From time to time we re-post David Hultstrom‘s Financial Foundations. Mr. Hultstrom, who is a co-founder of Financial Architects, had the following observations regarding recent stock market highs: As the U.S. stock market (as measured by the S&P 500) hits all-time highs, I thought some historical perspective on it might be useful. Over the 98 […]
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There are a number of laws protecting your privacy and the privacy of your information. This page describes several of them, but it is not meant to be comprehensive. If you have specific questions regarding privacy laws, you should consult with an attorney. Georgia does not have any specific “state” privacy laws. Still, in Georgia, […]
The American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2021 (now “of 2024”) may have taken on new life recently as Kamala Harris promised, if elected, to make housing affordable. That promise has to be funded somehow and the “how” of it seems to be rolling back the estate and gift tax exclusion amounts significantly. At […]
Review Account Statements and Notify Law Enforcement of Suspicious Activity As a precautionary measure, remain vigilant by reviewing all of your account statements and credit reports at least monthly. If you notice any suspicious activity, you should promptly notify the financial institution or company with which the account is maintained. You also should promptly report […]
On July 19, 2024, the IRS published final regulations regarding required minimum distributions (RMDs) from qualified plans. Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) are the minimum amounts you must withdraw from your retirement accounts each year. You generally must start taking withdrawals from your traditional IRA, SEP IRA, SIMPLE IRA, and retirement plan accounts when you reach […]
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services launched the Guiding an Improved Dementia Experience (GUIDE) Model on July 1, 2024. It is a voluntary nationwide model test that aims to support people with dementia and their unpaid caregivers. The GUIDE Model is an attempt to provide Medicare funded comprehensive, coordinated dementia care to improve quality […]
On June 11, 2024, the Gerontologist published an article on Medicaid enrollment and Intergenerational transfers of wealth among older adults. The article was based on a review of data from 2008 through 2018 analyzing estate planning and family wealth transfers of older adults aged 65 and older who became Medicaid recipients. There were 8,347 respondents […]
The following is a re-post of David E. Hultstrom’s Financial Foundations April 2024. You can reach Mr. Hultstrom at  770-517-8160. It’s tax season once again and time for the annual summary of the state of the fisc. I have no political point, this is just data. The causes of the numbers below are thoroughly bipartisan. […]
We’ve posted some of David Hultstrom’s thoughts before and here we go again since he says “Feel free to pass this along.” The following, from his November, describes why he doesn’t try to predict movement in the financial marketplace: You may have noticed that I rarely comment on the market or economy in this monthly […]
Warren Buffett The following video clips are from Berkshire Hathaway Annual Meetings where Warren Buffett fielded questions regarding estate planning: 2013 Annual Meeting: 2023 Annual Meeting:
