A thoughtfully-designed estate plan should evolve over time to reflect your changing circumstances and goals so it can protect you, your family and your assets while you are alive and upon your death. We will:

• Coordinate efforts with your attorney on the design, implementation, and revision of the proper planning vehicles consistent with your overall financial plan.
• Review account ownership and beneficiary designations on all accounts to ensure that your property is held and distributed in the most effective, tax-efficient and economical manner.
• Retitle assets and change beneficiary designations as warranted, so they are aligned with your estate planning goals.

We will:

• Assess your need for property, liability, life and long-term care protection.
• Evaluate current policies to determine if coverage increases or decreases are warranted or if current policies should be replaced.
• Shop for and evaluate competitive policies and pricing.
• Work with your insurance specialists to ensure that your coverages are appropriate and remain adequate as your income, assets and personal situation changes.

We consider your future spending goals and ability to cope with market downturns. Then we design and manage a portfolio that offers you the best chance for success. We will:

• Wring-out unnecessary risk by diversifying the portfolio across a spectrum of selected stock and bond funds.
• Improve after-tax returns by employing smart investing strategies, including:
  • Using tax-efficient investments where appropriate.
  • Employing asset location strategies that place the right investments in the right accounts to minimize taxes and maximize portfolio growth.
  • Harvesting and matching investment losses and gains.
  • Rebalancing the portfolio in a tax-smart manner.
• Consolidate the number of investment accounts and financial institutions to eliminate redundancies and unnecessary fees that are depleting your account values. Our consolidation process includes:
  • Analyzing current investments for imbedded tax liabilities and liquidation fees.
  • Opening new accounts to receive asset transfers.
  • Completing account applications on your behalf.
  • Conducting conference calls with the financial institutions to verify asset values, cost basis and confirm asset transfer procedures.
  • Completing transfer paperwork on your behalf.
  • Executing asset transfers.
• Formally review the portfolio quarterly and make adjustments to reflect changes in your personal and financial situation.
• Provide behavioral coaching. Though sudden surges and prolonged, frightening drops in the financial markets are to be expected, even the most seasoned and experienced investors make emotional and impulsive decisions that can result in costly mistakes. One of our most valuable functions is to prepare you for these inevitable events, design a portfolio that anticipates them, and ensure that you maintain a cool head and remain focused on your long-term plan.

We work with our clients throughout the year so we are in a unique position to identify the tax implications of the financial decisions they face before rather than after they make them. We will:

• Ensure that you utilize tax-advantaged opportunities, including:
  • Pre and post-tax contributions to retirement accounts.
  • Tax-smart saving and investment strategies.
  • Strategic Roth conversions.
  • Managing investment gains and losses.
  • Employer and self-employed non-retirement benefits.
• Work with your tax preparer to make sure that the strategy they pursue on your behalf will accurately reflect and support your financial goals.

Living in retirement requires a different set of strategies than saving for retirement. The major challenge clients face is converting a nest egg accumulated over a lifetime of work into an income stream that will last for as long as they live. We guide you through the transition from the workforce and then throughout your retirement to ensure that your income and investments are aligned with your spending needs. We will:

• Evaluate potential tax minimization strategies including:
  • Employer retirement plan to IRA rollovers.
  • Tax-efficient distribution of existing annuities.
  • Tactical traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversions.
• Analyze employer pension payout options (lump-sum vs. life annuity vs. joint & survivor annuity).
• Determine optimal Social Security timing strategies.
• Coordinate Medicare with supplemental plans.
• Construct, implement and manage a systematic portfolio withdrawal plan to:
  • Generate a monthly paycheck to cover spending needs.
  • Match withdrawals with spending to ensure that your nest egg lasts as long as you live.
  • Minimize taxes.

Knowing how much you spend and save can mean the difference between enjoying a comfortable and secure lifestyle or having to settle for less because you have outlived your savings. Once we determine the amount of savings and investments you will need to fund your personal and family goals, we will:

• Help you create a spending plan that aligns with your values and priorities.
• Identify the steps you will need to take to reach those goals.
• Develop a strategy to deploy your savings in the most effective and tax-efficient manner.
• Regularly review and monitor your progress and adjust the plan as needed.