As inflation measures reached their highest levels in 40 years and with US GDP growing at an annualized 6.9% for 2021, the Federal Reserve finally began raising rates in March, and FOMC members have intimated an aggressive tightening plan with…

An irrevocable Trust is created based on the initial intent and desire of the Grantor who created the Trust. As time passes the initial purpose or circumstances concerning the Trust may have changed. This is where a Trust modification could…

The largest military conflict and refugee crisis in Europe since World War II has now been entered into the history books.  On February 24, 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine causing over three million Ukrainians to flee their homes and many innocent…

“We don’t make mistakes, just happy accidents.” – Bob Ross  I recently watched the Netflix Documentary, Bob Ross: Happy Accidents, Betrayal and Greed. I remember watching The Joy of Painting when I was a kid. He was such a joyful…

On December 20, 2019 the Secure Act made major changes to the RMD rules. One of these change affects retirees who turned 70½ years old after December 31, 2019. As of January 1, 2020 the new age for a required…

A lady bird deed is a special kind of property deed that allows a real property owner to retain use and control over a property during their life and names one or more people, trusts, or organizations to inherit the…

To quote the great Yogi Berra, “It’s like déjà vu all over again.”   If you had asked me six months ago, I would have guessed that we were largely past Covid.   As I write this, the Omicron Covid variant is…

Recently, a financial consultant sent us a very detailed questionnaire for a mutual client’s retirement plan audit. We were asked to describe our IT systems back up and disaster recovery procedures and how rapidly they can be activated. They wanted…

A missing participant is a participant or beneficiary who is a former employee for whom the plan administrator does not have current or adequate information. Common signs of a missing participant include returned mail and/or email, no web account or…

Cybercrime has risen exponentially as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and has become the predominant method of fraud.  ERISA covered plans are targets for cybercriminals because they often hold millions of dollars in assets and maintain valuable participant non-public…