I hope everyone is having a great holiday season and is busy wrapping up end-of-year business so you can take a little time off before the New Year. 

I tried to touch on a few year-end essentials in my recent InSights blog and Linkedin posts.  If you haven’t read them yet, here are the links:

I found this column by Liz Weston of Reuters and thought it approriate for this time of year.  Whether you are trying to increase your donations for tax reasons or looking to give to a worthy cause, it is important to take your time and do some research.  People waste billions of dollars on inefficient, poorly run or fraudulent charities because they do not bother to research where their money is going.

Last week, the Senate passed a budget bill and attached to it were changes to the “File and Suspend” strategy that financial planners have used in the past.  Under the new law, individuals can still suspend their benefits, but relatives will not be allowed to submit a new claim for spousal benefits based on the earnings of the worker who suspended his benefits.  The article below appeared in the October 31st issue of The Wall Street Journal and does a good job explaining t

This appeared in yesterday’s (10/5) The Wall Street Journal.  It’s a great example of an adviser being aware of current rules and thinking outside of the box for the best interest of the client.  Staying educated on rules and regs, as well as a good, lasting relationship with your client takes work.  Push yourself to be, as the adviser in this article states, a valuable resource to your client instead of just settling for the easy, traditional means of investment management and

I wanted to announce that I will be holding two, full-day CFP Continuing Education Extravaganzas soon.  The first is September 29th in Philadelphia, PA; the second is October 21st in Boston (Norwood), MA.

Both are worth 10 CFP CE credit hours and 2 hours of CFP® Ethics CE credits, as well as 10 Insurance CE credit hours for MA, PA, NJ, DE, MD, VA, and DC at the Philadelphia event, and CT, RI, VT, and NH in Boston (Insurance licensees only).

The Supreme Court ruled Friday that same-sex couples have the right to marry nationwide, freeing gay couples from complicated legal and financial planning.

“Their hope is not to be condemned to live in loneliness, excluded from one of civilization’s oldest institutions. They ask for equal dignity in the eyes of the law. The Constitution grants them that right,” the 5-4 Obergefell v. Hodges decision read.