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A Roth conversion is the process of moving money from a traditional IRA or other pretax retirement account into a Roth IRA, where you pay taxes now in exchange for tax-free withdrawals in retirement.…
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Browse all of our published insights — newest first.
Glen Allen residents face unique financial challenges due to the area’s cost of living, which runs about 5% higher than the national average. Whether you’re planning for retirement, managing…
Read ArticleWe wanted to announce some exciting news over the weekend. On Saturday, September 27th, the Richmond Times-Dispatch released the results of their 2025 Best of Richmond Awards as voted by their…
Read ArticleThe recently signed One Big Beautiful Bill Act brings several changes that will affect older adults. Some could save seniors money; others add new rules to keep in mind. Below is an overview of key…
Read ArticleWhat’s inside the new tax law? Permanent changes The following provisions were all part of the original TCJA and will become a permanent part of the tax code. The 7 tax brackets as defined by the…
Read Article“The foundation of a good retirement is planning.” – Earl Nightingale In times like these, saving for retirement is hard enough. That’s why you want to make sure you plan it right — or at least as…
Read Article“The bad news is, nothing lasts forever. The good news is, nothing lasts forever.” – J. Cole At this point, we’ve probably all heard about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 (TCJA), which made a lot…
Read ArticleDeciding when to start taking Social Security benefits can have a significant impact on an individual’s retirement income. It is crucial for retirees to make informed decisions, as the timing of…
Read Article“Don’t give up because things are hard, but work harder, when you think of giving up.” – Anthony Liccione Tax time can remind us of our choices over the course of the entire previous year. We see how…
Read Article“You just can’t beat the person who never gives up.” – Babe Ruth So many mindlessly follow “influencer” advice, and start to pursue a careerdriven exclusively from their “passion”. They end up with…
Read ArticleNew retirees often find it difficult to work out their finances to make ends meet. The rising cost of healthcare also makes it difficult to cover day-to-day expenses. While you can’t avoid paying…
Read ArticleLet’s talk about something of major importance as you begin to prepare for retirement: learning how to turn retirement assets into income. After spending years working to accumulate assets and…
Read ArticleThe impact of taxes on your personal retirement income is one issue that is often overlooked when thinking about retirement that should be seriously considered. Taxes play an important role in your…
Read ArticleAre you approaching 60 and considering taking your Social Security benefit early? This sounds like a great idea! Taking your benefits early is one way to increase your income, and you would be…
Read ArticleOne of the most common questions we receive from clients who are teachers or state employees revolves around the PLOP. The PLOP, or Partial Lump Sum Option, provides qualified Virginia Retirement…
Read Article“Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forward.” -Soren Kierkegaard Get a piece of paper and make a list of all the things you want to do during your lifetime–no matter how…
Read Article“A mind, like a home, is furnished by its owner, so if one’s life is cold and bare he can blame none but himself.” -Louis L’Amour It turns out that the conventional wisdom is wrong: it is possible to…
Read Article“Life is like music; it must be composed by ear, feeling and instinct, not by rule.” -Samuel Butler People over 40 shouldn’t just plan for retirement, they should rehearse for it. Because retirement…
Read Article“Part of making good decisions is recognizing the poor decisions you’ve made and why they were poor.” -Warren Buffett Setting up an IRA for your retirement is almost always a good investment, but…
Read Article“We believe in ordinary acts of bravery, in the courage that drives one person to stand up for another.” -Veronica Roth If you’ve got a recent college graduate living at home, searching for his or…
Read Article“Today well lived makes every yesterday a dream of happiness and every tomorrow a vision of hope. Look well therefore to this day.” – Francis Gray Perhaps I’m biased, but I believe that it really is…
Read ArticleThe noblest search is the search for excellence.” – Lyndon Johnson You may have established an estate plan in the past, or you may not have gotten around to it, but it is critical that you ALWAYS…
Read Article“Results! Why, man, I have gotten a lot of results. I know several thousand things that won’t work.” – Thomas A. Edison Our clients who filed with us this year already feel the peace-of-mind that you…
Read ArticleOne of the most pressing, painful and significant issues within a marriage can be the problem of finances. For some, this presents no significant hurdle whatsoever — often because the money is…
Read ArticleCreating a budget really shouldn’t be the place where financial decisions begin. Instead, a comprehensive look at what you most care about and how you want to live your life is the best place to…
Read ArticleI thought I would take the time this week to give you an objective, “incentive-free” look at what your finances should look like when you hit the half-century mark. If you are close to that mark, I…
Read ArticleOver 50% of adults do NOT have a will or other estate planning instruments in place to protect themselves and their family. And, perhaps even worse, over 69% of parents have not yet named legal…
Read ArticleWorking with my clients’ finances over the years has given me a bit of a crash course in human behavior. Often, I’m floored by the generosity I see displayed by many clients — even those without…
Read ArticleThe very first thing we would do with any client who wants to get ahead of their tax bill is to first figure out what their tax bill would actually be, if all things remain the same. While there are…
Read ArticleEvery year, I sit down with families who made a particular financial move, and as a result, some unforeseen — and unintended — consequence kicked in. This could be an unexpected tax event, it may…
Read ArticleThis week, I’d like to give you some examples of why it’s so important to be prepared–for the sake of your family’s future. You see, when it comes to transferring real wealth to children, many…
Read ArticleSince this is a subject which often comes up in our offices, I thought I’d put together some of our best answers on the subject, for your reference. These are the most important considerations for…
Read ArticleYou pay your bills on time. You try to save as much as you can. You even follow the advice which you read in books and hear on the radio about how to keep your finances in check. But you’re still not…
Read ArticleI wrote previously about the hidden financial mistakes which even some of our wealthiest clients fall into. These are gleaned from my years working directly with families — in their finances, and, of…
Read ArticleMany well meaning families think that estate plans are for someone else, not them. (Our clients hopefully know different.) They may rationalize that they are too young or don’t have enough money to…
Read ArticleWhen your day wraps to a close, are you leaving tired and satisfied? Or just … tired? You’ve spent the day in nearly constant activity. And you may have been procrastinating the whole time. “Huh?”…
Read ArticleMaybe it’s true that having $1m+ isn’t as impressive as it used to be these days. But it’s still a measure that we continue to use as a marker of financial “arriving”. What’s further interesting is…
Read ArticleWhen we advise about or help set up tax-saving mechanisms for clients to deliver their philanthropy and giving (outside of normal tax deductions), there’s plenty of discussion about the benefits of…
Read Article“Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, ‘I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.’” – Ann Landers First of…
Read Article“Character isn’t something you were born with and can’t change, like your fingerprints. It’s something you weren’t born with and must take responsibility for forming.” – Jim Rohn J. Paul Getty became…
Read Article“Failing to plan is planning to fail.” – Effie Jones When a person with assets over $100,000 passes away, their assets will be handled in one of three ways: (1) if they had no will, their assets will…
Read Article“If we wait until we’re ready, we’ll be waiting for the rest of our lives.” – Lemony Snicket Parenting is more than reading to your children or getting them to eat their vegetables. It’s also about…
Read Article“You cannot drive your car looking at the rear view mirror. Focus on going forward.” – Steve Harvey Depending on your perspective, this can feel like a double-whammy. Certainly, as with children,…
Read Article“Problems are only opportunities in work clothes.” – Henry J Kaiser First, retain a paper copy or receipt of any tax-relevant transaction. Scan these documents and archive them electronically, or…
Read Article“It doesn’t matter where you are, you are nowhere compared to where you can go.” -Bob Proctor People over 40 shouldn’t just plan for retirement, they should rehearse for it. Because retirement can…
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