QUESTION: My adult children aren’t as well off as I am, and I want to help them out financially. How much should I help them, and how can I best give to them? ANSWER: Children’s ages and income potential all play factors, so parents should carefully consider how such help will affect their kids emotionally…
Many people are discovering charitable giving is a great way to strengthen family bonds while teaching children and grandchildren about their family’s values and traditions. A number of our AMG clients have made philanthropy a family affair and are cultivating the next generation of donors and building their social awareness at the same time. Here…
QUESTION: Should I have long-term-care insurance or just plan on paying for it myself? ANSWER: Long-term care is one of the most difficult topics in wealth management. Talking about death is uncomfortable for most people, and positively scary for others. It’s also a daunting task, full of difficult choices. Costs vary greatly depending on the…
Are U.S. – Russia relations better or worse than at the height of the Cold War? According to former Ambassador Michael McFaul current relations are bad but nowhere near as ominous as they were in the 1950s and ‘60s.
This summer the Federal Reserve Board cut interest rates, and the yield curve inverted, leading many to fear that the next recession is imminent.
QUESTION: I’m getting up there in years, and I’m worried that I might make a bad financial decision in the future and squander my children’s inheritance, or impair my ability to take care of my own needs. Should I establish an elder trust that safeguards my assets while giving me a fixed monthly allowance? ANSWER:…
QUESTION: I want to set up an irrevocable trust to take care of my needs as I age, and I need to pick a trustee. What should I consider? ANSWER: A trustee has many responsibilities, one of which is making distributions from the trust to you, the beneficiary. Many people want their children or a…
QUESTION: I have a big retirement fund, so why don’t I feel secure now that I’m in retirement? ANSWER: Retirement can be difficult for productive people who have been saving and investing most of their lives. Taking money out of savings, instead of putting it in, feels irresponsible. It can take several years to get…
The taxpayers won this one—at least in North Carolina. That was the result of a rare unanimous U.S. Supreme Court decision on June 21, 2019, that rejected North Carolina’s claim that it can tax the undistributed income from a non-grantor trust based in another state if the beneficiary is a North Carolina resident. A New…
Now that the federal deduction for state and local taxes is gone, should I consider changing residency from my high income-tax state to one with lower or no state taxes?
