Inheritance Planning Made 123Easy

Yes, if everyone says yes. Our family meeting guide says to record it, and to ask everyone first, including anyone on video. Here is what the guide says about asking, what stays off the recording, and who gets it afterward. In this episode: should you record your family meeting, family meeting, Thanksgiving, record it. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/should-you-r...

Not everything. Our family meeting guide has fifteen conversations in it, and it also has a short list titled "If you only talk about three things." Here are the three, and the short answer Eddie and Betty give their worried son. In this episode: what should you talk about at a family meeting, family meeting, Thanksgiving, three things. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirem...

Everyone. Our family meeting guide says to invite everyone, even the one who lives far away, and that they can join by video. Here is why telling someone afterward isn't the same, and how to invite them without pressure. In this episode: who should be at your family meeting, family meeting, Thanksgiving, by video. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/who-should-b...

Yes: one person who will step in and coordinate for the family, and a backup. Our family meeting guide calls that person your steward. The part that's easy to skip is the question that goes with it. In this episode: do you need to put one of your kids in charge, family steward, family meeting, Thanksgiving. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/do-you-need-to-put-...

No. A family meeting is about structure, not amounts: where things are, who to call, and who does what. Here is what to say first, what to show, and the words to use if one of your kids asks for the number anyway. In this episode: do you have to tell your kids how much you have, family meeting, how to talk to your kids about inheritance, Thanksgiving family meeting, Fiscal Fridays Scottsdale. Read...

A trust is one piece of the paperwork. The family meeting is the conversation that makes it work, and Thanksgiving is the one day most families are already in the same house. Here's how the meeting goes, the three things to cover if you only cover three, and what to expect at the November 20 Fiscal Fridays in Scottsdale. In this episode: family meeting, family meeting at Thanksgiving, is a tr...

Part 7 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. For most children who inherit an IRA, the lifetime stretch is gone: the account must be emptied within ten years, often during their highest-earning years. Who can still stretch, where a Roth fits, and the checklist to work through now. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-what-happens-when-your-kids-inherit-your-ira/...

Part 6 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. If you give to charity anyway, a Qualified Charitable Distribution sends IRA money straight to the charity without it counting as your income, and it counts toward your RMD. Up to $111,000 a person in 2026, from age 70½. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-is-there-a-smarter-way-to-give/ American Retirement Advisors...

Part 5 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. An RMD is income, and income moves other numbers. Medicare sets its IRMAA surcharge from your tax return two years earlier, so a 2026 RMD can raise your 2028 premiums. The first lines, and what it costs a couple to cross one. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-can-an-rmd-raise-your-medicare-premiums/ American Retire...

Part 4 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. A missed RMD used to cost half of what you should have taken. Today it's 25%, or 10% if you fix it in time, and the IRS can waive it entirely. Why a review before December 31 matters. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-what-if-you-miss-an-rmd/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada na...

Part 3 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. Your RMD is one division: last December's balance divided by a factor from an IRS table. On a $1,000,000 IRA, that's about $37,700 at 73 and about $82,000 at 90. Plus the rules that trip people up. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-how-much-do-you-have-to-take-out/ American Retirement Advisors helps famil...

Part 2 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. For 45 years the starting age was 70½. Now it's 73 or 75, depending on the year you were born. The age ladder, the first-year catch that can mean two RMDs in one year, and the still-working exception. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-when-do-your-rmds-start/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Ariz...

Part 1 of The Rule That Taxes Your Retirement. At a certain age, the government stops waiting and makes you withdraw from your IRA every year, whether you need the money or not. What a required minimum distribution is, and the deal you made decades ago that started it. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/rmd-why-do-they-make-you-take-the-money-out/ American Retiremen...

Part 5 of Dental Care in Retirement. Since 2022, a Medicare Advantage plan may pay for routine dental even when your dentist has opted out of Medicare. How networks and out-of-network care work, and six questions to ask before your next visit. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/dcr-can-you-see-a-dentist-who-doesnt-take-medicare/ American Retirement Advisors helps fa...

Part 4 of Dental Care in Retirement. Many Medicare Advantage plans include dental, and a lot of it goes unused. Where to find the dental section in your plan's papers, what 'preventive' and 'comprehensive' really mean, and the limits to look for. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/dcr-what-does-your-plans-dental-really-cover/ American Retire...

Part 3 of Dental Care in Retirement. Before you sign up for any dental plan, there are other places to look: your own dentist, dental schools and hygiene clinics in the Phoenix area and Las Vegas, community health centers, and Medicaid if you qualify. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/dcr-where-can-you-get-dental-care-for-less/ American Retirement Advisors helps fa...

Part 2 of Dental Care in Retirement. A dental discount plan and a dental insurance policy work very differently. In our example, the same policy costs $1,780 or $1,155 for the year, depending on when you need the crown. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/dcr-discount-plan-or-dental-insurance/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada navigate...

Part 1 of Dental Care in Retirement. Many of our clients are surprised how little dental care Medicare itself pays for. Where your dental coverage really comes from, the few times Original Medicare does pay, and where to start. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/dcr-does-medicare-pay-for-your-teeth/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada n...

Every fall, someone at the mailbox swears by their Medicare plan. It may be perfect for them and wrong for you. Four things that make a plan personal, and three better questions to ask than 'which plan do you have?' Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/is-your-neighbors-plan-right-for-you/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada nav...

At Fiscal Fridays, David told the story of a drug list that made next year look like $972,000. Nothing was wrong with the plan. The list was wrong. How to get yours right before your review. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/what-if-your-drug-list-says-972000/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada navigate healthcare, retirement income,...

David closed Fiscal Fridays with a picture worth keeping: Medicare is one room in your house, and your income and your family's plan live there too. A simple once-a-year walk through all three rooms. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/is-medicare-just-one-room-in-your-house/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada navigate healthcare,...

Our first Fiscal Fridays open to the public is in the books. The moments we loved, the questions that stuck, and why we can't wait to do it again on Friday, November 20. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/thank-you-scottsdale-see-you-november-20/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada navigate healthcare, retirement income, and inheri...

Fiscal Fridays goes live this morning in Scottsdale, the first show ever open to the public. The timeline, what to bring, the secret guest, and how to watch if you cannot be in the room. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/what-happens-at-fiscal-fridays-today/ American Retirement Advisors helps families in Arizona and Nevada navigate healthcare, retirement income, an...

The thirty-second clock on Fiscal Fridays is David Schaeffer's 1878 Rockford pocket watch. Behind it is a story about railroads, a wreck in Ohio, and a jeweler who made America's watches honest, plus a practical question every family with a watch drawer should answer. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/why-does-an-1878-pocket-watch-run-our-show/ American R...

Every copay on a 2027 plan card was decided months ago, inside a bid that went to Medicare in June. How the bid, the benchmark, and the rebate work, why a dollar can only go one place, and the secret guest at Fiscal Fridays on October 23 who has spent his career inside the health insurance business. Read the full article: https://news.americanretirementadvisors.com/how-does-a-medicare-advantage-pl...