Special Needs Financial Planning

I wrote an article last month regarding the 10 things I got wrong about financial planning over my 20-year career. As it happens, I also got some things right and was happy when I was asked to write about them.

While growth and succession can be accomplished using a DIY approach, there are benefits (professional and personal) that come with working with a strategic partner to achieve those goals.

Based on my anecdotal experience, I’ve come to the reluctant conclusion that many advisors are clueless about what it means to be a fiduciary.

Many of my clients or their kids will face repaying student loans. And given the inflationary environment and related rising interest rates, some of them will need to make careful choices about prioritizing their payback plans.

The surging popularity of direct indexing has led to confusion. Some believe it is barely indistinguishable from indexed investing, while others claim it is active management “in drag.”

An outdated website will tarnish your brand and cause you to miss opportunities to grow your reputation, reach, and revenue.

The number of business locations increased in almost three-quarters of U.S. counties over the two years through September 2021, according to new research from the Economic Innovation Group, a Washington think tank. The fastest growth was in the Southeast of the country and inland western regions.

While putting together a marketing plan is more complex than reading an article, here are three important pieces of advice to get female solo practitioners started.

We describe how an intentional and sustainable vision for diversity and inclusion at Wealthspire took form.

Here are some creative features to add to lazy, unappealing job postings so you can poach talent from your competitors.

You have a niche market selected, but now comes the tricky part: determining whether the niche is a viable client base. Here are 11 questions to help you assess whether you picked a good niche.

While I was raised to believe in the importance of helping others and to appreciate the help my own family was given, it was a personal tragedy that was the impetus for much of what I’ve done.

The expanded child tax credit lapsed in December as the cost of President Joe Biden’s spending plans became a sticking point in Congress. Yet amid the debate over whether its success in reducing poverty is worth its large price tag, many are missing a crucial feature: It was uniquely well-designed to address the increasingly precarious economic reality that millions of Americans experience.

American families are feeling the financial squeeze of soaring inflation and a persistent pandemic as fractious Democrats return to Washington this week no closer to a deal on a tax and spending bill party leaders hoped would by now provide relief.

Insights into the economy can be found in surprising places. In a brothel, for instance, how services are priced and who ends up working there can reveal a lot about the state of the business cycle. It also reflects structural changes in our economy and society.

Investment advice is not financial planning. This is an important distinction to understand when someone goes shopping for financial advice. Do they only need help with investment decisions, or do they need guidance on all aspects of their financial life?

Americans are racking up bills on credit cards, returning to pre-pandemic habits after emergency relief programs ended and the economy reopened.

President Joe Biden is attempting to rally fractious Democrats around a whittled-down economic package that his administration is promoting as a monumental achievement for social spending and climate programs.

An essential, but often overlooked, part of an estate plan is to communicate your wishes and the plan to your heirs. Here are a few guiding topics for this conversation.

Your client’s situation is unique. A special needs trust is not necessary or recommended for all clients or their families.

Long before the Treasury Department sent $1.4 billion in stimulus checks to dead people last year, the U.S. government struggled to keep track of the deceased.

You may think you know what’s of interest to your prospect, but you are probably wrong.

Are you missing opportunities to deepen your client relationships or losing business opportunities in your planning process?

Whenever I talk to financial advisors about autism, the response I get is something like, “Sara, my clients are high net worth individuals. They are not autistic.” Well, think again.

Adding “alpha” to client relationships may be easier through effective estate and tax planning than with investment manager selection or portfolio construction. Potential changes to the tax code illustrate many of those planning opportunities.

Americans are shedding their masks, buying concert tickets and booking vacations like it’s 2019. But there’s one thing that’s doesn’t appear to be going anywhere as the pandemic fades: remote work.

Insurance is one of the areas I spend time working with clients to save them money and add value to the financial planning process. Here’s how I frame things to clients to give actionable advice.

Whether your planning approach involves three, five or seven pillars, it is likely you are missing the top financial concern for Americans: health care.

As the U.S. job market comes roaring back, there’s a growing debate about whether there are enough workers to power faster economic growth.

The highest-flying tech names are getting no help from one of the sector’s usual lifelines amid a fierce selloff that’s showing few signs of slowing.

To compensate, retain and attract employees, many companies issue stock options.

Health-care companies are taking on more debt to pay dividends to their private equity owners, just a year after the start of a pandemic that plunged the industry into crisis.

If you wonder whether your firm’s website should be ADA compliant, the short answer is “yes.”

Even the most promising future can change drastically by a life-threatening event. A healthy individual may require around-the-clock care and supervision after an accident, creating the need to solve complex financial planning problems.

I hope to raise awareness and hasten a wake-up call for workplace disability support, especially in the securities industry.

It has been my tradition to informally rate the investment-related books I read in the past year. I have also included some novels and books of general interest. Here is my list of winners and losers.

Donald Trump departs Washington on Wednesday with Americans more politically divided and more likely to be out of work than when he arrived, while awaiting trial for his second impeachment -- an ignominious end to one of the most turbulent presidencies in American history.

The conventional wisdom that inflation will be rekindled in the U.S. -- ending the massive Treasuries rally and driving up yields -- is bunk, according to a Texas fund manager whose three-decade bullish stance on bonds propelled another banner year in 2020.

Several former world leaders, a Hong Kong media tycoon, the CEO of Theranos and Jeffrey Epstein’s confidante — all are scheduled to have their day in court next year.

Military veterans seeking the guidance of a financial advisor have a background and career that is different from civilian clients.

Unfortunately, very few professionals are well versed in this highly specialized area of planning. The results of an improperly designed plan can be devastating for beneficiary children with disabilities.

Despite the overwhelming challenges Las Vegas and Southern Nevada have faced in 2020, the help, assistance, and contributions from a variety of local charities have not only positively impacted the lives of many grateful beneficiaries, but also fulfilled the lives of those in a position to give.

It is scary and overwhelming to address long-term planning. But the lack of planning is disheartening to those left to address a crisis, as was the case with David, an 80-year-old man.

We’d like to believe facts matter. In some situations, that is true, but I believe this quote attributed to Friedrich Nietzsche: “There are no facts, only interpretations.”

As high-tax states like California, New Jersey and New York contemplate spending less or taxing even more, the backlash is growing.

Planning for the care of a developmentally challenged child is, at best, intimidating and, at worst, an enormous emotional and financial drain on parents as they age. But the consequences of not planning are immense, as the story of Steven, a 63-year old single man, illustrates.

There are critical questions you need to ask when you are facing the issues of incapacity and maintaining the safety and well-being of a client.

“The more we learn about coronavirus, the weirder it gets,” says a professor leading a study.