When it comes to estate planning, folks with taxable estates—that is, with assets in excess of $12 million—tend to fall into one of two camps. The first recognize that their estates will have to hand the IRS 40 cents out of every dollar above that $12 million threshold. They also know that this [...]
Helping helpfully
Life is expensive. There’s no doubt about that—especially for young adults contending with budget busters like housing and tuition. If you have adult children facing these expenses and want to help them financially, you may be wondering how best to approach it. While every family is different, below [...]
Organizing your financial life for your heirs
A few years back, I found myself in an emergency room, thinking I had a serious condition. As I sat there, I worried about my family, including my wife and young children. But I also worried that if I didn’t come home, my wife wouldn’t have a clear picture of our finances. Fortunately, the health [...]
The charmed life of Stewart Mott
When Stewart Mott died in 2008, his obituary in The New York Times described him as offbeat. That’s probably a fair description. Mott’s father, Charles Mott, had been one of the founding shareholders of General Motors. As a result, the younger Mott didn't need to work and instead pursued other [...]
A year-end housekeeping checklist
It's hard to believe that Thanksgiving is right around the corner. But with six weeks left before the end of the year, there's still plenty of time to do some financial housekeeping. Below are seven recommendations: 1. Visit your CPA: During tax season, accountants are so inundated with work [...]
