Wealth management

Insurance policies with rising or re-appearing premiums can often cause their owners problems, especially when those owners' financial needs or obligations change.Is it a better investment to continue paying a policy that you have already paid into in hopes of a gain at maturation, or to recoup some of the investment by trading the policy for its cash surrender value? Corporate policyholders often face additional dilemmas when dealing with departing executives with key-man or split-dollar policies, or insurance purchased as part of a buy-sell agreement.

It has been a natural progression for CPAs to gradually evolve their practices to include both tax and financial planning."There's a natural link between tax prep and financial planning," explained Stephen Parezo, media manager for multidisciplinary practice firm Fiducial. "In doing a client's taxes, you get to see their whole financial picture. You can see if they're making contributions to retirement plans, and get to see what kind of stocks and other investments they have."

As many of you have already discerned by now, I spend a goodly piece of time in England, specifically because I work with the development office and president of my graduate college there on a new capital campaign that will affect women’s health issues worldwide.

Baby Boomers are just becoming aware that when they retire and because of greater life expectancies, they will probably need a steady income steam for at least 25 years, maybe for as long as 35 or more.

To finish off the year, I thought it might be very worthwhile, as we get ready for New Year’s Resolutions, to consider certain ideals, courtesy of my friends at Buckingham Asset Management. They have adopted the following principles to help them serve as a trusted advisor. It bears repeating over and over because Buckingham is right on target:

Employers and benefit providers are coming up with some rather interesting ways of providing employee benefits in a cost effective manner.

Derrick Kinney is one of the most charming people on the face of the earth. He is also recognized as one of the nation’s leading authorities on helping small business owners, entrepreneurs, and the self-employed succeed with the affluent. Moreover, he is the author of the bestselling "Master the Media to Attract Your Ideal Clients."

The Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Reserve Board have jointly released rules to implement “broker” exceptions for banks.

When I was a kid, sometime around the Battle of Gettysburg, I had run up a pretty good comic book collection. I was addicted to comic books and had first editions, first issues of Batman, Superman, Joe Palooka, Little Lulu, and The Katzenjammer Kids, to name a few. The dimes I got from my grandparents went a long way then.But, alas, you know exactly what happened to them, don’t you? I left for four years of college, plus a couple of years in the service (it was mandatory at that time), and by the time I came home (along with many of my neighborhood friends), those cartons in the garage? Well, where they are, I’m unsure but it could have been income in retirement.

Resolutions relating to improving personal finances in the New Year will likely hold steady year-over-year, according to an unscientific survey.

PWC SURVEY FINDS BOARD MEMBERS CONCERNED ABOUT FINANCIAL INSTRUMENTS: Nearly 75 percent of board members at U.S. financial services firms said that the increasing use of sophisticated financial instruments such as derivatives will be the next big area of regulatory focus for the financial industry, according to a survey conducted by Big Four firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.Meanwhile, a near-unanimous 97 percent of board members polled said that the level of due diligence and understanding of sophisticated financial instruments being used in the market should be a major concern for board members.

Depending upon the practice, financial planners can be very directed, specializing in one form of investment vehicle, or more broadly based, either recommending or with access to multiple types of investments.

If an individual taxpayer receives a distribution from an IRA, and then contributes all or part of the amount distributed to a charity, that individual must include the taxable part of that distribution in her gross income.While the distributee is entitled to a charitable deduction for the amount contributed, this will reduce taxable income only if she itemizes deductions, instead of claiming the standard deduction. Even if an individual itemizes, the amount deductible may be less than the amount contributed because:

LBMC Investment Advisors LLC said that it recently surpassed the $200 million mark of assets under advisement. Formed in 1998 as an affiliate of Lattimore Black Morgan & Cain PC - Tennessee's largest regional accounting and business consulting firm - LBMC Investment Advisors has offices in Brentwood and Knoxville, Tenn.

I noted a few weeks ago that the "Joy of Cooking" celebrated its 75th anniversary with the publication of its ninth edition.

A new federal reports says that the National Strategy for Financial Literacy needs to contain some measures of accountability.The strategy belongs to the Financial Literacy and Education Commission, which was created by December 2003 legislation. The Government Accountability Office says that while the strategy is comprehensive in identifying the breadth of issues involved, the plan does not serve as a plan of action designed to achieve specific goals.

This column has to do with life expectancy. If you would rather not know when you are departing this world, then perhaps you don’t want to read any further. But if you are curious enough to know what your longevity might be and how this is critical for retirement planning, read on.I asked one calculator which said I would leave this earth in 12 years, 306, days, 3 hours, 38 minutes, and 24 seconds, as of the time I got this down on paper. Another calculator estimated that I would last until I was 90.21 while a third one had me pegged taking off at age 89.

Sometimes, I feel bad for Comptroller General David Walker and his staff at the Government Accountability Office.I imagine it’s the same sort of sadness most people feel for the geeky guys in high school comedies. You know, the good guys who never get the girl, but are there throughout the course of the plotline, providing some sort of insight into the inner workings of the social machination that exists all around them.

FIDELITY LOWERS MINIMUM GIFT FUND CONTRIBUTION: In an effort to make the benefits of donor-advised funds more accessible, the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund announced that it would lower its initial contribution and grant recommendation minimums.

Last year, Congress passed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005, and with that legislation came some changes in the way bankruptcy debtors are taxed.New Internal Revenue Service guidelines have been issued to help explain provisions of the act that affect individual taxpayers filing Chapter 11 bankruptcies. The guidelines are issued in IRS Notice 2006-83 and relate to all Chapter 11 bankruptcies filed on or after Oct. 17, 2005.