FINANCIaL
FIELd NOTES
When Pre-tax (not Roth) 401k Contributions Can Make Sense
Most people think of the Roth vs. pre-tax 401(k) decision as a simple bet on future tax rates. But there is a more specific opportunity hiding in that choice, particularly in the years leading up to retirement, and it has everything to do with where in the bracket structure your deduction lands versus where your Roth conversion starts…
The Recent Birthday Party Invite Scam
You open your email inbox and see a cheerful email from a friend inviting you to a birthday party. It's an email directly from your friend, and it seems they are using one of the many internet invitation websites (Evite, Punchbowl, etc). So you click to open the invitation.
This is one of the more effective scams circulating right now, and it's landing in inboxes because it doesn't look like a scam. It looks like a party invitation. Security researchers flagged a sharp increase in these attacks through late 2025, and they're still going. I’ve personally heard from multiple people who have fallen for this because the email looks so legitimate…
The Remarriage Risk No One Talks About
Nobody wants to think about their spouse remarrying after they're gone. But estate planning requires us to think about scenarios we'd rather not, because ignoring them doesn't make them go away.
Here's a situation that comes up more often than people expect, and one that some estate documents don't address at all…
Is Your Child's Inheritance Actually Protected?
When parents think about leaving money to their kids, they usually feel good about it. They've worked hard, saved diligently, and put together an estate plan. But one of the most common gaps I see, even with clients who have done the "right things,” is that the money they're planning to leave is not protected how they imagined it would be.
Here are a few scenarios worth thinking through…
What Markets Do During Geopolitical Crises
One of the hardest things for investors to do during geopolitical uncertainty is nothing. When conflict breaks out, the instinct is to act. Move to cash. Wait it out. Come back when things feel safer. It's a completely understandable reaction.
Here's what the data actually shows. Since 1941, the S&P 500 has endured World War II, Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf War, 9/11, Iraq, and more than a dozen other military engagements. In the year following each of those conflicts, the average return was +11%. Over five years, +94%. Over twenty years, +685%…
The Age 60-63 “Super Catch-Up”
Last year, as part of Secure 2.0, the “super catch-up” became available to pre-retirees saving in their 401k. It’s a generous rule, specifically for the four-year window between ages 60 and 63, that allows a meaningfully larger contribution during what are often peak earning years…