Does your college-aged child have a basic estate plan? In more cases than not, the answer is “no.” The good news is that the summer months are the perfect time to enlist the help of an estate planning advisor to create a plan, as your child will be available to sign the documents before heading
Joan Ellenbogen
Jul 20, 2022
4 estate planning documents your college-aged child should have
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Estate
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Jul 7, 2022
Partially empty offices can be fertile ground for theft
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Fraud
- 0 Comments
Half-empty offices due to the pandemic may provide an advantage to “creepers.” These thieves typically gain access to a company’s physical facilities via unlocked doors and social engineering tactics. Once in, they steal proprietary information, inventory, computers and personal property. You can prevent theft by installing security cameras, keeping doors locked at all times, issuing
Jul 5, 2022
When should you turn down an inheritance?
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Estate
- 0 Comments
If you expect to receive an inheritance from a family member, you might want to use a qualified disclaimer to refuse the bequest. As a result, the assets will bypass your estate and go directly to the next beneficiary in line. It’s as if the successor beneficiary, not you, had been named as the beneficiary
Jun 29, 2022
Measuring residual value for the discounted cash flow method
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Valuation
- 0 Comments
When valuing a business using the discounted cash flow method, residual (or terminal) value can be a major part of the valuation puzzle. Business valuation experts typically consider the capitalization of earnings method and the market approach when estimating residual value. Either (or both) may be appropriate, depending on the nature of the business, purpose
May 31, 2022
The ins and outs of Series EE savings bond taxation
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Taxes
- 0 Comments
Many people own Series E and Series EE bonds that were bought many years ago. They may rarely look at them or think about them except on occasional trips to a file cabinet or safe deposit box. One of the main reasons for buying U.S. savings bonds (such as Series EE bonds) is the fact
Apr 20, 2022
The election to apply the research tax credit against payroll taxes
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
The credit for increasing research activities, often referred to as the research and development (R&D) credit, is a valuable tax break available to eligible businesses. Claiming the credit involves complex calculations, which we can take care of for you. But in addition to the credit itself, be aware that the credit also has two features
Mar 8, 2022
Your nonprofit’s board needs to know these financial warning signs
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Non-Profit
- 0 Comments
Is your board staring at financial red flags without knowing it? Although some warning signs — such as those experienced when the pandemic first hit — are obvious, others are easy to overlook. Here are several signs of trouble that board members need to be aware of and prepared to act on. Unexplained variances and
Feb 24, 2022
The donor-advised fund: A powerful vehicle for charitable giving
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Charity, Estate
- 0 Comments
If charitable giving is important to you, consider a donor-advised fund (DAF). A DAF — typically sponsored and managed by a community foundation or commercial investment company — offers many of the benefits of a private foundation at a fraction of the cost. Upsides of a DAF A DAF allows you to make tax-deductible contributions
Feb 17, 2022
Important tax aspects of operating your business as a sole proprietor
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business, Taxes
- 0 Comments
If you’re in business for yourself as a sole proprietor, or you’re planning to start a business, you need to know about the tax aspects of your venture. Here are eight important issues to consider: 1. You report income and expenses on Schedule C of Form 1040. The net income is taxable to you regardless
Feb 15, 2022
Keeping meticulous records is the key to tax deductions and painless IRS audits
- By Joan Ellenbogen
- Business
- 0 Comments
If you operate a business, or you’re starting a new one, you know you need to keep records of your income and expenses. Specifically, you should carefully record your expenses in order to claim all of the tax deductions to which you’re entitled. And you want to make sure you can defend the amounts reported