Investments & Insurance

Mom, Dad, are your financial affairs in order?

by Jamie Held July 13, 2012 Estate Planning 101

While speaking to clients regarding their estate plan, the topic of conversation often shifts to … “I wonder if my parents have done any planning?” As we get further into the discussion of expenses – [...]

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Unintended Consequences: Naming a Child as Beneficiary of Life Insurance

by Anna Lima June 6, 2012 Estate Planning 101

If you are one of the millions of parents who own a life insurance policy, you may have your child named individually as a primary or contingent beneficiary if you were to pass away while [...]

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Life Insurance Policy Review…A Disaster or Solution Waiting to Happen?

by Bob Cohen May 28, 2012 Guest Articles

For insured’s under the misperception that their life insurance policy is iron clad simply because they pay their annually billed premium, these folks may be in for an abrupt and expensive surprise.  Many policies are [...]

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The Perils & Pitfalls of Joint Accounts

by Sonia Toomey May 18, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Suppose your aging mother asks your sister to take care of her finances and help her to balance her checkbook. You live out of town, and think it’s a great idea. To make things easier, [...]

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Economic Update

by J.B. L'Esperance May 9, 2012 Guest Articles

Our good fortune has continued with expanded growth in the markets.  This is typical of an election year and if history is any indication, there should be more of this to come.  The Dow Jones [...]

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Inherited Retirement Accounts Part II: Non-Spouse Beneficiary

by Jen Santini April 27, 2012 Estate Planning 101

We previously discussed the options available to a surviving spouse inheriting a qualified retirement account. This article will address the options available to a non-spouse beneficiary inheriting a qualified retirement account. Just for a brief [...]

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Inherited Retirement Accounts Part I: Spouse Beneficiary

by Jen Santini April 13, 2012 Estate Planning 101

There is often confusion about what to do when a beneficiary inherits a retirement account. The answer is… it depends. There are different factors to determine the best course of action, such as the beneficiary [...]

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Workers’ Compensation Settlements & Estate Planning

by Michael Lammers March 19, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Across the board, the significant majority of personal injury lawsuits and workers’ compensation claims are resolved through settlement. The reasons for the high percentage of cases that settle are myriad. Our crowded court system and [...]

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Protecting Yourself as Co-signer on Your Child’s Loan

by Lindsey Manhart March 14, 2012 Guest Articles

A few months ago, I wrote about the importance of having life insurance to help provide for your family upon your death. Today I write about life insurance again, but from a different perspective: what [...]

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3 Steps to a Thoughtful Beneficiary Review

by Chris Hiestand February 18, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Make Sure Your Money Goes to the Right Person after You’re Gone There is so much information available about personal finances that you could spend your entire life reading all of it and you would [...]

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Why Life Insurance is Important

by Lindsey Manhart December 1, 2011 Estate Planning 101

Can your family survive on $250 each month? The average American has $50,000 of life insurance through work, which equals about $250 per month in income replacement.  Are you that average American?  Can your family [...]

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