The latest on the blog:
Essential Estate Planning Documents Everyone Should Have
Estate planning is a crucial aspect of financial planning for individuals of all ages and income levels. Having the right estate planning documents in place ensures that your assets are distributed according to your wishes, and your loved ones are protected in case of unexpected events. In this blog post, we will outline the essential estate planning documents that everyone should have to safeguard their legacy and provide reassurance for themselves and their families. Last Will and Testament A Last Will and Testament, commonly known as a Will, is a fundamental estate planning document that outlines how you want your assets and property to be distributed after your death. It allows you to name beneficiaries, appoint an executor to oversee the distribution, and, if you have minor children, designate a guardian for them. Without a Will, your state’s laws will determine how your assets are divided, which might not align with your intentions. Revocable Living Trust A Revocable Living Trust is an estate planning tool that provides more flexibility and privacy than a Will. With a trust, you can transfer your assets to a separate entity (the trust) while retaining control over them during your lifetime. In case of incapacity
Five Action Items to Protect Yourself from Identity Theft and Cybercrime
Create an Online Social Security Account at SSA.gov This step becomes more important as you approach age 62 (the earliest age you can claim social security) and is critical if you are over that age. With the number of data breaches that have occurred, there is a good chance your social security number and other personal information is out there. With this information, a fraudster can claim social security and steal your benefit. By creating an online account, it keeps your social security benefit information from being mailed out and keeps a criminal from being able to create a fraudulent online account with the SSA that they can use to subsequently claim your benefit when you are old enough to apply. Freeze your Four Credit Reports A freeze on your credit report will keep a criminal from being able to apply for a line of credit, loan, or bank account as the freeze must be lifted before a credit inquiry can be run. When you freeze your credit you will create a PIN that can be used to lift the freeze whenever you make a legitimate attempt to open a new account. The four credit reporting agencies are: Experian –
The Red Dot Talk
All of our clients have heard this talk and many of them have heard it several times. This chart is from the JP Morgan Guide to the Markets and we’re going to pull two lessons from it. The first thing on this chart is the bars and what they represent is what the S&P 500 did each year. You’ll see that these bars are all over the place and there is no pattern. We need to agree on the fact that nobody knows what the next bar is going to be. If you look at longer periods of time – rolling 3 year, 5 year, 10 year periods – your odds of success increase tremendously. The second thing on this chart is the red dots. What are these red dots? They are the low point of the S&P 500 every year. You’ll see that they are ugly and they are negative every year. If you average the red dots they are close to -15% so on an average year you can expect to be down 15% and sometimes much worse. What do we do on a red dot? We’ve got to agree upfront that the smart thing to do is
