What does Independence Day mean to you?  Twenty-three years ago, Kevin Painter and I started working together at a local bank’s investment department. We formed a partnership that has endured – and it eventually gave us the confidence to open our own independent advisory firm in 2007. We survived the transition from bank employees to...

When you hand your grandkid a check for graduation or help your daughter with a down payment on her first home, you’re not just being generous – you might also be stepping into gift tax territory. But don’t let that intimidate you. With the right approach, gifting can be one of the most powerful, intentional...

Becoming a parent changes everything. Your priorities shift, your time becomes precious, and your responsibilities multiply overnight. Amid the sleepless nights and diaper changes, it’s easy to push long-term planning to the bottom of the list. But one of the most important – and often overlooked – tasks for young parents is estate planning. Estate...

When Ronald Reagan signed the Tax Reform Act of 1986 into law, he called it “the best anti-poverty measure, the best pro-family measure, and the best job-creation measure ever to come out of the Congress of the United States.” At its heart, the 1986 law was a bold simplification of a bloated tax code. It...