Areas of Focus

Family owned businesses – even successful ones – don’t often survive into future generations. Two obvious reasons for this are family conflict and federal estate taxes. But a third reason is perhaps even more influential: failure to design a proper succession plan.

Business owners are typically so busy with day-to- day challenges that they often have little time to think about who will take over the business once they’re gone. But the consequences of having no plan in place could be catastrophic to the family, employees and others who depend upon the business.

At its most basic, a business succession plan is a documented road map for your partners, heirs and successors to follow in the event of your death, disability or retirement. It can also be used to orchestrate the sale of your business and may even help establish the value of your business. It may also help:

• Establish who would run the business if you retire or pass away
  
• Set policies for distribution of business stock and other assets
  
• Set schedules for debt retirement
  
• Encourage key employee retention
  
• Protect the business should a partner decide to take his share and leave
  
• Prevent family conflict from forcing the sale of the business
  
• Pay estate taxes without sacrificing the business
  
• Provide a way to take advantage of unexpected expansion opportunities
  

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

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Taxes. Living expenses. Inflation. Death. That’s about as much as most people can predict about their future. But what if you could get a realistic perspective on the ability of your income and assets to meet your long- term needs and objectives? What if you could analyze a variety of ‘what-if’ scenarios to prepare for all the contingencies the future might hold?

You can stack the deck in your favor. And you don’t need a crystal ball to do it. You just need a sophisticated, innovative financial planning model that gives you the power to chart your own future financial course. Without it, your plans for the future are not plans at all – they’re nothing more than guesswork. With our proprietary Financial Condition Model, you can:

• Assess the long-term impact of taxes, inflation, and each of the financial strategies you’re now using or planning to use.
  
• Project your annual cash flow (income and expenses) alongside your asset growth over the full length of your life expectancy.
  
• Estimate the size of your net worth each year, as well as your savings, your investments and your transferable estate.
  

It might even revolutionize your thinking. Our modeling can help you project and control your financial future. It can help you decide whether the course you’re following today is prudent or even adequate. How does the strategy you just implemented or are now considering compare with other available options? What might happen if circumstances change (such as higher taxes, higher inflation or lower returns on your investments)?

The answers might change your mind about the way you’ve prepared for the future. If so, we’ve got the expertise and the tools to help. We take the time to understand your needs as well as your goals and then prepare your financial profile. Only then will we present a range of solutions for you to consider.

Get a head start on a better plan for your future.

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Your net worth doesn’t grow overnight. It involves hard work, focus and persistence. Unfortunately, unless you apply the same skills to preserving your estate, you can lose a good portion to estate taxes after you die. The problem: Transferring assets – even to your own family – can be a taxable event. That’s why you need to find creative, effective ways to build and preserve your estate.

However, there is no need to rush to your estate planning attorney immediately after Congress changes the tax code. However, it’s more imperative to review your estate plan after major life events—for example, the birth of a child, an illness or a divorce. You may also want to review your estate plan if you switch jobs or experience a sudden change in your family’s finances.

When reviewing your estate plan, make sure the language used doesn’t leave you vulnerable to changes in the law. For example, your plan may specify that a trust should be funded up to the current estate tax exemption or a certain percentage of that limit to maximize the benefits of the current law.

For example, consider the case of “AB trusts,” popular tools used by couples to pass assets to their heirs. One strategy for these trusts is to leave the full estate tax exemption to children while leaving the remainder of the estate to the surviving spouse. But if the exemption amount has increased since you drafted your estate plan, you could end up giving your entire estate to your children—leaving your spouse with nothing.

The estate tax doesn’t have to cause you stress. We can help you determine the appropriate solutions for making your estate plan less vulnerable to changes, while still helping you toward achieving your estate planning goals. To do so, we consider:

• Will and trust design strategies;
  
• Property ownership alternatives, including the review of titling and beneficiaries to coordinate with your overall plan;
  
• Estate tax reduction techniques;
  
• Insurance analysis;
  
• Qualified plan distribution alternatives;
  
• Family-gifting strategies;
  
• Charitable planning; and
  
• Employee stock option optimization.
  

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

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Just as the 76 million Baby Boomers once transformed American culture, so too are they redefining retirement. No longer is retirement a time to sit back and wait for the rest of your life to unfold. Instead, today’s retirees have busy, active lifestyles with the freedom to chase new opportunities, revive old passions and realize long-held dreams.

The changes in retirement have intensified the issues future retirees face. Here are the five basic challenges that could affect your retirement income security:

Timing/withdrawal rate
Choosing the wrong time to begin withdrawing income during retirement can have a dramatic impact on your future retirement income security, as can withdrawing too much money too soon.

Longevity
With Boomers living longer, healthier lives, retirement could conceivably last for 30 years or more. In that case, there is every possibility that retirees – or their spouses – could outlive their income.

Inflation and taxes
Inflation constantly erodes purchasing power through increased costs, while taxes reduce the potential of investable earnings.

Asset allocation
Careful consideration of asset allocation can help reduce the volatility (or degree of fluctuation) of the overall portfolio and help to optimize investors’ balance of risk and return.

Health care expenses
The statistics as to the rise in these costs and how many people incur them are staggering. However, the real problem with this expense is that no one is certain if, when, or how much may be needed. Thus, it is very difficult to plan for with any accuracy.

Based on experience with our clients, we have developed a finely-tuned process that will lead you through the six stages of retirement income planning. We follow the stages to develop your personal plan which can help guide you toward your retirement income goals in the future.

This information is for use with the general public and is designed for informational or educational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice and is not a recommendation for your retirement savings.

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Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” This is true no matter how grand or modest a contribution you can afford. And the fact is, your gift or bequest can have a significant and beneficial impact on the lives of others – if you know how to give most effectively.

A charitable gift of a life insurance death benefit can multiply the impact of your donation many times over. It allows you to leverage your gift and ensure that your own personal contribution impacts your charity directly in a way greater then you ever thought possible. Even if you have a limited discretionary cash flow, you can make a meaningful gift using a life insurance policy while your charity could receive significant sums of money.

Besides the good feeling that you can get from gifting to your charity, the other benefits are substantial.

• You control the amounts that you gift to your charity. Your gift may be made over one, two, ten or more years. The amount that you gift is a charitable contribution for which you may receive an income tax charitable deduction, subject to limitations.
  
• The amount that you gift is leveraged. The gifts to the charity that are used to pay life insurance premiums are only a fraction of the amount that the charity can receive at the death of the insured(s).
  
• Since the policy is owned by the charity, all rights associated with the policy belong to the charity. Therefore, it may borrow from any cash values in the policy or take loans out on the policy. (Loans and borrowing from cash values reduces the death benefit.) The benefit to the charity is immediate. Even if you die today, the charity will receive the death proceeds from the policy, provided they haven’t borrowed against the policy.
  
• A policy, which is owned from inception by the charity, is not an asset included in your estate at your death. Therefore, your estate has no legal or administrative charges associated with the gift to your charity.
  

Gift of An Existing Policy To A Charity
If you have an existing life insurance policy that you wish to gift to your charity, there are some issues you may want to consider. In order to gift the policy, you must assign all rights and deliver the policy to the charity, retaining no interest in the policy. You may be eligible for an income tax charitable deduction based on the value of the policy transferred to charity. The value of the policy is the lesser of its fair market value or its adjusted cost basis. Depending on the nature of the charity, whether the gift is made “to” or “for the use of” the charity, the amount of your contribution base, adjusted gross income and the carry-forward provisions, your income tax charitable deduction may be limited.

Charity as Owner And Beneficiary Of A New Policy
Another alternative is to purchase or have your charity purchase a life insurance policy on your life, with your charity as owner and beneficiary. Your state law will dictate whether or not a charity has an insurable interest in a donor. If the purchase of life insurance by a charity is allowed by your state, then you can provide the funds to enable the charity to purchase the life insurance policy. Your charity will receive all rights under the life insurance policy. Therefore, it may take a loan, surrender the policy or change the beneficiary designation. Additionally, since your charity is the owner of the policy, none of the death proceeds will be included in your gross estate at your death. For the cost of the premium payments, you may be able to provide a significant gift to your charity. As with a gift of an existing policy, depending on the nature of the charity, whether the gift is made “to” or “for use of” the charity, the amount of your contribution base, your adjusted gross income and the carry-forward provisions, your income tax deduction may be limited.

The Income Tax Charitable Deduction
In many cases, your gift to a charity may result in an income tax charitable deduction. There are deduction limitations, depending on whether you pay the premiums to the life insurance company itself or if you gift cash for the premium payments directly to your charity. In addition, most itemized deductions, including the charitable deduction, are subject to a phase-out at higher income levels.

Conclusion
A gift of a new or existing life insurance policy to your charity may enable you to donate a significant amount to your charity while actually gifting a lesser amount through the payment of premiums. Your charity can receive the funds to carry on its good works and you receive the satisfaction of giving for all you have received.

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

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Our approach to investment planning relies on core principles developed and tested since the inception of our firm. These principles are:

• Asset allocation provides the foundation to managing portfolio risk and return potential;
  
• Tax efficiency and asset location are critical;
  
• Portfolio expenses must be scrutinized;
  
• No single money management firm can be all things to all people; and
  
• Our most important role is to be an objective advocate. Our goal is to control costs, be tax efficient and manage risk. This provides the most effective way of helping toward achieving your goals.
  

We leverage the power of technology to drive our disciplined five-step investment process:

Investment Planning
Step 1 – Advice and planning

Step 2 – Portfolio modeling, analysis and design

Step 3 – Investment policy statement (IPS) development planning

Implementation
Implementation takes the IPS one step further by clearly defining the specific investments to be included in the portfolio and proposing how, when and where they should be incorporated. Our investment management platform offers:

Step 4 – Implementation, manager search and selection

Step 5 – Ongoing monitoring, due diligence and reporting*

*Available through our investment advisory programs.

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Paying for a child’s college education is an expensive proposition – but not an impossible one. With an appropriate strategy, you can go a long way to meeting this challenge whether your child is still in preschool or already in high school.

An Early Start
If your child is young, establishing a savings plan now can put time on your side. Consider alternatives to the traditional savings account.

• Mutual Funds. Setting up a custodial account in your child's name funded with a mutual fund and making regular contributions to that account can help you reach your college finance goals. Choose investments with a potential for long-term returns.
• Coverdell Education Savings Account (formerly Education IRAs). If you are eligible, you can contribute to an Education Savings Account for each of your children or grandchildren under age 18. All withdrawals – including investment earnings – that are used to pay the child's qualified education expenses are income-tax free*.
  *The earnings portion of distributions that are used for non-qualified education expenses are subject to ordinary income tax, plus a 10% penalty.
• Qualified Tuition Programs: Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code authorizes two types of tax-favored qualified tuition programs.
• Pre-paid Tuition Plans. Many states and individual colleges offer tuition prepayment plans. With these plans, you make a series of payments or pay a lump sum now for your child's education. In return, the plan guarantees that your investment will cover a specified amount or percentage of the child's expenses when he or she is ready to attend. Some plans lock in the cost of future education at today's prices. Both states and private educational institutions can create tax-favored plans. Before choosing this route, though, be sure to find out what will happen to your investment if your child doesn't attend the sponsoring college.
• Education Savings Plans. This is the more commonly used type of qualified tuition plan. Unlike pre-paid tuition accounts, only states may sponsor education savings accounts. State-sponsored accounts provide you with a way to invest for a child’s college education that is federally income tax-free upon withdrawal. Any earnings generated will be federal (and possibly state) income tax-free as long as withdrawals are used for qualified higher education expenses. Any earnings withdrawn that are not used for qualified higher education expenses are subject to federal income tax and may be subject to a 10% additional federal tax, as well as applicable state and local income taxes. Section 529 plans are established by various states and offered to residents of all states. Depending on the laws of the customer's home state, favorable tax treatment may be limited to investments made in a Section 529 plan offered by the customer's home state. Therefore investing in a 529 plan outside your domicile state may deny you the opportunity to take advantage of favorable state tax treatment. Unlike pre-paid tuition plans, funds in these plans generally can be used for expenses at any qualified school nationwide. However, it is important to note that there is no guarantee that funds in an education savings account will be enough to cover the cost of tuition. If a contribution to a beneficiary's account, in one year, exceeds the federal gift tax annual exclusion, you may elect to take the aggregate contribution into account ratably over five years beginning with the year of the contribution. If you die before the end of this five-year period, the contributions allocable to periods after death are included in your gross estate. Other than this exception, a 529 education savings plan should not be included in the donor's estate.

Never Too Late
If your child will be starting college within the next couple of years or has already started, there are still financing methods available for you to consider.

• Financial Aid. Most schools have a limited pool of funds, so you should file financial aid forms as soon as possible. Generally, the school will calculate how much aid your child will receive based on your financial situation. Also, your child should apply for all available governmental or private grants and scholarships.
  
• Loans. Your child’s aid package may include loans from the federal or state government, the college or a commercial lender. The loan offers may vary considerably, depending on the program, so be sure to carefully check the interest rates and terms of each. Home equity loans, retirement plan withdrawals, and the cash value of your life insurance are other possible loan sources you might consider.
  
• Tax Incentives. If you do take out a qualified higher education loan, some of the interest paid may be tax deductible this year. (Certain restrictions may apply.) You also may be eligible for the American Opportunity Tax Credit (AOTC) and the Lifetime Learning Credit, although both of these credits are phased out at higher income levels.
  
• New Above-the-Line Deduction for Higher Education Expenses. Eligible taxpayers can claim on above- the-line deduction for qualified higher education expenses. However, the deduction is subject to certain income limitations. The deduction may also be unavailable or limited if other education tax benefits are utilized for the tax year.
  

While it's best to get an early start, it is never too late to plan for the cost of your child's education. For assistance, call your professional financial advisor. He or she can help you plan today for your child's education tomorrow.

Mutual funds are offered by prospectus and 529 Plans are offered by an offering circular. An investor should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses of an investment before investing. Read a mutual fund prospectus or an offering circular carefully before you invest. The investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate with changes in market conditions so that an investor's shares when redeemed may be worth more or less than the original amount.

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Say the words “life insurance” to some people, and you’re likely to get a less than enthusiastic response. But, more and more frequently, people are discovering that life insurance can be a helpful financial planning tool. Life insurance offers a way for you to help provide for your family, protect your business, and make charitable gifts without reducing your estate.

Life Insurance Can Help with Estate Planning
A life insurance policy on your life can help provide your future heirs with funds to pay the expenses of settling your estate without dipping into its assets. It also can help replace the income that your family may lose as a result of your death. A life insurance policy is one way to ensure that money will be available to your future heirs for their immediate or long-term financial needs.

If you’re the owner of a small business, life insurance proceeds can help supply the funds to pay estate taxes and administration expenses, eliminating the possibility that the business will have to be sold to meet these needs. You also can use life insurance to fund a buy-sell agreement for the purchase of your business interests by other stockholders, partners, or your corporation.

You can exclude insurance proceeds from your estate by having a properly drafted trust or the individuals who will benefit from the proceeds purchase and own the policy. A trust may offer several advantages, so you’ll want to consider all your options.

Life Insurance Can Fund Charitable Giving
If charitable giving is among your priorities, a life insurance policy can be designed to benefit your favorite charity while potentially allowing you to take advantage of a tax deduction for your contribution. There are several ways to do this. You could purchase a policy on your life and contribute it to the charity. In most cases, you can claim a charitable deduction on your federal income-tax return for your donation and any subsequent premium payments you make. (Check the laws in your state, however, as some states restrict such gifts.)

You also might consider funding a charitable trust that will pay you an income during your lifetime and provide a donation to charity at your death. This arrangement won’t reduce the assets your future heirs will inherit if you purchase life insurance to replace the amount passing to charity.

Life Insurance Can Be Part of a Deferred Compensation Plan
Employers often take advantage of life insurance to provide deferred compensation, typically to key employees. The employee is promised benefits at retirement or a lump-sum death benefit, should the employee die before retirement. Employer-owned life insurance on the employee’s life provides the employer with the cash to help meet its obligation to the employee. With a split-dollar life insurance plan, the employee can share some of the cost. As with any employer-owned life insurance policy, IRS notice and consent requirements apply.

Life insurance can be the perfect complement to your estate plan. The cost and availability of life insurance depends on factors such as age, health and the type and amount of insurance purchased. Life insurance is purchased subject to underwriting approval. A professional financial advisor can help you choose the most beneficial and tax-advantaged approach for your circumstances.

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

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As your business grows and you add staff, choosing the right benefits and retirement plans becomes more complicated. You have many options to choose from. That variety, however, gives you a better chance of picking a plan that more precisely meets your needs – such as rewarding key employees, beefing up their savings, and providing incentives for them to stay with your company.

At the same time, as competition and other forces strain company profits, business owners are looking for ways to gain more value from their executive benefit dollars. The dilemma faced by small business owners is how to control benefit costs, while providing enough sweeteners to keep their top workers happy.

The first step in designing an incentive plan for your best employees, without incurring huge expenses, is to identify exactly who those key employees are. Once you have narrowed down that number, you should meet with them privately to discuss their individual needs. Their goals may range from wanting long-term financial security to sheltering their retirement nest-eggs from excessive taxation.

Understanding what is important to them will help you assess the type of plan that will interest them the most. At the same time, these employee discussions are a good opportunity for you to express your desire to keep these workers satisfied, what they can expect in terms of a retirement package, and what is expected of them in return.

Traditional qualified retirement plans, such as defined benefit pension plans and 401(k) defined contribution savings plans have long been used to compensate and motivate upper-level employees. A qualified plan is entitled to special tax treatment. Employers can deduct contributions made to the plan on behalf of employees at the time the contributions are made. Employees pay no current taxes on the retirement fund until they begin drawing it out, usually years later when they retire. Additionally, the year-to-year earnings build up inside the fund free from taxes until withdrawal. In order for a plan to be qualified however, it must comply with several Internal Revenue Service and Department of Labor rules, including complex participation, funding and vesting requirements. Tax-qualified plans also can’t discriminate in favor of highly-paid employees. Because of these rules, qualified plans are essentially geared to cover rank-and-file employees, not provide wealth accumulation vehicles for top management.

In recent years, qualified plans have become less attractive to employers for two reasons: burdensome regulations have driven up compliance costs and Congress has limited their benefits. To combat these problems with qualified plans, some companies are supplementing or replacing traditional pensions with so-called “nonqualified plans” to attract and retain highly compensated employees.

Nonqualified plans include many types of deferred compensation arrangements such as supplemental executive retirement plans (SERPs). In general, a nonqualified plan is an unsecured promise by the employer to pay future benefits to a select group of employees.

One advantage offered by SERPs and other nonqualified plans is their exemption from the strict vesting, non-discrimination, and reporting requirements that govern qualified plans – which can cost employers thousands of dollars in annual compliance fees. With these plans, you can discriminate in favor of key employees. For instance, you can set up a program for just one employee or a single group of workers, thus avoiding the expense of providing benefits to your entire staff. These plans provide business owners with the flexibility to selectively reward and retain key employees, while allowing employees to replace benefits lost by government-imposed limits on qualified pension plans.

Nonqualified plans are unfunded, meaning they are promises to pay from the company’s reserves or general assets. Employers have no legal obligation to set aside money or other assets outside their control to secure the benefit. That gives employers control over the benefit amounts, the assets supporting the benefits, and the timing of payouts. Typically, the employee forfeits the benefit if employment ends before his retirement, disability, death, or other specified event.

There’s a big tax disadvantage with nonqualified plans, however. Employers get no immediate tax deduction, unlike with pensions and other qualified plans. Contributions to a nonqualified plan are only deductible when the worker receives the right to the benefit, which may be 20 or more years in the future at retirement. If the SERP is properly set up, employees will not be taxed on plan contributions as they are made. One small Midwestern manufacturer, for instance, set up a nonqualified plan so that its top three managers could defer a portion of their bonuses, as well as the income taxes on those sums, until they retired.

One commonly used nonqualified deferred compensation arrangement plan is the salary continuation plan. These plans are generally subsidized on the employee’s behalf from the employer’s current earnings. Amounts contributed by the company may be subject to vesting schedules that are mutually acceptable to both employer and employee. Vesting arrangements can be tailored to meet your specifications – such as increasing benefits by a certain percentage for each year of service – and to encourage employees to remain with the company.

Employers finance nonqualified plans in a number of ways. Some may choose to pay benefits out of cash flow on a pay-as-you-go basis. However, this may leave executives concerned about the financial risk to which their future benefits are exposed. In order to provide these executives with greater security, some employers support these arrangements through life insurance.

For example, an employer can purchase life insurance (known as corporate-owned life insurance) in which the employer is both the owner and beneficiary of the policy. The policy can provide the opportunity to set aside money over the active working life of the employee and, if properly structured, will usually generate tax-deferred income.

As an example, in a typical salary continuation plan, the company might promise a key employee a ten-year benefit starting at age 65. If he dies before then, his beneficiary receives a similar benefit. The company’s obligation is satisfied by the life insurance policy on the employee. Additionally, the policy could be designed to allow the employer to recover the cash value at premature termination by the employee.

Attracting and holding on to top employees today calls for creative solutions. There are many ways to help provide the long-term security and other financial incentives these employees want. See a professional financial advisor for help in determining the most cost efficient way to meet their needs, and yours.

Lincoln Financial Advisors Corp. and its representatives do not provide legal or tax advice. You may want to consult a legal or tax advisor regarding any legal or tax information as it relates to your personal circumstances.

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The perfect match: Your financial needs and our custom solutions.

Sound financial health. It takes in-depth analysis. It takes careful planning. It takes solutions, tailored to help meet your unique requirements. We employ a disciplined, structured approach to financial planning which, by design, ensures that we incorporate all of your needs, goals and objectives, in developing a financial plan that’s appropriate for you.

Lincoln Financial Advisors is a nationwide organization of financial planning professionals who specialize in identifying and resolving complex estate, business transfer, retirement and investment problems. We have a long and proud history of helping to meet the needs of business owners, executives, professionals and retirees.

Our process proceeds through two primary steps: first to fully understand and analyze the specifics of your financial situation, and then to provide you with the information, advice and alternatives you need to make the appropriate decisions about your financial future. Each of our financial plans is designed to help meet your unique needs, circumstances and objectives.

The key elements of a sound financial plan
All of our plans include a comprehensive evaluation and analysis, and recommendations in one or more of the following areas:

• Estate Planning. Taxes can significantly shrink the size of your estate. Proper planning is critical to help minimize estate settlement costs and provide a comfortable living for your family. We provide advice on issues including property ownership, distribution strategies, estate tax reduction and tax payment techniques.
  
• Business Succession Planning. If you are a business owner, we help you to decide whether to keep or sell your business interest at death, disability or retirement. Whatever your decision, we help assist you in retaining its value for you and your family. We also will evaluate the tax consequences of your options and help you reduce their impact at the time of transfer.
  
• Retirement Planning. With retirement often lasting for 20 years or more, many of our clients are concerned about outliving their savings. To avoid a savings shortfall, it is critical to spend time now to help ensure that you will have the capital to afford the retirement lifestyle you desire. We’ll help you choose the best techniques to accumulate wealth for retirement income and offer sound alternatives for asset allocation and income distribution following retirement.
  
• Investment Planning. In today’s economic environment, obtaining investment information is easy; choosing the investments that are right for you is much more difficult. We assist you in identifying your investment objectives, evaluating your risk tolerance, analyzing your current portfolio, developing an appropriate asset allocation strategy and recommending various alternatives tailored to help meet your individual needs and goals.
  

Tailored – not off-the- rack – solutions
You’ll find that working with us is a unique experience. Our financial planning process puts the emphasis on you and your needs, not on a prepackaged set of solutions or ideas. We are committed to providing you with the information you need to make timely, informed decisions about your financial future. The benefits of this approach are quickly apparent – you enjoy a greater understanding of the impact of various options and are better positioned to make the appropriate decisions for yourself and your family.

In addition to our educational approach, there are other benefits that we can offer – benefits such as:

Exclusivity

We do not claim to be all things to all people. We work with high net worth business owners, professionals, executives and retirees – all responsible, respected leaders in their industries, professions and communities. By limiting our scope, we have developed a detailed understanding of the unique problems and opportunities that our clients face. That translates into our ability to help you toward achieving your goals.

The Model Approach

Effective planning is only possible with the help of good modeling. Our proprietary software allows us to create an individualized financial condition model that:

• Addresses your needs and objectives in a way that fully takes into account the long-term impact of taxation, inflation and each of the financial strategies you have already implemented or plan to implement;
  
• Projects your annual cash flow – income and expenses – and your asset growth over the full length of your life expectancy; and
  
• Estimates, at all points in time, the size of your net worth, your savings and investments, and your estate.
  

With our sophisticated modeling, we can help you determine the adequacy of your current financial situation, show how a given financial planning strategy that you have already implemented or are considering compares to other available strategies, and demonstrate what happens to your current financial plan if you should experience significant changes in your personal or family situation, taxes, inflation or investment returns.

Bringing It All Together

Many of our clients have trusted, long-term advisors – perhaps an attorney, CPA or both – who have done much of their financial planning work (wills, trusts, business agreements, retirement plans, etc.). Our work supplements and coordinates the services these advisors provide. While each of your existing advisors is a focused specialist, we look at the various pieces of your financial picture and put them together by using a cross-disciplinary approach to help toward meeting your objectives. We also work closely with your advisors to ensure that the alternatives you choose complement any existing business, estate tax or investment strategies.

Follow Through

Your relationship with us doesn’t end once we complete our work and you implement your financial plan. Because your personal situation and objectives are not static, the financial plan you develop today will rarely meet all of your needs in the future. By periodically meeting with you, we will analyze any changes in your financial situation, evaluate their impact on your current financial plan, and recommend alternatives as necessary. This often-ignored step is critical to help ensure the long-term benefit of the financial planning process for you and your family.

You Can Count On Us
Our name and reputation have been built on servicing each client as if he or she were our only client. The personal attention that we provide is one of the primary reasons that many of our clients become partners for life. If this is the kind of relationship that makes sense to you, give us the opportunity to personally discuss the benefit of our work with you. We are confident you’ll be glad you did.

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