• LinkedIn
  • Facebook
(877) 573-4383
Keller & Associates CPAs, PLLC
  • About
    • History
    • Philosophy
    • Clients
    • Giving Back
    • Careers at Keller
  • Our Professionals
  • Areas of Expertise
    • Our Services
    • Affiliations
  • CAS
  • Resources
  • Connect With Us
  • Menu Menu

Navigating the Guaranteed

January 23, 2022

This is part 1 of a 2 part article series discussing unexpected loss.

The old saying goes that two things in life are guaranteed, death and taxes, yet so many avoid planning for either. Recently, I had a family friend that was faced with dealing with the unexpected loss of her spouse. With a young family and job to keep afloat, I couldn’t help but worry if she knew the additional full time job she was going to encounter handling all of the items that come with the passing away of any loved one.

Whether or not you have prepared for the loss of a spouse (more on that in my next article), this stage will be overwhelming and the list of to-do’s will seem long and monotonous.

Your first thought may be that money isn’t the first priority when you lose a loved one, and you’re absolutely right, but an engaged financial advisor or CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional should be able to assist you in your next steps. Reviewing your spouse’s estate documents, pursuing life insurance proceeds and discussing your loved one’s final wishes will require serious attention. With your advisor working to spearhead these conversations, you will have more time grieve and focus on your family. Here’s a list steps you may consider next:

  1. Notify the insurance companies. To claim life insurance benefits, you should contact your insurance agent or check the company’s website to find out exactly what documentation you will need to provide. Additionally, if your spouse carried health insurance through his or her employer, you will need to contact the human resources department to determine how long coverage will continue, so that you can plan accordingly. Check in with the insurance companies that carry your home, auto, and other policies. These policies may need to be updated, and some may no longer be necessary to carry.
  2. Inform Social Security and Medicare. One to two months after death, you’ll want to let the Social Security Administration know about the passing of your loved one. Social Security benefits are a crucial area to pay close attention to after the death of a spouse. Keep in mind that this isn’t just for those over 65. If your spouse earned 40 credits (10 years of work) towards Social Security, you and any children you have under the age of 18 could be entitled to monthly survivors benefits.
  3. Cancel all credit cards and identifications. You’ll want to contact and cancel all credit cards your loved one may have had as well as identification documents like passports and driver’s licenses. Identity theft after death, now termed “Ghosting”, has become unfortunately common and identity thieves exploit the time between an individual’s passing and the cancellation of this information.
  4. Update your beneficiary information and reassess your finances. Long term, you will need to start to plan for what life looks like now that your life circumstances have changed. Your advisor should work with you to decide what debt, if any, should be paid off, how funds should be invested to save for the future, and guide you towards getting your financial life back in order. You’ll also want to update the beneficiary information on any retirement accounts and life insurance you may have.

While dealing with the unexpected death of a spouse or loved one is never easy, working with the right person or team can make your next steps to your new normal easier. If you don’t currently work with an advisor, or if your advisor isn’t taking the time to discuss these things with you, I recommend adding a CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™ professional that you trust to your to do list.

Published in the Victoria Advocate

Sara Potts is a CFP® Professional and Operations Manager with KMH Wealth Management, LLC.

https://kellercpas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-navigating-guaranteed.png 247 500 KMH Wealth http://kellercpas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/keller-logo-290-1.png KMH Wealth2022-01-23 22:35:252022-01-25 22:38:20Navigating the Guaranteed

Financial Wellness Month – A Story of Success

January 9, 2022

Wellness as defined by the Oxford English Dictionary is the state of being or doing well in life; happy, healthy, or prosperous conditions; moral or physical welfare. New Year’s Day has come and gone, resolutions have been made and hopefully you have eaten your fill of black-eyed peas and cabbage to bring you good luck and prosperity. The foundation of financial wellness, in my opinion, starts with preparing a financial plan. I cannot think of a better example than sharing with you the story of my clients, Tom and Kate.

Tom and Kate have been clients of the firm since 2003. They diligently saved throughout their careers to build a respectable portfolio of assets. In the fall of 2016, Tom and Kate agreed to prepare a financial plan. Kate had recently retired and Tom was contemplating following suit. The financial plan was prepared and the results were no surprise, Tom and Kate could comfortably retire. However, Tom and Kate were concerned the bulk of their savings were in pre-tax retirement plans that would be subject to required minimum distributions and might negatively impact the taxability of their Social Security benefits and the cost of their eventual Medicare premiums. Tom and Kate were both in their early 60s at this time. I prepared a recommendation for them to start with a multi-year Roth conversion regimen to manage their income and tax brackets to shift as much money as possible to Roth IRA accounts. While they would pay tax now, they would not owe tax on the distributions in retirement which would alleviate their previously mentioned concerns related to Social Security and Medicare. We began the annual Roth conversion regimen in the spring of 2017 and stuck to it religiously with the hopes of completing the entire conversion by the end of 2025.

Fast forward to March 2020. In the midst of a major market downturn caused by a pandemic with unknown impacts at the time, I received a phone call from Kate panicking about their portfolio and second guessing the decision to retire so young. After calming Kate down some, I pulled up their financial plan to update the numbers in real time. The pre-pandemic results showed a 95% chance of successfully funding all of their retirement goals. That day’s results yielded a 91% chance of success. Kate, while relieved that their retirement wasn’t sunk, still felt the need to “do something”. I told her I would be in touch after reviewing available options. I called Tom and Kate back the next day and proposed we accelerate 4 of the 5 remaining years of Roth conversions in to 2020 and take the final conversion in 2021. Tom and Kate reluctantly agreed and the results have been nothing short of stellar for them. Their portfolio is at an all-time high and they have completely alleviated their concerns in retirement about Social Security and Medicare taxation.

Tom and Kate are a great example of the value a financial plan can provide to make sound decisions in real time. As you review your New Year’s Resolutions, I would challenge you to add preparing a financial plan to your list. A CFP® professional can help assist you in preparing and maintaining this plan. You can find local CFP® professionals by visiting letsmakeaplan.org.

Published in the Victoria Advocate

Kyle W. Noack CPA/CFP® is Chief Financial Officer for Keller & Associates CPAs, PLLC and KMH Wealth Management, LLC.

https://kellercpas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/blog-financial-wellness.png 247 500 KMH Wealth http://kellercpas.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/keller-logo-290-1.png KMH Wealth2022-01-09 22:33:372022-01-25 22:46:02Financial Wellness Month – A Story of Success

Latest Posts

  • Limiting the IRS’s Impact on your Business
  • Review your “Free Money” Match
  • Tax Credits Unique to 2021
  • Preparing for the Guaranteed
  • Navigating the Guaranteed
Connect With Us

Planning today will enable you to chart a course towards fulfilling your goals for tomorrow.

Start a Conversation

LinkedIn  Facebook

Contact

Keller & Associates CPAs, PLLC

mail@kellercpas.com

(361) 573-4383
(877) 573-4383

101 S Main Street, Suite 300
Victoria, TX 77901
Map and Directions

Monday – Thursday 8 AM – 5 PM
Friday 8 AM – Noon

Quick Links

Privacy Policy

KMH Wealth Management

© Copyright Keller & Associates CPAs, PLLC

Scroll to top