Picture this scene: your child’s friend is over at your house, they’re playing on the trampoline and things are getting a little rowdy. Your child’s friend lands wrong, breaks their ankle and is rushed to the hospital. Their parents, who had always been pleasant and seemingly reasonable, now blame you for the incident and have decided to sue you for negligence. Without an umbrella policy in place, you face significant risk to your assets and financial security.
The Conversation on Paying for College
According to an article by Forbes, the average total cost of a four-year degree is now over $100,000, more than double, even when accounting for inflation, than it was 30 years ago. Perhaps even more shocking, the total college price tag grew nearly eight times as fast as wages over the same period. Working your way through college is nearly impossible and it’s no secret that student loans make up the largest slice of non-housing debt in the U.S.
So how do you plan for and advise your child as they weigh their post high school graduation options?
Life Transitions: Getting Married
Getting married is the start of something exciting and should be a joyful time. You’ve found the love of your life and it’s safe to assume that thinking through the financial risks of merging assets is an uncomfortable subject between you and your spouse.
At the same time, there are practical matters that you should discuss during your engagement period to prepare for the unexpected. Communication is key to setting yourselves up financially and legally for whatever life sends your way.
How Technology is Changing Financial Custodian Services
Technology continues to alter and evolve the way in which we transact with each other and the world around us. We’ve moved from computers being a luxury in the late 1980s, when less than 1% of the world’s technology-stored information was in digital format, to today, where people can hold a computer in their hands and nearly all information is stored digitally.
Along with the mass adoption of technology, the traditional means of executing and recording financial transactions has shifted significantly and continues to do so. Major financial custodians are changing some of their longstanding client service offerings in order to keep up with the ways in which their clients transact in today’s economy.
5 Tips for Inheriting Wealth – Life Transitions
Inheriting wealth can be unexpected or something you’ve known about for a long time. Either way, it can be life changing. Beyond the emotional component, your head may be spinning with questions about what to do next. How will this change my life? Will this change my life? Beyond the technical components of inherited wealth, receiving a large gift can spark a lot of existential questions that are important to address within the context of your financial plan.
