Though not an unusual request, we realize that estate planning for a pet or pets is not all that common. For many people, their pets are viewed as members of their family, and are treated as such. So even though you can’t leave money or property to your pet as you could a normal beneficiary, you can still plan to make sure your pet has a good life ...
When preparing for our financial planning meetings, we occasionally ask clients for various financial statements - be it insurance statements, tax returns, etc. At times, we’ll request to see documents that go a few years back. And during tax season? If you’ve ever been audited by the IRS, you better believe they’re going to ask for anything and ev...
Thinking about risk in investing can elicit a number of emotions. Does it mean the opportunity for great returns? Or does it bring up thoughts of being left with nothing? Or to you is investment risk not exciting at all, just an inevitable part of the investment process? Asking these types of questions can help you better understand what your risk ...
Let’s take a step back in time – where were you in 1980? Remember it like it was yesterday? In 1980 the average cost of a new car was $7,210. Today on average you’ll pay about $33,000! And we’re sure you’ve noticed the substantial change in gas prices. These staggering price differences are due to inflation – and it can have a big effect on your pu...
At Walsh & Associates, one of the most valuable services we offer is our Red Flag Audit® (RFA®). Just as a red flag indicates that conditions are unsafe, our Red Flag Audit® is an opportunity for us to show our clients those things in their financial environment that could be “unsafe”. Over the years of providing this service, we’ve come across...
The IRS has released a new rule that will simplify the method for estates to obtain an extension of time to make the estate tax portability election. Known as Revenue Ruling 2017-34, this new rule will ease up on surviving spouses who failed to take advantage of their deceased spousal unused exclusion amount (DSUE) in a timely manner. B...
Though oddly named, a QTIP trust is used by many wealthy couples to protect their assets and provide for the surviving spouse. The catchy QTIP acronym stands for Qualified Terminable Interest Property, which is property in a decedent’s estate that can still qualify for the estate tax marital deduction (with certain restrictions). QTIP can also be p...
The Department of Labor’s Fiduciary Rule will officially kick into effect on June 9, 2017, with full implementation by January 1, 2018. As of June 9, all advisors to retirement investors must adhere to “impartial conduct standards”, meaning they must give investment advice that is in the best interest to the client, charge for reasonable compensati...