A carefully planned gifting program can help you achieve personal aspirations, but it also reduces one’s estate and thus minimizes the estate taxes that your heirs may have to pay upon your death.

Year-end planning involves remembering to focus on areas you can control. In spite of the current economic and political uncertainty, one can uncover financial planning opportunities to be thankful for this year and in 2012.

The recent volatility of the market has investors split on what they should do with their money. The markets have too much risk, but other options might not have enough. Having a solid financial plan can help you determine the balance between the two.

Owning a second home can be a dream come true. Just make sure that you consider some of the other baggage that may come along before packing for your next vacation to your new home.

These days, the menu of qualified retirement plans is vast, and it may be difficult to understand which plan makes the most sense for your unique set of circumstances. For doctors and other solo practitioners, the solo 401(k), also known as the individual 401(k), may be an appropriate option.

403(b) plans aren't simply an equivalent to 401(k) plans and you might decide that participate in your company's 403(b) is not for you.

Memorial Day Weekend marks the unofficial beginning of summer so I thought for this next posting, it would be fun to share a few books that are on my own summer reading list this year.

The economy performed solidly in the first quarter and early quarterly earnings results have been better-than-expected. Even in more optimistic times such as these, however, it’s critical to make sure that your portfolio has a clear investment strategy and is adequately diversified. Individual investors may also want to take a closer look at alternative assets to protect the downside during times of extreme volatility.

It’s undeniable that the events unfolding in Japan in the aftermath of the recent earthquake and tsunami are a tragedy affecting millions of people. It is less clear what economic impact will be. Some think rebuilding efforts could start a long-awaited expansion of the Japanese economy. In the meantime, individual investors should check their international stock and bond holdings to better understand their exposure to Japan.

Many financial advisory firms promote "client based" services, a misleading term that attempts to appeal to investors, when in reality the firms are acting in the clients’ best interests one minute and in their own the next. That's why it's so important for the SEC to use its authority to place broker-dealers who provide investment advice under a fiduciary standard of care.