Personal advice and wealth management.

You don’t do estate planning just for yourself. The documents the estate attorney produces are important, but there are other things you can do now to show your love for your heirs. Don’t leave behind a mess.

Do you think a financial plan is just about investments? Our blog challenges that thinking, asserting that financial planning is built upon a foundation of what you care about most in life. Read our five reasons to have a financial plan.

People are taking time during the COVID-19 crisis to update their finances and important life documents. Here are four estate plan details you should focus on in light of the current pandemic.

Did the death of the "stretch" IRA hit your estate planning like a sucker punch to the rib cage? What seemed to have happened suddenly in the final weeks of 2019 shouldn't have been all too surprising.

Investec hosted its live "State of the Markets" event on Thursday, January 30th, at the Royal Sonesta Hotel in Houston. Clients attending the event heard presentations from John and Daniel Goott, Investec principals, on economic and market events of 2019 as well as on their outlook for investors in 2020.

Late in 2019, the "Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement Act," ("SECURE Act") became law. Let's take an initial pass at three broad categories of individuals potentially affected by the SECURE Act.

We have all faced the question “What will our loved ones do if something unexpected happens to us?” To address that question, most of us have put safety nets in place. But as more and more of our lives become digital, another question arises: “Have we taken steps to ensure that our loved ones will have access and rights to our digital assets and our on-line presence?”

Legacy letters are informal documents. They express personal values, offer encouragement, and transmit knowledge or hopes. In general, they leave a qualitative legacy, separate from monetary or property bequests. They lack the legal force of a will or formal estate plan, but clearly help heirs understand the hopes and wishes of those who have gone on before.

Affluent Americans spend millions of dollars each year with high-powered estate attorneys and tax planners. The result? When the time comes, their assets will transition to their heirs through tax-effective, complex arrangements like family limited partnerships, life insurance, and various kinds of trusts. Despite these efforts, it’s been estimated that for as many as 70% of estates, assets and family harmony are lost following the transition of the estate.