Skip to main content

Financial Planning

News

Upcoming Events

American Rescue Plan's Individual Tax Breaks

March 11, 2021

The signing of the American Rescue Plan comes just a few days before extended unemployment benefits were scheduled to start running out. There are several tax breaks for individuals to take note of.

  • coronavirus
  • personal financial planning
  • state tax
  • federal tax

Surprise tax bills await in pandemic-affected IRS filing season

February 11, 2021

The U.S. federal tax-filing season that begins Friday will be among the most consequential in recent history, as households face potential surprises — both negative and positive — sorting through pandemic-related measures at a time of high unemployment and depressed consumer confidence.

  • coronavirus
  • personal financial planning
  • state tax
  • federal tax

What will happen to estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions in 2021 and beyond?

January 21, 2021

With the inauguration of President Joe Biden and a congress narrowly controlled by the Democratic party, many clients and estate planners have begun to worry about what, if anything, will happen to the federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer (“GST”) tax exemptions and rates in 2021 and beyond.

  • personal financial planning
  • state tax
  • federal tax

HBJ's 2021 economic forecast

December 28, 2020

Hartford Business Journal's 2021 Book of Lists includes an economic forecast section containing outlooks for the year ahead from various economists and industry experts. Here's a look at what they had to say.

  • coronavirus
  • diversity
  • forensic accounting and fraud
  • member news
  • not-for-profit
  • personal financial planning
  • practice management
  • state tax
  • technology and cybersecurity
  • advocacy - state

Financial Planning Lessons for Turbulent Times

December 21, 2020

Looking back over a tumultuous year, we learned the value of cool heads and steady hands. After dealing with the ups and downs of the pandemic, the economy, the election and political and civil unrest, I marked some broader lessons we can glean and implement in our financial planning for 2021.

  • personal financial planning

Keeping Retirement SECURE: New Act.New Opportunities

Mar 30th 9:00am - 10:00am

Online

1.00 Credits

Review the maximum period over which an inherited IRA can be withdrawnChanges to Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)Estate planning considerationsDiscussion Leader(s) Leon LaBrecque, JD, CPA, CFPr, CFA

Keeping Retirement SECURE: New Act.New Opportunities

Apr 16th 10:30am - 11:30am

Online

1.00 Credits

Review the maximum period over which an inherited IRA can be withdrawnChanges to Required Minimum Distributions (RMD)Estate planning considerationsDiscussion Leader(s) Leon LaBrecque, JD, CPA, CFPr, CFA

Surgent's Estate and Life Planning Issues for the Middle-Income Client

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

8.00 Credits

More than 20 documents that should be reviewed that are neither a will nor trust Applicable rates, and tactics that may be used to minimize them Reducing the impact of ancillary administration Provisions you need in a will When a trust is needed for children Durable powers of attorney, for financial matters and for healthcare Realistic retirement goals Management of insurance: liability, disability, and life Dealing with marriage and divorce Titling assets effectively Avoiding the loss of capital and passive losses at death Portability of the deceased spouse's unused exemption amount Developments relative to estate tax, and the implications for planning

Surgent's Individual and Financial-Planning Tax Camp

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

8.00 Credits

Understanding the environment: what's new, what's expired or expiring, and what's likely to change Review of pertinent changes from tax reform Reading a tax return for developing client-specific tax strategies Will there be more changes in the individual tax laws? The net investment income tax: planning for compliance Family income-splitting strategies that need to be considered Income tax issues: impact on timing of other income Using Roth IRAs and Roth contribution programs to best advantage Conversions: do they still make sense? Taking distributions: matching timing to client requirements Qualified plan contributions to reduce current income and Social Security tax: implications for business owners and self-employed What to do about itemized deductions Trans-generational planning: conversions, income and gain-splitting HSAs Identifying tax opportunities: reviewing the prior-year return to develop a plan for the future Planning for middle-income taxpayers: financial planning for the young, the working, and those approaching or in retirement

Surgent's Individual and Financial-Planning Tax Camp

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

8.00 Credits

Understanding the environment: what's new, what's expired or expiring, and what's likely to change Review of pertinent changes from tax reform Reading a tax return for developing client-specific tax strategies Will there be more changes in the individual tax laws? The net investment income tax: planning for compliance Family income-splitting strategies that need to be considered Income tax issues: impact on timing of other income Using Roth IRAs and Roth contribution programs to best advantage Conversions: do they still make sense? Taking distributions: matching timing to client requirements Qualified plan contributions to reduce current income and Social Security tax: implications for business owners and self-employed What to do about itemized deductions Trans-generational planning: conversions, income and gain-splitting HSAs Identifying tax opportunities: reviewing the prior-year return to develop a plan for the future Planning for middle-income taxpayers: financial planning for the young, the working, and those approaching or in retirement

Surgent's Individual Tax Planning Ideas

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

4.00 Credits

Review of pertinent changes from tax reform Reading a tax return for developing client-specific tax strategies Identifying tax opportunities: reviewing the prior-year return to develop a plan for the future Compensation and fringe benefit issues Is the client in the right mix of investment vehicles? Identify clients with net investment income tax problems and the potential ways to reduce or eliminate them All in the family: Tax tactics for spouses, children, and parents Understanding the environment: what's new, what's expired or expiring, and what's likely to change

Surgent's Select Estate and Life Planning Issues for the Middle-Income Client

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

4.00 Credits

More than 20 documents that clients should have that are neither a will nor a trust Provisions you need in a will Trusts and other arrangements for children Durable powers of attorney for healthcare and for financial matters Realistic retirement goals Developments relative to estate tax, and the implications for planning

Surgent's This Year's Best Income Tax, Estate Tax, and Financial-Planning Ideas

Available Until Mar 31st

Online

12.00 Credits

The best new income tax and estate-planning ideas, including items from tax reform Highlights of the Tax Cuts & Jobs Act including the Section 199A deduction Major tax ideas for the current year The changing Social Security landscape: what it means for planning Creative charitable giving strategies Financial planning strategies Maximizing retirement plan benefits Using intentionally defective grantor trusts Miscellaneous tax-planning techniques that can add up to significant tax savings How to use the whole family for tax savings Life insurance Up-to-the-minute ideas reflecting new tax law changes in cases, regulations, and rulings