Planning Pointers
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from FREEDMAN FINANCIAL | October 21, 2016
What You Need to Know About Trusts
Living trusts can be a valuable estate planning tool, but are very often oversold.

There are many instances when a trust is appropriate and a valuable piece of an estate plan, though there are many cases when it's simply not necessary. The number one reason that clients tell us they need a trust is to avoid probate, but often probate can be avoided with proper beneficiary designations on accounts.

Trusts can also be expensive to set up and maintain.  Lawyers generally charge between $2,000 and $5,000 to draw up the Trust documents.  But most trusts are useless until their funded.  Lawyers generally don't do that (with the exception of real estate).  It's up to you to re-register your accounts, deeds, and other properties into the name of the trust.  This can be a very time consuming process. So before you jump into a trust, make sure it's necessary and a financial savvy move for you.  Want to know whether a trust makes sense for you?  Ask us.

Did You Update Your iPhone?
After a few reminders, have you finally updated your iPhone?

Apple is relentless in their reminder.  Eventually we all just give in and do the updates to stop the phone from reminding us. If you've made the switch to iOS 10 there are a number of changes.  Lots are great, and others take a little getting used to.
 
Some of the improvements are to iMessaging.  You can now add emotions and stickers to make your texts more interactive and fun. Siri has better functionality with other apps in your phone, making her more useful, if she understands you! A great feature is that your phone will show where you parked your car.  Just set it up for Bluetooth.  No more lost cars on city streets; and who hasn't done that?

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Combining Retirement Accounts
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Rolling over or transferring accounts into a single retirement account can make life much simpler.

It can get confusing to keep track of what you have and how it's invested when accounts are all over the place.  Having scattered retirement accounts could make you run the risk of missing a required distribution - and that could have tax implications and even a penalty. Also by maintaining accounts in multiple locations, especially if they are smaller, you could easily lose track of them over the years.  Do you want your money ending up as abandoned property? Nobody wants that!

Moving your accounts in a single location is a great step towards getting your financial house in order. Need help consolidating your accounts?  That's something we do every day at our office. Give us a call.

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The opinions expressed in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual.  To determine which investments may be appropriate for you, consult your financial advisor prior to investing.

Investment advice offered through Freedman Financial, an SEC registered investment advisor.