Client Stories – Examples of How We Can Help

I like to share brief descriptions of ways in which we have helped individuals and families make great financial decisions. You may be in touch with others that face similar situations.

Our motto is “we can help you with that.” We will collaborate with you on any financial decision you make, engaging other subject matter experts when necessary.

Our first client story is a woman who came to us upon referral from her daughter, who is a client of ours. Initially, the conversation started with her mom needing enough income from her portfolio to support her for the rest of her life.

We determined that the portfolio was too aggressive for her age and that the risk needed to be reduced. The obstacle was that by doing so, she could incur significant tax consequences because of the history of some of her holdings and the way they were titled. Fortunately, we were able to work together with her tax accountant who brought to light the opportunity to engage previously unrecognized and timely tax strategies.
This allowed us to reposition her portfolio for income support without any adverse tax consequences. Engagement with her accountant on this topic was critical.

With the mom’s permission and as part of the financial planning process, we engaged with both her and her children at each meeting.

During one of the initial conversations, the mom indicated a desire to sell her house and live in an active adult community. The family had never discussed this before, but it was a meeting agenda item included as part of our financial planning process.

This began a new journey where we worked with the mom, her daughter, and her son to evaluate the mom’s budget, the estimated proceeds from her home sale, and her investment portfolio to determine what she could afford in terms of a living space within an active adult community. In this analysis, we also considered the possibility of assisted living expenses down the road.

Over about nine months we accomplished the following:

  • Properly configured portfolio
  • Sold home
  • Minimized annual tax obligations and
  • Established budget

The biggest accomplishment may be that she is an incredibly happy resident of a vibrant active adult community.

Today, we are fortunate to be working with three generations of this family on their financial planning goals. We encourage you to reach out to us for assistance making important financial decisions and we always appreciate you recommending us to others.

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