Category: Family

Story-Based Planning vs. “Numbers”-Based Planning

One of the things that guides my practice is the gap between what clients want and what most advisors and planners can deliver. In my experience, clients want a caring advisor who can help them build and leave a legacy to their loved ones (financial and otherwise). However, most professionals lack the skills and tools[...]

Living Trusts For The Non-Rich

The term "trust fund" conjures up images of mansions, yachts and huge fortunes. But once the province of the very rich, trusts have found themselves into the lives of many families who've never thought of themselves as wealthy. Trusts come in myriad forms, but for middle-class families, the living trust is popular because the person[...]

Balloon Boy Fallout – Should Heenes Lose Custody of Children if Guilty of Hoax?

Amber Watson-Tardiff, who posts a regular column on NJ.com about Parenting Advice for New Jersey parents asked me to comment for an article she was writing about the fallout from Balloon Boy, including anticipating court intervention with the parents. You can read the whole article here - and I've pasted most of the column below[...]

Talking To Your Family About Your Estate Plan

Many clients finish planning their estate with me and then ask me what they should tell and to whom. As you might expect, the answer depends on where the client is in life and on the specific life circumstances for which we've planned. Families With Minor Children For families with minor children, I urge parents[...]