Reduce Tax on Social Security
• Reduce Medicare premiums
• Review the possibilities of converting to a Roth IRA or the use of other tax-free retirement income strategies
• Review and analysis of your various guaranteed and non-guaranteed income sources, including social security

A big part of keeping your dreams alive is making plans to protect your financial situation and that of your loved ones.  We believe that sound planning includes building a strong base of financial security in the event of your premature death, disability or illness.  We will assist you in evaluating and providing guidance in choosing the coverage that is right for you, including utilizing the group coverage available through your business/employer (if applicable.)   Schedule a Meeting.

The risk transfer tools we assist with includes:

• Life Insurance
• Disability Insurance
• Long Term Care Insurance
• Critical Illness Insurance
• Health Insurance

Brad Creger of BFF Financial is a pioneer in the area of special needs planning as he created a body of law  commonly known as “Springing Special Needs Trust” language which is now being incorporated into today’s living trusts and irrevocable trusts.  In addition to the standard special needs planning, we also can incorporate the newer ABLE accounts into your planning.  If you have a special needs child, it’s increasingly important to begin planning now for the future both you and your child deserve.  Schedule a Meeting.