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As we noted here previously, since late last spring, Congress has been considering significant updates to the laws governing certain retirement plans.

Reclaim your time and energy to live your best life

Each of us has just 168 hours per week to accomplish our tasks and goals—at work, at home and out in the world. If you feel like you spend too much of that time on things that don’t add value to your life, you’re not alone.

An abundance of research from psychological and sociological researchers suggests the truth of a piece of common wisdom: money really does not buy happiness—after a certain point.

In our work with family estates, we often hear concerns, expressed either directly or indirectly, about the commitment of “the kids” to charitable and philanthropic goals that are important to our clients. Typically, these are folks who have done well, and giving back to others is a core value for them.

Now that the final rush is on for holiday shoppers and our credit and debit cards are getting their stiffest workout of the year, it might seem an odd time to think about savings strategies. But for those approaching retirement, there’s really no bad season to start strategizing ways to stretch those post-retirement budget dollars as far as possible.

Most of us, when we need advice, try to find the most knowledgeable and experienced person possible. If our car needs repair, we want a mechanic who has fixed hundreds of cars.

Our clients are accustomed to hearing us remind them of the importance of estate planning: having properly designed wills or trusts; keeping their beneficiary designations up to date; periodically reviewing all estate planning documents to be sure they remain current; and everything else that goes along with having and maintaining a solid estate plan. Tags:

• Estate Planning
• Wealth Transfer

The self-made Super Rich—people with a net worth of at least $500 million that they built through their own hard work—often possess a treasure trove of knowledge, insights and actionable strategies that the rest of us can adopt in our own lives to enhance our success.

In our work with family stewards, some of the most ticklish questions come up around the topic of governance.

Readers of this column have often seen us explain in various ways how difficult it is for any investor to time the market—“buy low and sell high”—on any kind of consistent basis. In fact, we typically warn investors of the long-term dangers to portfolio performance of making any serious investment decision on the basis of market timing.