While making mistakes is inevitable – we’re all human, and that comes with the territory – in many cases mistakes can be at least mitigated by course correction. Retirement planning – and, indeed, all financial planning – is, thankfully, one of the areas where we can adjust.
But it’s important to make that course correction as soon as possible – and keep a clear eye ahead, so as to avoid making more mistakes (insofar as we can).
There are common mistakes people make when planning for retirement – and they may not all be what we think they are.
Here are some of those mistakes – and ways to avoid them:
Not Starting with a Clear Goal
From the moment you start saving for retirement (ideally, as soon as you start working), you need a clear goal for those retirement savings. That goal is your destination – and without a destination, you can’t map a clear course. This is not to say your goal can’t change – very likely it will, and that’s when we re-draw the map. But without a goal, a destination to aim for, it’s all too easy to get lost along the way.
And that goal is what you – not your friends, not your colleagues – want out of your retirement. That’s personal, unique to you as an individual. You want a certain, specified amount of capital and/or income so you can (fill in the blank – spend more time with your family, open a bed and breakfast in your dream location, buy a racehorse, volunteer for your favorite charity, etc.).
Again, this goal can alter – the important thing is that you save with a purpose. Write your purpose down – keep it, refer to it, change it when your goals change. But keep it like a talisman, to remind yourself of your purpose in saving.
Trying to Navigate Your Road Alone
Now that you have your goal, your purpose, you’re all set, right? All you have to do is save! Unfortunately, that’s an unwise attitude, which usually doesn’t pay off. Take guidance – ask your virtual CFO or other trusted financial advisor to help you devise a plan – your roadmap to get you from where you are now to where you want to arrive at the end of the journey.
Your advisor is the mapmaker who can point the clearest path toward your goal – avoiding circuitous routes, helping you move down your road effectively and methodically – in line with your purpose. S/he can point out that what you may be doing isn’t actually advancing your stated purpose. Sometimes that will mean correcting what you’re doing; other times your advisor can help you realize your goal has changed without your knowing it. Then, it’s time to re-draw your map in light of the new destination.
But your trusted financial advisor is also your guide along that road – your co-pilot, your wingman (or woman), riding shotgun for you. S/he will be there to ensure you are on track at every checkpoint.
Spending Time and Money Against Your Purpose
Part of developing your goal is understanding what you value – and, even before you retire, your time and your money should be spent, not only on working and saving for the future, but living toward your goals – i.e., spending your time and money consistent with your purpose in the present. While delayed gratification is an important part of planning and saving, it’s important that your goal, your purpose, is paramount, and you should be furthering that purpose throughout your life.
Don’t put in 80-hour weeks on a regular basis (sometimes this may be necessary, but it shouldn’t be your default). This will result in burnout for yourself, shortchanging not only your work itself, but your family and friends, your recreational activities – starving yourself and them of the attention and focus on the super-values away from work which will give you a well-lived life. And if a well-lived life isn’t part of your goal, ask yourself why.
Studies show that over time, the happiest people are those who spend their time and money on what matters most to them. So, do that, and be happier.
Letting Your Money Sit Idle While You Work
Your virtual CFO or trusted financial advisor can help ensure you are saving enough, and investing it wisely, so that it will always be working for you; growing as you grow.
Spend what your financial planning allows for – it may come as a surprise, but a lot of people spend less than they could, given their income, even when they are saving a generous amount toward the future.
Don’t be afraid to live as big as you dream – and never be afraid to dream big, bigger, biggest – to the limit of what’s realistic for you in light of your purpose and goals.
Again, delayed gratification is an excellent habit, but it’s no substitute for a purpose, or for a fully experienced life. There’s room for all of these in everyone’s life.
You work hard for your money – make it return the favor.
Letting Money Become Your Goal
Investing is not the game, it’s the strategy. Because the game itself is living life as you want to – now and in the future.
Money shouldn’t be an end in itself – it’s a means toward an end – and that end is your goal – the place you want to get to.
Investing for its own sake becomes an empty pursuit. What you should strive toward, in your work, your free time, and your financial planning, is something far more real and personal to you.
Don’t get me wrong – it’s great to save, to invest, to watch your assets grow. But growth means harvest – never lose sight of the fact that your money is invested to bear fruit to sweeten your life, and the lives of your loved ones.
Not Letting Your Guide Help You on the Downslope
More mountain climbers die on the way down than they do reaching the peak. The reason these deaths on the downslope have declined is that more climbers take guides with them all the way, up the mountain and down.
Once you’ve saved enough (or think you have) to achieve your retirement goals, you still need guidance in developing and executing a plan for what comes next.
You have enough money to fund your goals – but have you taken into account the other expenses reaching retirement age will bring?
Your virtual CFO or financial advisor will help you develop a retirement plan which can help you safely navigate your way through retirement – achieving your end-goals (whether they are exactly the same as when you started saving or have evolved into something altogether different) while ensuring you and your family are taken care of in the day-to-day process of living.
At Rigby Financial Group, we aim for long-term relationships with our clients. We don’t stop working for you when you have a financial plan, or when tax season is over. Rather, we want to be there for you and with you as you travel your unique, individual path.
We will help you:
- Identify why money is important to you – what you want from it, what it can help you avoid, etc.
- Clarify what you value in your life and help devise ways to get more of that now, even while saving for the future.
- Get to know your unique picture – your life, your goals, your family, your financial picture, are not the same as anyone else’s – and RFG celebrates you in all your individuality.
- Devise plans, strategies, and processes to help the unique you follow your singular path through an irrepeatable life toward your individual goal.
- And be there with you all through the long process of implementing, revising and adjusting the plans and processes as your life, family, and financial picture change.
For better or worse, you are in your life for the long haul – don’t you deserve an advisor who is, too?
Whatever stage in the retirement planning process you are in, RFG can help you get your ducks in a very tidy row! Please click here to email us directly – we are always here to help.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
For more on planning for retirement, see:
What Your HSA Can Do for You – Now and in the Future
Increased Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 2024
Roth IRAs and Income Tax Liability – How to Protect Your Assets
SECURE 2.0 Enacted – Key Highlights
Taxation in Retirement – Be Prepared!
Roth IRAs – To Convert, or Not to Convert?
Should You Roll Your 401(k) Into an IRA When You Retire?
The Ins and Outs of RMDs – Explained
Allocating Your Retirement Portfolio
Planning for Retirement in a Volatile Market
Retirement looms for an ever-increasing number of baby boomers (I suspect a lot of us qualify).
Many of us may shy from what we perceive as an uncomfortable – but postponable – subject – but we shouldn’t.
Rather, we should plan carefully for what is inevitable. Unless we “die in harness,” which God forbid, we have a long life to experience and enjoy after our working lives are over.
And we shouldn’t put this planning off until after the fact – as all too many of us are inclined to do.
Here are some steps we suggest taking the year before you retire – if you haven’t done so before.
Create An Income Plan
Do you have a clear picture of where your income will come from after you retire?
How much income can you expect from:
- Social Security
- Your individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
- Any employer-sponsored retirement plans you participate in, whether defined-benefit (e.g., pension plans) or defined-contribution (e.g., 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(b)s, etc.)
- Other sources, such as income from real estate investments or new business ventures, inheritances, etc.
It’s important to know where your income will come from, and how much that income will be in aggregate.
Develop a Plan for Your Post-Retirement Healthcare Needs
Age, if we’re lucky, brings us greater wisdom. Unfortunately, it also brings us increased expenditures on healthcare – even if we eat healthily, exercise, and do everything we can to optimize our health.
When planning for retirement, you need to consider:
- Health insurance. While you have paid for Medicare coverage throughout your working life, automatic coverage is limited to Plans A (inpatient care at hospitals, skilled nursing facilities, nursing homes, and hospices, and some home health services) and B (medically necessary services, including ambulances, preventive services including most visits to physicians, limited prescription drugs, and some medical equipment such as those which provide oxygen). You can also opt for Parts C and D coverage (private company offered Medicare Advantage plans, which cover Parts A and B and often offer additional services and/or Part D, which provides more coverage for prescription drugs). So, you need to determine which Medicare plan you need, as well as allow for costs such as premiums, co-pays, etc.
- Any hereditary propensity toward areas of concern – are you genetically predisposed to develop any serious conditions? If so, that, too, needs to be considered.
- Some businesses offer lifetime health coverage for partners or high-level employees – does yours? Is there a premium or other charge to you after retirement?
And once you’ve allowed for all these factors, you need to incorporate those fixed and potential costs into your retirement planning.
Cut Down on the Pieces of Your Financial Puzzle
Often, we accumulate many pieces which make up our financial picture – but, when planning for retirement, consider:
- How many retirement accounts do you have? What type(s) are they – IRAs, 401(k)s or other employer-sponsored plans? Maybe you have a mixture of both. Do you need all of them individually? Maybe the answer is “yes,” but it’s important to see whether they can be streamlined. Multiple IRAs can be combined into one, even if you want to keep your employer-sponsored plan assets where they are.
- How many in-force life insurance policies do you have? Do you need them all? If your children are grown and self-supporting, and your spouse is well-provided for via other estate planning vehicles, you may not need any of them.
- Do you have disability insurance, other than that which may be provided by your employer? The latter will likely cease to be effective once you retire; and when you’re no longer receiving earned income, do you really need disability insurance?
- You may need or want to have several non-qualified investment accounts (separate accounts for yourself and your spouse, a joint investment account, etc.). But can you consolidate at all?
Create a Post-Retirement Spending Plan
Taking into account the post-retirement income you can count on, determine:
- Your fixed expenses (e.g., medical insurance, home maintenance, utilities, landscaping, vehicle purchases and maintenance, etc.).
- If you will have more than you need for these, congratulations! What, then, do you want to do with your extra cash?
Additional Pre-Retirement Considerations
Other aspects of retirement planning include:
- Your asset allocations. Whether you have one investment account or 20, and whether you have all your assets in qualified retirement accounts or not, the best asset allocation for you before you retire may not be optimal afterward.
- Your home – do you want to stay in the home you have now, or do you want to change. Whether that change is downsizing, upscaling, or moving to an entirely different place, it’s a choice you need to make, and once your family needs to be in the loop about – though the final decision is and should be yours (and your spouse’s, if you’re married).
- Any travel plans you have. Many people put off travel they would dearly love to do until they’ve retired. That’s not a right-or-wrong choice, it’s a preference. But if you do want to travel, that represents additional projected expenditures which need to be factored into your planning.
This touches on the final, vital consideration:
What’s Next?
Retirement, of course, represents, if not necessarily the end of your working life, at least the end of a significant portion of it.
But, as T.S. Eliot wrote,
In my end is my beginning.
You can choose to start a new business or buy an existing one that’s been your dream – like a winery, if you’re an oenophile.
You can choose to stay quietly at home, enjoying time with family and friends, read the books you’ve never had the time to, attend musical concerts, theatre, more films – in short, you can do anything your income allows and your inclination sends you toward.
But it’s vital to know what those options are – and which ones you want to pursue.
Because one thing about retirement – it takes away the structure your working life gave you.
Structure is important – and even more so is having purpose in your life.
Never let yourself waste away the rest of your life drifting – unless that’s your deliberate and desired choice.
But make that choice – don’t let idleness – or anything else – choose you.
Your virtual CFO can help you plan for every aspect of your retirement. This planning, in turn, needs to focus on what you want out of your retirement – your goals, your needs, your desires.
At Rigby Financial Group, we will custom-tailor a retirement plan to meet your needs. We never take a cookie-cutter approach.
Please click here to email us directly – we are here to help.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
As some of our clients near retirement, they often ask whether they should roll their 401(k) (or 401(k)s) into an existing or new IRA.
The answer is (as it so often is) – maybe.
There are pros and cons to such a rollover, which should be weighed in light of your individual circumstances and needs.
Potential Benefits of an IRA Rollover
-
- Wider variety of investment options – while this is not always the case, usually an IRA offers more choices than an employer-qualified plan to allocate your assets.
- Fixed income choices – 401(k) plans generally have limited bond or annuity options for investment; it may well be that, once you retire, you will want a more significant portion of your assets invested in fixed-income funds. An IRA’s fixed-income investment options are only limited by your IRA custodian and usually are far more diversified; therefore, you may find better fits for your needs with an IRA.
- Consolidation of assets – research shows that baby boomers may change jobs as many as twelve times over their careers. It is often a good plan to consolidate your retirement assets into a single account – and if you haven’t done this before retirement, this might be the time to do it. It is much easier to keep track of a single account that provides a total picture of your retirement funds than to monitor a dozen or even three or four accounts.
- Control over withdrawals – some 401(k) plans allow only full-account withdrawals upon the participant’s termination from the plan. IRAs provide the option of regularly scheduled or at-will withdrawals without penalty once you are over age 59½. However, there are some benefits with regard to withdrawals from your 401(k) assets, such as leaving them where they are – see below.
Potential Benefits of Leaving Your 401(k) Where It Is
- Different age-eligibility for penalty-free withdrawals – if you are retiring after reaching age 55, but before you are 59½ – or if you would like the ability to make penalty-free withdrawals during those 4½ years – your 401(k) may allow you to withdraw funds without incurring the 10% early-withdrawal tax penalty under IRS code section 72(t) In addition if you had planned to retire at age 70, but find yourself unready at that point to give up your occupation, you can continue to contribute to your 401(k) – unless you own 5% or more of your employing company – until you retire, and you need not take required minimum distributions (RMDs) while you are still working. An IRA has no such flexibility regarding early withdrawals and RMD age requirements.
- Legal protection of assets – if you are facing a lawsuit, ERISA rules protect assets in an employer-sponsored retirement plan from creditors. IRA assets have some protection, but not as much as a 401(k) plan, and the level of protection can vary by state.
Another factor to consider is the fees on your existing 401(k) and any IRA you contemplate rolling that account into. While IRAs will sometimes have lower costs, this is only sometimes the case, mainly if your 401(k) plan is with a larger employing company. It pays (in savings) to look closely and carefully at the costs of all plans available to you.
Before you decide – and before retiring – please consult your virtual CFO or other trusted financial advisor. S/he will listen to you, understand your needs and goals, review your account(s) – both existing and contemplated – and guide you toward the best choices – because the right decision for one person isn’t always in another’s best interest. Each person is unique, as are their family, financial situation, and goals, and your financial advisor knows that. S/he can custom-tailor a plan for your retirement – one that fits your needs.
If you are wondering whether you should roll your employer-sponsored retirement plan into an individual retirement account, please get in touch with Rigby Financial Group – we are at your service. And we never take a one-size-fits-all approach. We are here to help you – as the unrepeatable individual that you are and that no one else ever can be.
Please click here to email us directly – let us know how we can help.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
Halloween has been celebrated in one form or another for over 2,000 years – it dates to the ancient Celtic festival of Samhain, which was celebrated on October 31 with bonfires outside and hearth fires in homes left to burn out as the harvest was gathered. That date was the official year-end, with the new year beginning on November 1.
On Samhain, it was believed that the barriers between the living world and the netherworld weakened, allowing interaction with the dead. Costumes were often worn as disguises, to confuse evil spirits which might be hunting for you.
The word Halloween itself descends to us from Scottish tradition, as a contraction of All Hallows Eve, following Pope Gregory III’s dedication of November 1 as All Saints Day in the 8th century AD (though the original institution of All Saints Day, which was initially May 13, is credited to Pope Boniface IV and dates to the early 7th century AD).
But wherever it comes from, there is no better place to celebrate tradition, history, and the ghostly world than New Orleans. In 2022, Travel & Leisure Magazine honored New Orleans among the “13 Best Places to Celebrate Halloween.” New Orleans has everything you need for spooky fun – we have ghostly tours, haunted hotels, bars and mansions, the Krewe of Boo parade, and festivities appropriate for all ages from mid-October on through the day itself.
And you know we love to decorate – and are great at it!
We hope you and your families go all out for it and have a blast! But when trick-or-treating, be careful and aware. Not all the ghouls out there are friendly.
Wishing you all a safe spooky holiday!
What are your ghostly plans for today? Please click here to email me directly – it might provide inspiration for future Halloweens.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
We’ve written more than once about the importance of keeping your beneficiary designations current.
In fact, one of the first things we do at RFG with new clients is to ask to see beneficiary statements on all relevant accounts and insurance policies, both life and disability. We also ask to review these periodically, as life’s circumstances change for us all, and it is of vital importance that we (as individuals) make sure our beneficiary statements reflect such changes appropriately.
Did you know that, according to Supreme Court precedent, beneficiary designations trump your will’s explicit provisions?
Case In Point
We recently became aware of an actual instance – a case study – of the unfortunate consequences to a family when a beneficiary designation was left unreviewed and unchanged for decades.
Today, we’ll share that story with you – in the hope that it will spur all of us to be conscientious in ensuring our assets and benefits are secured to those we want to have them – now, not in the past. And that we continue that diligence into the future as our life circumstances change (and they will). Now is only for now, and eternal vigilance is the price of liberty, security, and informed peace of mind.
Almost 40 years ago, a man took a new job with the benefit of a 401(k)-retirement account. He named his wife the sole beneficiary of this account. Back then, there was only physical paperwork to complete (but you could still change your beneficiary or beneficiaries by completing and submitting an updated beneficiary form).
This couple had moved in together, married, and bought a home together. In fact, they intended to—and to an extent, did—build a life together. But the marriage lasted only a few years before the couple divorced. On his death in 2015, the man left two living brothers.
However, he had never changed the beneficiary designation on his 401(k), which held assets valued at over $750,000 at the time of his death. His long-divorced spouse remained the sole beneficiary.
The two brothers sued to stop the ex-wife from inheriting this account since the marriage had ended decades earlier.
After years of court battles and appeals, the courts finally ruled that the ex-wife, as the sole beneficiary designated by her now-long-ex-husband, was entitled to the entire account—which, by the time the case was finally adjudicated, had grown to over $1 million in assets.
The company holding the account had proven they’d provided numerous notifications of the option to change beneficiaries, and the man had, in fact, logged into the now-online account more than a few times. The holding company further demonstrated that they had repeatedly recommended that all participants review their beneficiary designations.
Is this what we want for our hard-earned assets? That they devolve to those we’d no longer prefer to have them – through our failures of vigilance and diligence?
I think we would all have to answer “no.”
So, how do we avoid this?
Get Your Ducks in a Row
If you have assets you want to protect, we recommend consulting a financial and estate planning expert, like the team at Rigby Financial Group. Whether it’s your virtual CFO or another trusted financial advisor, take counsel with someone with the experience and expertise to ensure that your financial and estate planning – including your beneficiary designations – keeps pace with your life.
Because, as life goes on, things happen, relationships change, new loved ones emerge. And, as they do, your estate planning should move with them.
You should have primary and contingent beneficiaries designated on all:
- Individual retirement accounts (IRAs)
- Employer-sponsored accounts, such as pensions, 401(k)s, 403(b)s, 457(bs), ESOPs, etc.
- Life insurance policies
- Disability insurance policies
Keep Those Ducks in Their Proper Row
It’s crucial that these designated beneficiaries be reviewed and updated to ensure that the designations align with your current life circumstances and goals and stay aligned as those circumstances and goals alter.
Review your beneficiary designations upon:
- Marriage (whether it’s your first or your sixth!)
- Divorce
- The birth of a child or grandchild
- The death of a family member or close friend (even if that person is not one of your designated beneficiaries – contemplating such a death may change your wishes)
- If a plan administrator changes (sometimes glitches occur when systems change over)
Even when you think nothing’s changed, it’s a good idea to review your beneficiary designations at least every 2 to 3 years. People move, telephone numbers, email addresses can change – even if the right people are designated, keep their contact information updated.
Think of your overall estate plan as an engine, driving your assets to their proper destination(s). Complete with many moving parts, all of which require attention, maintenance, and perhaps repair.
And consider regular review of your beneficiary designations – and your entire estate plan – as a tune-up for your car – every so often, it’s necessary.
If you wonder whether your beneficiary designations might need updating, there’s a good chance they do. Please click here to email me directly – RFG is here to help you!
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
Most privately-held businesses created and registered before January 1, 2024 are required to file beneficial ownership information (BOI) with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), which is a part of the U.S, Department of the Treasury (DOT), by January 1, 2025.
For businesses created or registered after January 1, 2024, but before January 1, 2025, filing is required within 90 days after receiving actual or public notice that the creation or registration has become effective.
Reporting businesses created or registered after January 1, 2025 must file within 30 days of actual or public notice that the creation or registration has become effective.
For all reporting businesses created or registered after January 1, 2024, the BOI reporting requirements extends to “company applicants” as well (see below for specifics concerning “company applicants”). This requirement does not apply to businesses created and registered prior to January 1, 2024.
Several members of the U.S. House of Representatives have pleaded for a delay to the effective date of this reporting requirement, but to no avail.
While litigation against implementation of this reporting requirement is ongoing (see below), we recommend you be prepared to file these reports ahead of the deadline, as there is no guarantee that the courts will resolve every lawsuit before the deadline, nor that a nationwide preliminary injunction will be issued.
Does This Reporting Requirement Apply to Your Business?
If your business is a U.S. entity:
- Created under U.S. laws (which include state and Native American tribal laws);
- A corporation or LLC; and
- Created via filing of a document or documents with a secretary of state or similar office or
Your business is an entity:
- Created under the laws or a foreign nation; and
- Registered to do business in any U.S. State or Tribal jurisdiction via filing of a document or documents with the secretary of a U.S. State or similar office
Unless you work in one of the exempted industries – click here for the full exemption list – you may have to file BOI reports with FinCEN.
What Constitutes Beneficial Ownership?
“Beneficial owners” are those individuals who, directly or indirectly, either:
- Exercise substantial control over your business, or
- Own or control at least 25% of the ownership interests of your business.
Sounds simple? Well, it’s not. There are many criteria by which FinCEN may deem a person to exercise “substantial control” over a business. These include:
- Senior officers (e.g., president, chief financial officer, general counsel, chief executive officer, chief operating officer).
- Anyone who can appoint or remove a senior officer or a majority of the board of directors.
- Important decision makers, who include those with direction or determination of, or substantial influence over, the business, its finances, or its structure.
Determining whether an individual qualifies as a beneficial owner can be complicated. A further potential complication is that “beneficial ownership” covers those who exercise any other form of “substantial control” over the business in addition to the above categories. This is very vague wording; we hope future guidance will provide more specific criteria to identify what those other forms of substantial control represent in practice.
Further, the “beneficial ownership” status includes those individuals who control an intermediary entity that exercises “substantial control” over the reporting business.
There are exceptions, such as for minor children who may, through inheritance or gift, possess sufficient ownership of the reporting business to qualify. In this case, the requirements would allow for reporting such information about the parent or legal guardian of the child in question.
For businesses created or registered after January 1, 2024, which must follow the reporting requirements for “company applicants,” company applicants are those individuals who directly file the documents creating domestic or registering foreign reporting businesses, as well as those who exercise primary responsibility for directing or controlling the filing of the creation or first registration documents.
Again, for businesses created or registered before January 1, 2024, FinCEN does not require the filing of BOI for company applicants.
What Beneficial Ownership Information Does FinCEN Require?
If your business is a “reporting business,” as defined by the rule, FinCEN requires you to report:
For the reporting business itself:
- Full legal name.
- Any trade name or “doing-business-as” (“DBA”) name.
- Complete current U.S. address of the principal place of business.
- Jurisdiction (state, tribal, or foreign) of formation; and
- IRS taxpayer identification number (TIN).
For foreign reporting businesses, the required information includes the state or tribal jurisdiction of the first U.S. registration to do business in this country. If a foreign company does not have an IRS issued TIN, FinCEN requires a foreign-issued TIN and the name of the issuing jurisdiction.
For each individual with “beneficial ownership interest,” including “company applicants” for those reporting businesses created or registered after January 1, 2024, FinCEN requires:
- Full legal name.
- Date of birth.
- Complete current address.
- Unique identifying number (e.g., Social Security number); and
- An image of a U.S. passport, a state driver’s license, or a state identification document or card. A foreign passport is accepted for those who may have none of these.
This represents only an overview of the new FinCEN reporting requirements, not a complete explanation of every aspect.
Litigation: Current Status
On March 1, 2024, in National Small Business United d/b/a the National Business Association, et al. v. Janet Yellen, in her official capacity as Secretary of the Treasury, et al., U.S. District Court Judge Liles Burke (Northern District of Alabama) granted summary judgment banning enforcement of the FinCEN reporting requirements, ruling that the CTA is unconstitutional – but only as applied to the named Plaintiffs in the case.
These consist solely of the National Small Business Association and its members (some 60,000-plus, representing ~0.1%-0.2% of the small business owners FinCEN reporting requirements would have applied to), plus Isaac Winkles and any reporting companies in which he has beneficial ownership interests.
On behalf of the DOT, on March 11, 2024, the Department of Justice filed a Notice of Appeal, sending the case to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit, which agreed to hear the appeal. The Court heard oral arguments on September 27, 2024, and is proceeding on an expedited timeline, but, as we noted above, there is no guarantee that a decision will be reached in any specific timeframe.
Further, whatever the decision may be, or whenever it may be reached, that almost certainly won’t be the final word – the losing side, whether it is the DOT or the National Business Association, et. al., is very likely to appeal the verdict to the Supreme Court and, absent the issuance of a nationwide injunction, preliminary or otherwise, the reporting requirements will likely remain in effect for most businesses.
Other lawsuits against the DOT implementing this reporting requirement include:
- Black Economic Council of Massachusetts, Inc. (BECMA) et. al. v. Yellen et. al. (filed 5/29/2024)
- National Federation of Independent Businesses (NFIB) et. al. v Yellen et. al. (filed in Texas 5/28/2024)
- William Boyle v. Yellen et. al. (filed in Maine 3/15/2024)
- Small Business Association of Michigan et. al. v. Yellen et. al. (filed 3/1/2024)
- Robert J. Gargasz Co., L.P.A. et. al v. Yellen et. al. (filed in Ohio 12/29/2023)
Again, we would strongly encourage you to confer with your CPA or Virtual CFO as well as your business attorney to ensure your business is ready to comply with the new reporting requirements in advance of the reporting deadline.
If you have any questions about the FinCEN reporting requirements, please click here to email us directly – let us help you, that’s what we’re here for!
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
On April 23, 2024, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a new rule banning businesses from instituting non-compete agreements with any new hires and prohibiting enforcement of existing non-compete agreements with an exemption for in-force agreements concerning “senior executives,” defined narrowly to include those earning over $151,164 annually and having “final authority to make policy decisions that control significant aspects of a business entity or common enterprise.” Employees with such final authority only for “a subsidiary or affiliate of a common enterprise” were not included in this exemption.
However, according to the new rule, new or existing employees promoted to such positions could not be required or requested to enter into non-compete agreements.
The FTC estimates that ~30 million people, representing ~20% of workers, are subject to some form of non-compete agreement.
Predictably, several lawsuits against the FTC’s ban were filed, some within 24 hours of the FTC approving the new rule – even before the rule was published in the Federal Register on May 7, 2024.
This new rule was scheduled to become effective on September 4, 2024, but court action prevented it from taking effect.
The Principal Lawsuits
Within the 24 hours following the FTC’s adoption of the non-compete agreement ban, lawsuits against the ban were filed in Texas courts, both by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States of America (Chamber of Commerce) and by Ryan, LLC (The Ryan Case, Ryan), a Dallas-based tax services and software provider.
Since Ryan LLC filed its suit first, the court allowed the Chamber of Commerce to join the Ryan lawsuit. Also joining were the Business Roundtable, the Texas Association of Business, and the Longview Chamber of Commerce, under the jurisdiction of the Dallas Division of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas (Dallas Court). The sole named Defendant in this case was the FTC.
Also filed was a lawsuit by ATS Tree Services, LLC (The ATS Case, ATS), which filed suit in May 2024 against the FTC, FTC Chair Lina M. Khan, and FTC Commissioners Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, Alvaro Bedoya, Andrew N. Ferguson, and Melissa Holyoak, in their official capacities. This lawsuit was filed under the jurisdiction of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania (Pennsylvania Court).
The Ryan Case
- On July 3, 2024, the Dallas Court issued a preliminary injunction against the FTC’s ban taking effect as scheduled on September 4, 2024 – but only with respect to the named Plaintiffs (see above).
- On August 20, 2024, Judge Ada E. Brown issued a memorandum opinion and order granting the Plaintiffs’ request for summary judgment (Filed July 19, 2024) against the FTC. Her opinion held that the new FTC rule banning non-compete agreements was unlawful and prohibited enforcement of that rule on a nation-wide basis.
The ATS Case
- In this case, on July 23, 2024, Judge Kelley B. Hodge issued a memorandum opinion denying the Plaintiff’s Motions for Stay of Effective Date and for Preliminary Injunction against the FTC.
- It’s important to note that these are only denials of Plaintiff’s Motions; the case proper has not been argued on the specific merits.
- However, subsequent to the Dallas Court order, ATS filed a Motion to Stay Proceedings on September 6, 2024. The FTC filed its Opposition to the Motion on September 11, 2024.
Next Stop . . .?
In our opinion, it is likely that the FTC will appeal the Dallas Court’s ruling. The appeal would be taken to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit.
Should this appeal fail, the FTC might then appeal to the Supreme Court of the United States (Supreme Court) for a more favorable judgement.
Depending on the outcome of the ATS Case, any appeals thereof (which would be to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit) and any appeals of the Dallas Court’s ruling in the Ryan Case, there is the possibility of a Circuit split, which might make it more likely that the Supreme Court would grant certiorari and hear these cases, or one of them, since they have sole and final authority in resolving Circuit splits.
However, at present business owners across the United States remain free to enforce existing, and enter into new, non-compete agreements as they see fit – according to the laws of their state.
State Laws Differ on Non-Compete Agreements
It’s important to realize that, while federal rules and the outcomes of these lawsuits are of critical importance to business owners, state laws vary widely on the uses and restrictions governing non-compete clauses.
- Only in 12 states, Alaska, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming, are non-compete agreements subject to no restrictions.
- Four states, California, Minnesota, North Dakota, and Oklahoma ban non-compete agreements entirely.
- That leaves 34 states with differing restrictions on such agreements. Some of these are pay-based, some limit effective post-employment duration, and some restrict non-compete agreements based on other considerations.
Louisiana limits the post-employment duration of such agreements to two years and requires specificity in writing as to the areas in which the employer conducts business. Those working in automobile sales may not be subject to, nor may their employers require, non-compete agreements. In addition, effective January 1, 2025, special rules govern non-compete agreements concerning physicians.
We strongly recommend you consult with your vCFO (or other trusted financial advisor) and your business attorney about any existing non-compete agreement templates you currently use or contemplate implementing.
If there is anything I and my team can help you with, please click here to email me directly. RFG is here to help you – that’s our passion and our reason for existing.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
I’m a big believer in playing to our strengths – I don’t think that’s news to anyone who knows me. When we work from a place of strength, a place of confidence and interest, we enjoy what we’re doing. We lose track of time as we delve into our subject; we take pride in our achievement. We feel we’ve accomplished something worthwhile.
When we’re tackling a subject which is less in tune with our natural abilities, we don’t enjoy ourselves nearly as much. Time drags on, and the result is perhaps better than we might have managed a year ago, but it’s not our best work and doesn’t provide the same level of satisfaction in ourselves and our accomplishments.
But, as a business owner, I must realize that playing to my strengths can be taken too far – and that’s a pitfall we all encounter, no matter what our strengths are or how many we have.
For example, decisiveness in leadership is a great and necessary asset. But it can lead us to want to decide now, shutting down our teams’ input and feedback – with the result that we may not have all the necessary facts on which to base our decision, and our team members will not feel heard or respected.
The drive to achieve is core and key to the entrepreneurial mind. We love taking on challenges, overcoming obstacles, inspiring those around us to do the same. But we can, as a result, go into overdrive ourselves in this area, leading to burnout and depletion of our inner resources. We can push our team members too hard, leading to the same depletion and burnout in them.
The converse can happen when we truly desire to foster and support our teams, encourage them in their own strengths, listen to everyone’s ideas. Because we risk letting that supportive attitude tip over into lax discipline, lost productivity as they “find their footing.” Listening to every single idea from every single team member can lead to long, meandering meetings which waste time and hamper decision-making.
Those who are driven to achieve, while wanting to be decisive and supportive as well, can snap between the extremes of each of those strengths – we decide we’ve been driving our people too hard, and ease back too far. When we become impatient with the resulting drops in productivity and focus among our team, we may return to over-driving them.
This is far from conducive to our best interests as business owners. Our teams need reliable and consistent leadership, they need us to make firm decisions, to inspire and encourage them, to demand their best and give them space to achieve that best, to listen to them, but to always keep the reins in our own hands, reading our teams so that we can ease them back when they’ve pushed themselves a little too far (or we have), and pushing them again if they mistake compassionate management for indulgence.
But if we are going to be the leaders we want and need to be, we first must understand ourselves, how we operate as individuals, what our strengths are, and how we let them stray into weaknesses.
Some tips I’ve found helpful on this path:
Schedule solitary time on a regular basis. Take a walk, meditate, pray, etc. – whatever works to calm and focus our minds. Then, we think about our day, what situations we encountered, and how we responded – or did we react? Which is intentional and mindful; reaction is a reflex – which do we want to govern our actions? Mindfulness, or knee-jerks? Mindfulness and intentional actions will serve us far better – certainly in our business, but also in our personal lives. Because being mindful gives us more real control – and we have the most control over our own selves. We can improve the way we handle our realities.
- Ask for feedback from our team on how they perceive us. Make the questions specific, serious – and compose them mindfully with an eye to making our business a better place for ourselves and our clients as well as for our teams. This feedback should be anonymous, which will allow our teams to be honest with us.
- Ask our friends, ask our spouses (they will almost certainly have some suggestions!), ask our children, maybe, what they think we do and handle well, and what we could be doing better.
Sometimes we must embrace a little discomfort – that’s just life. We have to do the hard thing – whether it’s the release of an employee who, try as they may, just can’t measure up to what we need, disengaging with a client whose demands are unreasonable and who makes you and your team anxious and unhappy, or improving the way we work with our people – clients and team members alike (and our families, too!).
It’s about finding balance. We’ve each been given a unique combination of strengths, and we should celebrate and use them – but mindfully and with measure. So that they remain strengths, rather than flipping into weakness.
Yes, all of this is our job, if we want our team to be its most productive, our business its most profitable and enjoyable for everyone, and ourselves the best version of who we are.
Impossible? Very likely it is – but we can strive toward that goal, even if we won’t perfectly attain it. Perfection is not in our reach, but improvement always is.
After all, we’re entrepreneurs – we do love a challenge! And there are Robert Browning’s words of wisdom:
“Ah, but a man’s reach should exceed his grasp, Or what’s a heaven for?”
How do you balance your strengths to ensure you use them rightly, and don’t push them into weaknesses? Please click here to email me directly – I’d love to hear your strategies!
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
Estate planning is vital for anyone with significant assets – most of you already know this. But it comes with a variety of considerations and often involves a multi-pronged approach to ensure every aspect of your estate plan furthers your goals for your family and your business and is aligned with your core values.
This can be especially true for real estate investors. Estate planning which encompasses a considerable real estate portfolio has its own unique aspects – and pitfalls.
Avoiding those pitfalls while devising a comprehensive estate plan will require the input of expert professionals – you will want to consult:
- Your virtual CFO, CPA, or other trusted financial advisor,
- Your estate attorney, and
- Your real estate attorney
Together, these advisors can guide you toward the best way – for you and your family – to protect your heirs and your assets as you would like them to be.
One significant potential pitfall you’ll want to ensure your heirs won’t have to deal with if your assets are over-concentrated in real estate holdings is:
Ensuring Liquidity
Please don’t leave your heirs with a potential tax bill they can’t pay with the cash they have on hand, either from their own assets or your estate.
Ensure your assets have sufficient diversification and your estate plan is arranged to avoid this situation.
Arrange liquidity protection for your family now, before they, amid their grief, have the unwelcome surprise of receiving a whopping tax bill on an estate with high-value assets but insufficient cash to pay the tax liabilities.
LLCs – Protection for Yourself, Your Assets, and Your Heirs
We strongly recommend that real estate investors place each separate property within a dedicated LLC. This provides protection for your other assets against potential liability claims brought against any given property in your portfolio.
When you pass the LLCs to your heirs, that same protection goes along with them, ensuring their other assets remain safe from such potential claims.
Basic Components of Estate Planning
Any good estate plan will be comprised of certain non-variables.
As a real estate investor, you will likely need:
- A will
- Powers of attorney (POAs), both durable (usually for your spouse, but you can choose someone else you trust), and medical (ditto)
- A trust, or more than one – you may already have a real estate investment trust set up but ask your vCFO and your estate and real estate attorneys whether using an irrevocable grantor trust would be a good idea
Trusts
An essential feature of trusts is that, in most cases, the assets they hold do not have to go through the probate process before passing to the trust’s designated beneficiaries, unlike assets inherited through your will. This saves your heirs time and money, which can be a real benefit to grieving families.
However, it’s essential to understand that in most cases, trust-held assets, unlike assets inherited via your will, receive no step-up in basis – this means that potential tax liabilities to your heirs and beneficiaries would be based upon the assets’ value at the time they are placed in the trust, not their value at the time of your death. Assets left to your heirs via your will do receive the step-up in basis; therefore, there is the potential to avoid paying tax on significant capital gains.
One potentially mitigating factor is that with an irrevocable trust, you can retain the right to swap assets in and out of the trust so long as they are of equivalent current value. That means you can remove a long-held asset that has appreciated significantly over time from the trust and replace it with an asset of equivalent value that has appreciated less.
Consult with your advisors to ensure that the choices you make will best benefit your family and protect the value of your assets on their behalf.
Other Considerations
At RFG, we strongly recommend that if your estate’s value is more than ~$14 million, you take advantage of the estate and gift tax exemptions at their current level, as provided for in the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TJCA). While the exemption level for 2025 has yet to be announced, for 2024, it is $13.61 million per individual and $26.22 million for married joint filers.
This provision of the TCJA expires on December 31, 2025, absent Congressional action to extend it, which remains an open question. As of January 1, 2026, the exemption will revert to its pre-TCJA level, adjusted for inflation, and is expected to be ~$7 million for individuals and ~$14 million for married joint filers.
You can gift portions of your assets tax-free during your lifetime, removing them from your taxable estate. The IRS has confirmed that gifts made up to the highest amount of the exclusion (which will likely be increasing in 2025) – there will be no tax consequences since the exclusion level used will be the law when the gifts are made.
Of concern for real estate investors, too, is the potential use, when making gifts to your heirs, of the IRS’ allowable valuation discounts on assets gifted for “lack of control” and “lack of marketability.” These should be discussed in depth with your advisors, as the discounts can be as much as 30% to 40% of the assets’ value and can provide your heirs with significant tax savings – if they are correctly applied and the gifts appropriately structured to take advantage of them.
We cannot recommend highly enough that you take advantage of your trusted advisors — your virtual CFO and your estate and real estate attorneys.
Your virtual CFO or other trusted financial and estate advisor knows you, your assets, your family, and your financial situation. She can help you determine the best plan for you.
Because your family and your goals, your situation, and your dreams for your legacy are as unique as you are, the virtual CFOs at RFG don’t just know this – we celebrate it! Our solutions are bespoke and tailored to fit your needs, goals, dreams, and your family’s welfare.
We are experts and experienced advisors for real estate investors. If you have any questions about how to plan for the disposition of your real estate to your heirs, we invite you to consult with us.
Please click here to email us directly – at RFG, helping you is what we are all about!
Until next Wednesday –
Peace,
Eric
Well, for us in Louisiana, another year – and another hurricane! A Category 2 Hurricane when she made landfall on Wednesday, September 11, 2024, Francine has left a lot of damage in her wake.
On Friday, September 13, 2024, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) announced the measures it will implement in order to provide some tax filing relief to those who’ve been impacted across the entirety of Louisiana – and the IRS will assume that includes every resident and business in the state.
Tax Filings and Payments
Principally, the IRS will postpone filing and payment deadlines for Louisianians which would have been effective from September 10, 2024, through the end of the year until February 3, 2025.
This will include postponements for:
- The filing of business and individual tax returns for 2023, for those who have filed valid extensions. This particular relief item has no applicability to the payment of federal income tax liabilities pertaining to 2023, as such payments were due at the time of the filing of the extensions, prior to Francine’s landfall on September 10, 2024.
- The filing and payment of quarterly estimated income tax payments which would have been due on September 16, 2024 and January 15, 2025.
- The filing of payroll and excise tax returns which would have been due on October 31, 2024 and January 31, 2025. Penalties for failing to make payroll and excise tax payments due during the period September 10, 2024 through September 24, 2024 will be waived if payment is made by September 25, 2024.
These reliefs will be applied automatically for every individual and business with an address of record in Louisiana on file with the IRS. No action on the part of residents or businesses will be required.
The IRS will also work with individuals and businesses who have recently relocated their residence and/or business to Louisiana from an area unaffected by Francine. If this is true of your household or business, you may receive a late filing or penalty notice, but any penalty and/or interest will be abated if you take the proper actions with the IRS.
Some taxpayers living outside Louisiana may still qualify for tax relief. Some who will be eligible are those who work assisting relief activities within Louisiana, if they are affiliated with a recognized government or philanthropic organization.
Uninsured or Unreimbursed Disaster-Related Losses
Individuals and businesses located in Louisiana who suffer disaster-related losses which are either uninsured against or are unreimbursed have the option of claiming these losses on either their 2023 or 2024 federal tax returns.
There is a six-month window to choose which year’s tax return will claim such losses following the due date of the income tax return for the disaster year (2024), without consideration of any extensions filed. This means that businesses have until September 15, 2025, and individuals until October 15, 2025, to make their choices. Please be sure to write the applicable Federal Emergency Management Administration (FEMA) declaration number, 3614-EM, on any return claiming such losses.
We Louisianians have been here before, and will likely see more disasters, if we’re lucky enough to stick around for them. And Rigby Financial Group has assisted businesses and individuals deal with the fallout from such disasters for many, many years – we know all the drills.
We invite you to consult with us – having expert assistance – from those with decades of experience in dealing with disasters for our clients (and for ourselves, too – we’re not immune by any stretch of the imagination!) can bring assurance and comfort to uncertainty.
Please click here to let us know how we can help you.
Until next time –
Peace,
Eric
2025
- Why Hire a Virtual CFO? Because It Pays!15 April 2025
- It’s 2025 – Why Are We Still Multi-Tasking?8 April 2025
- Choices—Is a Traditional 401(k) or a Roth 401(k) the Best Fit for You?1 April 2025
- The Spousal IRA – is it Right For Your Family?25 March 2025
- On the Chopping Block – Tax Breaks Under Fire in Congress18 March 2025
- Our Latest Whitepaper – 5 Tips to Make the Most of Your Post-Retirement Income11 March 2025
- Acting Out of Anger is Running Your Motor on Bad Fuel3 March 2025
- SECURE 2.0: Changes to Retirement Plans for 2025 – IRS Postpones Effective Date on Some Until 202625 February 2025
- The Laughing Heir – and How to Avoid Leaving Your Assets to One (or More!)18 February 2025
- Tariffs, Tariffs, Tariffs! What Can You Do to Protect Your Business?11 February 2025
- Dealing With the Unexpected – Record-Breaking Snowfall in New Orleans4 February 2025
- What to Leave OUT of Your Will28 January 2025
- IRS Proposes Regulations Governing Retirement Plan Catch-Up Contributions Under SECURE 2.021 January 2025
- We Celebrate Serving You!17 January 2025
- The Future of the Biden Overtime Rule . . . ?14 January 2025
- Will the New Administration Extend the TCJA’s Provisions?7 January 2025
2024
- 2025 – A New Year In, Meditations and Resolve30 December 2024
- Happy Holidays from Rigby Financial Group!23 December 2024
- IRS Announces Increased Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 202517 December 2024
- Succession Planning for Business Owners – Part II!10 December 2024
- IRS Announces 2025 Income Tax Bracket Limits3 December 2024
- These Are a Few of My Thankfulness Things . . .26 November 2024
- Don’t Put Your Dream Retirement at Risk! 6 Common Retirement Planning Mistakes – and How to Avoid Them19 November 2024
- Take These Steps the Year Before You Retire12 November 2024
- Succession Planning For Business Owners – Part I12 November 2024
- Retirement: Pros and Cons of Rolling Your 401(k) to Your IRA5 November 2024
- Have a Spooky – But Safe – Halloween!29 October 2024
- Do You Really Want Your Ex Inheriting Your Retirement Account(s)?22 October 2024
- Reporting Beneficial Ownership Information to FinCEN – the Clock is Ticking!15 October 2024
- Non-Compete Agreements – Current Status of the New FTC Rule Explained8 October 2024
- Overdoing It? Don’t Let Your Strengths Become Weaknesses1 October 2024
- Top Estate Planning Factors for Real Estate Investors24 September 2024
- IRS Provides Tax Relief for all Louisiana Victims of Hurricane Francine17 September 2024
- New RFG Whitepaper – Succession Planning For Business Owners – Part I!10 September 2024
- Want to Transition from Employee to Entrepreneur? RFG Can Help You Do It Right!3 September 2024
- Happier Employees Are More Productive! How We Can Foster Happiness27 August 2024
- Entrepreneurs & Risk Exposure – Mitigation Strategies20 August 2024
- The Cost of Money for Closely Held Businesses13 August 2024
- Why You Need to Know the Value of Your Closely Held Business6 August 2024
- Get It on Paper! Why Written Agreements Are Essential for Any Business30 July 2024
- Eric and Meghan Rigby’s European Vacation23 July 2024
- Compensation Irregularities in Family-Owned Businesses – Why They Matter, and How to Avoid Them16 July 2024
- Considering a Roth Conversion? Timing Matters!9 July 2024
- Independence Day 20242 July 2024
- The Balancing Act – Estate Planning for Your Heirs25 June 2024
- Bill Walton / The Grateful Dead – Two Passions, One Spirit18 June 2024
- It Takes An Entrepreneur to Know One – But it Took Me a While to Realize . . . I Am One11 June 2024
- Avoid These 5 Common Mistakes When Planning For Retirement!4 June 2024
- IRS Waives Penalties for Some Missed RMDs on Inherited IRAs28 May 2024
- Business Owners: Often Overlooked Business Tax Deductions28 May 2024
- Attention, Real Estate Investors! Do You Know How Cost Segregation Can Help You Save on Your Taxes?21 May 2024
- Jazz Fest 2024 – Showing the Kids How It’s Done!14 May 2024
- RFG Whitepaper: Often Overlooked Business Tax Deductions!7 May 2024
- Do You Need to Report Your Confidential Business Information to the Federal Government?30 April 2024
- Top Tips for Residential Real Estate Investors23 April 2024
- Official Release Today – Eric Rigby’s New Book! Get Your Free Copy!16 April 2024
- Is Your Estate Plan Due For a Check-Up?9 April 2024
- What Your HSA Can Do for You – Now and in the Future2 April 2024
- Management Skills for Business Scaling26 March 2024
- Spring is Coming!19 March 2024
- How to Hire Top Talent in a Tight Labor Market12 March 2024
- How to Rent Out Your Home Tax Free – The Masters Rule5 March 2024
- The Circle of Life27 February 2024
- IRS: 2024 Income Tax Bracket Thresholds – Inflation Strikes Again!20 February 2024
- Mardi Gras – Truly a Moveable Feast!12 February 2024
- Be Prepared! Bi-Partisan Tax Relief Passes House6 February 2024
- Increased Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 202430 January 2024
- How to Scale Your Business For Future Growth23 January 2024
- Cash Flow & Your Business – Best Practices From a Virtual CFO16 January 2024
- IRS More Than Doubles Interest Rate (Penalty) on Estimated Tax Underpayments Over 2021 Rate9 January 2024
2023
- 2024 – New Year In, Old Year Out26 December 2023
- Happy Holidays from Rigby Financial Group!19 December 2023
- Roth IRAs and Income Tax Liability – How to Protect Your Assets12 December 2023
- Income Tax Provision – Let’s Talk Taxes!5 December 2023
- Valuations – What Is Your Business Worth?28 November 2023
- Gratitude Amid Uncertainty – Happy Thanksgiving!21 November 2023
- This Thanksgiving, Let’s Keep it Kind15 November 2023
- How Are C Corporations Taxed?14 November 2023
- What Are Virtual CFO Services?7 November 2023
- Happy Halloween!31 October 2023
- Why You Need to Update Your Beneficiary Designations25 October 2023
- Plan NOW For Your 2023 Taxes!18 October 2023
- Tax Deadline Relief Due to Saltwater Intrusions!11 October 2023
- Changes Coming for RFG!4 October 2023
- Don’t Get Scammed!27 September 2023
- The Portability Election – And Why It’s Important!20 September 2023
- When Do You Need a Trust?13 September 2023
- The Family Meeting on Your Financial Affairs – and Why You Need to Have One6 September 2023
- Why You Need a Financial & Estate Organizer – and What to Put in It30 August 2023
- The Unlimited Spousal Deduction Explained24 August 2023
- Wills and Powers of Attorney – Why You Need Both16 August 2023
- When a Change of Scene Brings a Change of Perspective2 August 2023
- You’ve Sold Your Business – Sunset, or Sunrise? Your Call!26 July 2023
- Passing the Baton: After-Sale Transitions19 July 2023
- When Should You Start Planning to Exit Your Business?12 July 2023
- Independence Day5 July 2023
- Explained – Goodwill in Business Sales28 June 2023
- Opportunity Knocks – RFG is Seeking One Great Tax Manager27 June 2023
- C Corp to S Corp Conversion – is it Right for Your Business?21 June 2023
- Selling Your Business – Taxation of Asset Sales14 June 2023
- AICPA ENGAGE 23!7 June 2023
- Welcome, Summer!31 May 2023
- Selling Your Business – Taxation of a Stock Sale25 May 2023
- What is Your Closely Held Businesses Worth?17 May 2023
- Valuing Your Closely Held Business For Sale10 May 2023
- Getting Your Closely Held Business Ready for Sale26 April 2023
- Temperance and Discipline – on These Hang Other Virtues12 April 2023
- The Smartest People are Often Unhappy – But They Don’t Have to Be!5 April 2023
- U.S. and International Banking – How Many More Shoes Will Drop?29 March 2023
- Strategies to Boost Productivity and Reduce “Busyness”15 March 2023
- Are We Too “Busy” To Be Our Most Productive?8 March 2023
- Preview of Upcoming Email Series8 February 2023
- Leverage the 2023 Estate and Gift Tax Exemptions – While They Last!1 February 2023
- SECURE 2.0 Enacted – Key Highlights25 January 2023
- Emerging Business Opportunity: Peer-to-Peer Loans18 January 2023
- Yes, You Really Can Schedule Creativity!4 January 2023
2022
- Happy New Year! It’s Time for Our Resolutions for 2023!28 December 2022
- Happy Holidays from Rigby Financial Group!21 December 2022
- Retirement Plan Contribution Limits for 202314 December 2022
- Act Now to Take Advantage of 2022 Tax Breaks!7 December 2022
- Self-Care is Also Care for Others30 November 2022
- Thankfulness in Difficult Times23 November 2022
- Payout Rules for Beneficiaries of Inherited IRAs16 November 2022
- Remote Work is Here to Stay9 November 2022
- IRS: Inflation Drives Up 2023 Income Tax Bracket Thresholds2 November 2022
- IRS: 2022 Taxes – Inflation Adjustments26 October 2022
- IRS Proposes Changes to the New 10-Year Payout Rule on Inherited IRAs19 October 2022
- The End of the Stretch IRA – and Ways to Compensate12 October 2022
- 2022 Retirement Plan Contribution Limits5 October 2022
- Ensuring a Happy Retirement28 September 2022
- Taxation in Retirement – Be Prepared!21 September 2022
- Roth IRAs – To Convert, or Not to Convert?14 September 2022
- How Much Stuff Do We Really Need?7 September 2022
- Should You Roll Your 401(k) Into an IRA When You Retire?31 August 2022
- Beneficiary Designations and Why They Matter17 August 2022
- The Ins and Outs of RMDs – Explained10 August 2022
- Allocating Your Retirement Portfolio27 July 2022
- Planning for Retirement in a Volatile Market20 July 2022
- How the SECURE Act Changed Retirement Plans13 July 2022
- When to Hire a Newbie versus an Experienced Pro6 July 2022
- Keep it Going – Forecast v Actuals29 June 2022
- Monthly Financial Forecasts – Explained22 June 2022
- Forecasting Business Goals15 June 2022
- Why It’s Better to Focus on Your Strengths than on Your Weaknesses8 June 2022
- Top Tips to Consider When Selling Your Business1 June 2022
- Buyer’s Tax Considerations When Purchasing a Closely-Held Business25 May 2022
- At Last! JazzFest Returns to New Orleans18 May 2022
- When to Trust Your Gut – and How to Listen to It11 May 2022
- Life After Selling Your Business – What Comes Next?4 May 2022
- Transitioning Out of Your Former Business27 April 2022
- Executing and Closing the Sale13 April 2022
- Life is Finite; Death is Final. In the Meantime . . .6 April 2022
- The Purchase Agreement: Explained30 March 2022
- Effective Sell-Side Due Diligence23 March 2022
- New Proposed IRS Regulations on RMDs16 March 2022
- Amanda Doherty’s Journey9 March 2022
- Allocating the Purchase Price2 March 2022
- Qualified Small Business Stocks – IRS Section 1202 Explained23 February 2022
- Structuring the Sale16 February 2022
- Partnership Buy-Sell Agreements9 February 2022
- Letter of Intent: Explained2 February 2022
- How Do You Find a Buyer for Your Closely Held Business?19 January 2022
- Are You Ready to Sell Your Closely-Held Business?13 January 2022
2021
- New Year, New Goals29 December 2021
- Happy Holidays from Rigby Financial Group!21 December 2021
- It’s Almost 2022 – Are We Still Multi-Tasking?15 December 2021
- The House’s Version: The Build Back Better Act, Explained8 December 2021
- Changes to the Employee Retention Tax Credit in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act1 December 2021
- So Much to be Thankful For24 November 2021
- C. S. Lewis’ “The Inner Ring”17 November 2021
- Measuring Success – Don’t Fall into the Gap!10 November 2021
- Avoid Worry and Anxiety – the Marcus Aurelius Way3 November 2021
- JazzFest’s Return Delayed – But Don’t Give up Hope!27 October 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Unreimbursed Business Losses20 October 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Insured Business Losses13 October 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Unreimbursed Personal Casualty Losses6 October 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Covered Personal Casualty Losses29 September 2021
- Roth Accounts – New Proposed Limitations Explained23 September 2021
- Explained: Proposed Tax Changes from the House Ways and Means Committee15 September 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Business Loss of Income Claims9 September 2021
- RFG is Here to Help Your Business Recover7 September 2021
- Hurricane Ida – Insurance Coverage & Mandatory Evacuations2 September 2021
- Tax Relief for Victims of Hurricane Ida31 August 2021
- How to Manage Your Work Day More Effectively25 August 2021
- Helping People, Giving Back18 August 2021
- Make Work Simpler: The Eisenhower Decision Matrix11 August 2021
- Understanding Effective Strategies for Wealth Management10 August 2021
- Update – PPP Loan Forgiveness4 August 2021
- How I Prioritize – The Four Burners Theory28 July 2021
- The Green Book – President Biden’s Tax Proposals21 July 2021
- The Privacy of Your Tax Data? Fuggeddaboutit!14 July 2021
- What JazzFest’s Return Means to Me7 July 2021
- Creating a Digital Estate Plan1 July 2021
- Expect the Unexpected IX –10 Things NOT to do in a Crisis30 June 2021
- Expect the Unexpected VIII – Top 10 Things to Do to Prepare for a Crisis23 June 2021
- Expect the Unexpected VII – Communicating Your Plan15 June 2021
- Strategies for Generational Wealth Transfer15 June 2021
- Expect the Unexpected VI – Testing Your Plan8 June 2021
- Expect the Unexpected V – Technological Risks2 June 2021
- Expect the Unexpected IV – Ensuring Business Continuity26 May 2021
- How Tax Increases May Impact Your Succession Plan: Things You Should Know25 May 2021
- Expect the Unexpected III – Designing Your Response Strategy19 May 2021
- Expect the Unexpected II – Identifying Your Risks12 May 2021
- What Are Some Things You Can Do in 2021 To Position Yourself and Your Business for a Potential Tax Increase?11 May 2021
- Expect the Unexpected – Why a Closely-Held Business Needs to Plan For Contingencies5 May 2021
- War Stories – Katrina28 April 2021
- Is Your Business Doing Enough – Or Any – Succession Planning?26 April 2021
- New Updates: PPP Loan Forgiveness, Part 221 April 2021
- New Updates: PPP Loan Forgiveness, Part 114 April 2021
- Are You Doing Enough — Or Any — Succession Planning?12 April 2021
- Remote Life7 April 2021
- New SBA Guidance Changes PPP Rules for Schedule C Filers31 March 2021
- SBA to Administer New Grant Program for Shuttered Venue Operators29 March 2021
- Learn Better – the Feynman Way24 March 2021
- IRS Extends 2020 Filing, Tax Payment Deadline to May 17, 202118 March 2021
- 2021 – Why You Should Plan for Your Estate This Year17 March 2021
- Anger: Don’t Run Your Motor on Bad Fuel10 March 2021
- Progress on COVID-19 Relief3 March 2021
- Expectation Versus the Open Mind24 February 2021
- Unpacking the Proposed House COVID Pandemic Relief Bill17 February 2021
- What’s Your Story?10 February 2021
- PPP Round II Loans – What’s New?27 January 2021
- Busy Does Not Mean Productive20 January 2021
- It Took Me a While to Realize . . .13 January 2021
- The ERC – 2020 v 20216 January 2021
2020
- COVID-19 Relief – Year-End Legislative Roundup31 December 2020
- Happy Holidays24 December 2020
- COVID-19 Relief? Not Yet!23 December 2020
- COVID-19 Relief? Negotiations Continue18 December 2020
- Congressional Compromise? $908 Billion for COVID Relief in Two Bills16 December 2020
- What a Biden Presidency Might Mean for Estate Taxes, Wealth Transfers, and Inherited Assets9 December 2020
- What a Biden Presidency Might Mean for Business Taxes2 December 2020
- New IRS Guidance – Expenses Paid with PPP Loan Proceeds Are Not Deductible25 November 2020
- What a Biden Presidency Might Mean for Individual Taxes18 November 2020
- 2021 – Tax Policy and the All-Important Senate11 November 2020
- SBA Issues New Requirements for PPP Loan Justification5 November 2020
- Can Our Smartphones Make Us Less Smart?28 October 2020
- How to Save Money in a Difficult 2020 With Tax Planning21 October 2020
- PPP Loans – New Guidance for Loans Under $50K, Clarification on Deadlines14 October 2020
- The Overscheduled Life – and How to Avoid it7 October 2020
- PPP Loans – Updated Guidance30 September 2020
- Unplug and Breathe23 September 2020
- Travel and Human Connection16 September 2020
- Humble and Kind9 September 2020
- How Do You Make a Beautiful Day?2 September 2020
- Independence or Interdependence? It’s a False Choice!26 August 2020
- What is Fellowship?19 August 2020
- Guidance on Executive Order Regarding Social Security Taxes12 August 2020
- Serendipity5 August 2020
- Education in the Time of Coronavirus30 July 2020
- Wait! Why it Doesn’t Make Sense to Apply for PPP Loan Forgiveness Yet22 July 2020
- Reap the Benefits of Deliberate Practice15 July 2020
- SBA Begins Accepting New PPP Loan Applications; Good Faith Certifications8 July 2020
- House Joins Senate, Passes Extension to Apply for PPP Loans2 July 2020
- PPP Loans – Early Forgiveness Available, SBA Issues New Forgiveness Applications24 June 2020
- PPP Loan Forgiveness – SBA Issues New Interim Final Rule17 June 2020
- New Guidance – Partial PPP Loan Forgiveness Intact10 June 2020
- Senate Passes Bill to Relax PPP Loan Forgiveness5 June 2020
- House Passes Bill to Relax PPP Loan Forgiveness3 June 2020
- Senate Unanimously Passes Extension to Apply for PPP Loans1 June 2020
- PPP Loan Forgiveness – SBA Issues 2 New Interim Final Rules28 May 2020
- SBA Issues PPP Loan Forgiveness Application20 May 2020
- PPP Maximum Allowable Forgiveness Amount13 May 2020
- IRS Now Says No Tax Deduction For PPP Covered Expenses6 May 2020
- UPDATE – House Passes Additional Funding for Small Business Relief29 April 2020
- The Virtual CFO Minute Episode V29 April 2020
- Senate Passes Additional Funding for Small Business Relief22 April 2020
- The SBA Changes its Mind Again – New Guidance on PPP Loan Applications For Partnerships15 April 2020
- The Paycheck Protection Program Could Help Your Business Now7 April 2020
- Senate Reaches Agreement on Third Coronavirus Stimulus Bill25 March 2020
- Fact versus Fiction – Tax Filing and Payment Deadlines19 March 2020
- Be Safe, Be Alive!18 March 2020
- Talent – or Skill?11 March 2020
- The Virtual CFO Minute – Episode IV4 March 2020
- To Be Or Not To Be Overwhelmed – It’s Your Choice26 February 2020
- Know What to Expect19 February 2020
- The Virtual CFO Minute – Episode III12 February 2020
- The Virtual CFO Minute – Episode II5 February 2020
- The SECURE Act of 201929 January 2020
- The Virtual CFO Minute22 January 2020
- Overcoming Obstacles15 January 2020
- January 2020 Challenge7 January 2020
2019
- Happy Holidays!18 December 2019
- Success11 December 2019
- How to Spark Joy in Your Life3 December 2019
- An Umbrella is Not a Satsuma27 November 2019
- Margins – When is it Better to Color Inside the Lines?20 November 2019
- In Crisis? Text 741741 to be Seen and Heard13 November 2019
- Employing Family Members6 November 2019
- The Future is Female31 October 2019
- Dashboards – How Can They Help You Run Your Business?23 October 2019
- The Third Biggest Reason to Hire a Virtual CFO16 October 2019
- The Second Biggest Issue We See With Not Having a Virtual CFO – And How To Overcome It!9 October 2019
- The Biggest Issue With Not Having a Virtual CFO2 October 2019
- The Power of Having a Virtual CFO24 September 2019
- 9 TO 517 September 2019
- Keeping Up With the Joneses11 September 2019
- Use Your Best Judgement28 August 2019
- Post For 201913 August 2019
- The Amazing Internet7 August 2019
- Are You Really Listening?31 July 2019
- Wimbledon 2019 – Never, Never, Never Give Up!24 July 2019
- The Mountain and I17 July 2019
- Tax Planning for 2019 – It’s Time!10 July 2019
- Be More Effective – Put Some Slack in Your Schedule19 June 2019
- Invictus12 June 2019
- Chainsaw or Scalpel?5 June 2019
- This Will NOT “Only Take A Minute”29 May 2019
- The Meditative Mind in the Digital Age22 May 2019
- Got Worries?15 May 2019
- I Think I Have the Post Jazz Fest Blues8 May 2019
- Qualified Opportunity Zones – New Proposed Regulations1 May 2019
- Make Things Better – A Controversial Statement?29 April 2019
- 5 Steps To Make Your Presentation More Persuasive10 April 2019
- To Outsource, or Not to Outsource? It Turns Out That is a Question3 April 2019
- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance27 March 2019
- The Avocado Principles17 March 2019
- Practice Makes . . .13 March 2019
- Four Rules for Deep Work · Rigby Financial Group27 February 2019
- Do-Overs20 February 2019
- Can We Make Ourselves More Intelligent?20 February 2019
- The Power of Authenticity13 February 2019
- This is Marketing6 February 2019
- Opportunity Zones – Deferral of Gains Offers Flexibility for Investors30 January 2019
- Saints Rammed by the Zebras23 January 2019
- Slow Down and Appreciate Life16 January 2019
- After the Holidays . . .9 January 2019
2018
- Happy Holidays!19 December 2018
- 2018 Year-End Top Tax Planning Tips12 December 2018
- Christmas Reflections – What Are You Grateful for This Year?5 December 2018
- Put a Shine on Your Shoes and in Your Heart28 November 2018
- What Will You Be Drinking This Thanksgiving?21 November 2018
- Be Great, Be Remarkable!14 November 2018
- Free Days and Why They Matter7 November 2018
- Should You Play Trick or Treat with This Stock Market?31 October 2018
- How to Save on Your Taxes Through Investment in Qualified Opportunity Zones24 October 2018
- A Thing of Beauty is a Joy Forever10 October 2018
- The Hidden Brain26 September 2018
- Thoughts on Hurricane Florence19 September 2018
- Thoughts on a Legend’s Retirement13 September 2018
- Autumn Transitions and Opportunities29 August 2018
- Qualified Opportunity Zones Offer Potential Tax Savings22 August 2018
- Qualified Business Deduction of 20%15 August 2018
- Post For 201813 August 2018
- Don’t Limit Your Own Happiness – 5 Traps to Avoid8 August 2018
- How to Implement Your Goals1 August 2018
- 7 Characteristics Shared by the Most Productive People25 July 2018
- Make Your Vacation Last Longer11 July 2018
- Focus and Create: 10 Thoughts for Entrepreneurs27 June 2018
- 5 Tactics to Help You Get Through Hard Days20 June 2018
- How to Avoid the Top 5 Mistakes Entrepreneurs Make13 June 2018
- 7 Steps to Take While in Transition6 June 2018
- Stop Being Your Harshest Critic!23 May 2018
- Being Worthy of Trust16 May 2018
- Can Slowing Down Make You Happier? More Productive?9 May 2018
- There’s Only One Happiness in This Life – to Love and be Loved2 May 2018
- Free Days – Rest and Rejuvenation Matter!25 April 2018
- Self-Talk – How the Tough Get Going18 April 2018
- Avoiding Financial Envy11 April 2018
- Practicing Creative Gratitude4 April 2018
- Everybody’s Got Somebody to Thank28 March 2018
- How to be Better Informed While Reading Less21 March 2018
- Does Vulnerability Lead to Confidence?14 March 2018
- Finding Better Solutions7 March 2018
- Hope Springs Eternal28 February 2018
- 4:00 A.M. – The Most Productive Time of Day21 February 2018
- Be Present and Avoid FOMO14 February 2018
- Explore New Places and Expand Your Mind7 February 2018
- How to Take More Time Off and Be More Productive31 January 2018
- One Key to Success – Doing Less!24 January 2018
- Tax Reform 2017 – What Does It Mean For Your Business?17 January 2018
- Tax Reform 2017 – What Will it Mean For You and Your Family?3 January 2018
2017
- Success With Humility – The Manning Way27 December 2017
- The Search For Happiness19 December 2017
- Proper Prior Planning Prevents Poor Performance13 December 2017
- Risk Management and Snow Skiing29 November 2017
- Who Says You Can’t Buy Happiness?22 November 2017
- Investing – a Marathon, not a Sprint15 November 2017
- Why Does Money Matter to You?9 November 2017
- Breaking News – White House and Congressional GOP Leaders Announce Tax Reform Blueprint28 September 2017
- Senate Agreement Opens a Road to Tax Reform27 September 2017
- Succession Planning: What Business Owners Need to Know6 September 2017
- The Outlook for 2017 Tax Reform8 August 2017
- U.S. Economic Performance: January 1 through June 30, 201720 July 2017
- Tax Reform: 1031 Exchanges22 June 2017
- Tax Reform Status25 May 2017
- What We Think Tax Reform Should Look Like27 April 2017
- Deep Work – How to Get More Done in Less Time15 February 2017