Author Archives: Megan Russell

This isn’t the kind of article you think it is. My daughter wore disposable diapers.

This person has no IRA balance, but is about to get one with an IRA Rollover. So the question is one of timing: can they do the IRA Rollover after the nondeductible contribution has already been converted so that their cream and coffee never mix?

This is intended to be a brief overview of what you should do once you realize you are overseeing an estate.

If your employer offers a 457 plan, consider taking advantage of the ability to shelter more money each year from taxes in a Roth account.

On Tuesday, March 12, 2019, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show to discuss how to do your own tax review.

You are allowed to deduct “up to 20 percent of their combined qualified real estate investment trust (REIT) dividends,” and this deduction is unlimited. So it begs the question: Is there a way I can deduct my normal real estate income?

There is always an excuse to delay doing something that involves risk. They close the show reminding you not to wait. Invest now.

Here’s some advice from one daughter employee to a would-be parent employer.

It turns out there is still a way to do a QCD out of those assets, but it requires a bit of planning ahead.

Is what I’m accomplishing here worth sacrificing the step up in basis? If it is not, perhaps there is a better way to implement your estate wishes.

When I was a teen, my grandfather George Marotta passed down to me his copy of “What You Need to Know Before You Invest” by Rod Davis. I recommend this book as way to gain a baseline understanding.

To preserve the portability of a deceased spouse’s exemption, you must file an estate tax return after the death of the first spouse even if you otherwise did not have to do so. The due date of the estate tax return is nine months after the decedent’s date of death.

Roth conversions pay off. Repeat it to yourself now. Repeat it to yourself at tax time. Roth conversions pay off.

For the proper Victorian, acts of love and money should not mix. Although this honest conversion may ruffle Victorian sensibilities, it is a foundation of the trust we forge with our clients.

If you ask, the broker will gladly tell you how much of that type they’d recommend getting, but not whether you need it in the first place.

The required IRA distribution in the year the account owner dies is called a Year of Death RMD.

Taking these few extra steps can maximize your gift’s benefit to both you and the recipient.

Federal AGIs between $75,000 and $99,000 of couples over age 65 begin to lose this age-based special treatment and lose the tax savings they had at lower income levels.

A closer look at the U.S. Code reveals a bit of uncertainty but a lot of promise.

Here is a clear guide on how to transfer funds between your Schwab accounts.

Peik Lin is a person who sees the recipients of her family’s spending the same way as people.

More and more family plans are actually composed of many different independent people in the eyes of the government.

Schwab’s presentation is designed to show a real time accounting of your portfolio’s value. It is not designed to report on your portfolio’s performance.

There are two ways to run the analysis. One is quick and can be done on the back of a napkin. The other is more detailed, best done in a spreadsheet. In this part one, we will explain the quick math.

Astrid Leong is simultaneously one of the wealthiest characters and, even though she has a massively large standard of living, one of the thriftiest.

There is a tangled web of rules and options. For any given family situation and set of desires, there is a best answer when it comes to meeting your wishes, minimizing the tax owed, and optimizing your estate plan.

Student loan forgiveness is normally taxable and reported to the IRS on a 1099-C, but there are big exceptions.

“When you buy stock, you don’t tell the company how to spend your money,” says Ken Stern. Sadly, Ken Stern doesn’t understand how stock ownership works.

My husband chopped his leg with a hatchet in 2018 when we didn’t have health insurance.

On Tuesday, November 13, 2018, David John Marotta appeared on Radio 1070 WINA’s Schilling Show to discuss several tax saving ideas you can do before the year ends.

People think about marriage differently. These views and more shape the way that people want per stirpes and per capita to work.

As the proud mother of a two-year-old daughter, I thought I’d record some of my and my firstborn’s favorite things from this past year as helpful ideas for gifts from grandparents.

These are two simple but effective strategies to help calculate a very good conversion target for this year.

Any investment manager can use the Institutional Intelligent Portfolio technology to implement extremely different investment philosophies.

The short answer is absolutely yes you do. Here’s why.

It requires intentionality and creativity to avoid the hidden budget busters of gift wrap.

Even the most Roth-loving individuals may have hidden Traditional assets that they do not know they can convert to Roth. Here are just a few places to look.

Even though you would likely benefit from contributing to your 401(k), you might not benefit from keeping your assets there — even if you are the owner.

For Inherited IRAs, all the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) rules are complicated. There is no easy case.

Even though tangible things that take up space tend to be bad gifts, there are many items that a minimalist can really appreciate receiving.

I would like to encourage those of you who like participating in this weekend shopping spree to do the small task of paying yourself first.

This year was a good year for Roth loving folks like us.

We believe that lessons like these are part of the fiduciary standard.

A few often overlooked facts reveal large annual savings on your health insurance premiums in acquiring a family HSA.

Our first goal is to be accurate. We want to do the task the right way. This is where workflows help.

Although these questions may help some people discern which professional to sign up with, I like our ten questions better as they cut to the heart of the matter. That being said, the more you know about an advisor the better.

These are two ways to benefit from the higher standard deduction while still fulfilling your charitable intentions.

We are a statistical outlier: We are young; we are female.

How to go from where you are now to being one of our clients under our “Do-It-Yourself” service level.

Although they are cheaper, the robo-investing accounts are not beneficial to everyone.