Benefits of Disclaimers in Post-Mortem Estate Planning

October 27, 2022By KROST Wealth

When considering the creation of a will or a trust, one usually thinks about pre-death planning. However, the beneficiaries have an opportunity where post-mortem planning comes into play. Let’s look at an important post-mortem planning tool – the disclaimer. A disclaimer is a refusal to accept an interest in or a power over property – Read the full article…

Assess Life Insurance Needs

October 7, 2022By Phil Clark, CPWA®,CFP®, CLU®

If your family relies on your income, it’s critical to consider having enough life insurance to provide for them after you pass away. But too often, life insurance is an overlooked aspect of personal finances. In fact, according to a 2019 study conducted by Life Happens and LIMRA, which closely follows life insurance trends, nearly Read the full article…

How to Treat Inherited Individual Retirement Accounts

May 25, 2022By KROST Wealth

The SECURE Act, which became effective on January 1, 2021, changed the rules for inherited IRAs. Prior to that, the rules were very beneficial to non-spousal beneficiaries. The act upended the “life expectancy” rule for distributions and, in its place, created the 10-year rule for non-spousal beneficiaries. The act establishes a time period of 10 Read the full article…

What is a Trust?

March 8, 2022By KROST Wealth

A trust is a legal agreement between two parties: the trustee and the trustor (sometimes called the settlor or grantor). The trustor is the person who establishes the trust and transfers assets into it. The trustee is the person or entity responsible for managing those assets according to the trustor’s wishes. Often the trustor will also be the trustee, Read the full article…

Critical Estate Documents

January 25, 2022By Phil Clark, CPWA®,CFP®, CLU®

Financial Documents Joint Ownership Durable Power of Attorney Living Trust What does it do? Enables you to own property jointly with another person Authorizes someone to handle legal and financial decisions if you become incapacitated Holds your belongings until your death Can it authorize someone to handle your financial affairs if you are unable to Read the full article…

Quarterly Client Letter – Q3 2021

November 12, 2021By Phil Clark, CPWA®,CFP®, CLU®

In this quarter’s letter, I keep thinking about the difference between familiar and normal. In so many areas of our lives, the normal has given way to the familiar. What was once not normal has become familiar, ie. wearing masks, schools and restaurants closing, hand-washing stations. Also, the opposite is true that what was once normal Read the full article…

Quarterly Client Letter – Q2 2021

July 29, 2021By Phil Clark, CPWA®,CFP®, CLU®

The three horsemen of the retirement apocalypse. Dramatic, yes.  Accurate, yes. Scary, maybe. I consider the most significant risks to a healthy and well-planned retirement: Low-Interest Rates Inflation Healthcare Costs The 2nd quarter of 2021 was marked with expansive growth in both GDP and, more importantly, inflation.  As communicated in the Quarterly Economic Update, “According Read the full article…