Personal financial planning news and resources

TOPICS

October 1, 2015

Benefits of an employee stock ownership plan in succession planning

Practitioners should be aware of the many advantages of using an ESOP when a business owner is near retirement.

September 28, 2015

Don’t let health care costs catch your clients off guard

If patients don’t fully understand the cost of their treatments, or if they assume their insurance plan will take care of them, they can be hit with expensive surprises.

September 21, 2015

Charitable bailouts can save your C corporation clients big on taxes

This technique can help the donor achieve his or her charitable objectives, avoid capital gains tax, and distribute excess cash that has been accumulated in the corporation tax-free.

September 17, 2015

What are Millennial investors’ priorities?

Millennials have confidence in some of the same areas as investors from other generations. But Millennials also have some different priorities and concerns.

September 10, 2015

College students think they manage money well, but they don’t, survey finds

Students may be overconfident about their ability to manage money, a new AICPA survey has found.

September 1, 2015

ABLE accounts get prop. regs.

The IRS issued proposed regulations providing guidance on Sec. 529A ABLE (Achieving a Better Life Experience) tax-advantaged savings accounts benefiting young blind or disabled individuals.

September 1, 2015

Americans’ financial standing improving

Job openings and home values fuel rise in PFSi.

September 1, 2015

Meeting the financial planning challenges of the future

Discover strategies your firm can use to cope with aging clients, higher health care costs, and the threat of robo-advisers.

August 24, 2015

How to help clients learn to save

Helping clients understand how much they need to save can help make the 30- or 40-year plan more digestible in smaller bite sized pieces.

August 1, 2015

Moved south but still taxed up north

Retirees often move to the southern United States to take advantage of lower taxes, but they should know how their former state of residence will treat them if they leave any property behind.

August 1, 2015

Kess Award honors excellence in tax and financial planning continuing education

Julie A. Welch received the 2015 Sidney Kess Award for Excellence in Continuing Education.

July 16, 2015

Americans’ financial well-being reaches 8-year high

Americans’ financial well-being is the highest it’s been since 2007, according to the American Institute of CPAs’ latest Personal Financial Satisfaction Index, which reached an eight-year high during the second quarter.

July 1, 2015

New FAQs and Q&As issued

Resources aid practitioners with PFP standards and American Land Title Association framework.

July 1, 2015

Financing for college with the Uniform Transfers to Minors Act

Build a fund for higher education with this often overlooked resource.

July 1, 2015

Transfer taxes: 5 questions to ask clients with international ties

Planning to lessen estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer taxes increasingly requires considering clients’ foreign connections.

July 1, 2015

68% of Americans with student loans are unhappy with how they financed college

If they had to do it all over again, the majority of Americans would have paid for college differently, a new AICPA survey finds.

June 25, 2015

51% of Americans are putting off major life events for financial reasons

More than half of the 1,010 U.S. adults surveyed said they had put off important life goals such as buying a home, retiring, or pursuing higher education.

June 23, 2015

Emotional harm of elder financial abuse outweighs its financial damage

More than one-third (37%) of CPA financial planners said that elder financial abuse caused “substantial” emotional harm to clients, according to the new AICPA PFP Trends Survey.

June 19, 2015

Proposed rules for ABLE accounts for the disabled are issued

Proposed regulations under Sec. 529A were issued providing guidance on ABLE accounts, special tax-favored accounts designed to help disabled individuals and their families save for and pay disability related expenses.

June 1, 2015

Americans’ financial condition on the rise

Falling oil prices and lower taxes are decreasing stress on personal budgets.

FROM THIS MONTH'S ISSUE

4 ways solo practitioners can stand out

Five years ago, a grieving Angel Zhen started his own CPA firm with no clients and no revenue. Today, he has 300 clients, $600,000 in revenue and 12 weeks of annual vacation. In this JofA article, he shares how he set up his firm and how you could do the same.