This case study is about caring for your aging parents and keepings an eye on their investments, especially if your parents are showing signs of cognitive impairment. This New York Times Article tells a story about a family dealing with a broker who made excessive trades in order to gain more commissions. It is important to always review your statements and know how much you are paying your advisor / broker. 

This was a great podcast interviewing Rosemary Calderalo, Director of Gift Planning at the Baltimore Community Foundation (BCF). We talk about the many ways you can invest in Baltimore using the many funds provided by BCF. You may research their website to learn more but I would suggest spending less time on the website and more time calling and talking to someone directly for two reasons: 1) You will get your questions answered faster. There is a lot on the website and while I found it informative, I also felt overwhelmed and wasn't exactly sure where to start. Calling will allow you to talk to a real person and get you questions answered. We all want something specific: to leave a legacy, invest in something you care deeply about, or invest back in Baltimore and the community. Calling will allow you to see what your next step should be based on your goals. 2) You will get to see how BCF handles your call with care and decide if they are right for you. I have nothing but great things to say about their customer service and dedication to their clients and this community, but you need to see it for yourself to feel comfortable. Don't be afraid to contact Rosemary Calderalo using the information below to get your questions answered:

Rosemary Calderalo, Ph.D.

Director of Gift Planning

Baltimore Community Foundation

2 E. Read St. 9th Fl., Baltimore, MD 21202

410-332-4172 x 132   [email protected]

www.bcf.org

Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D. is back! She was on our podcast previously where she discussed her first business, Meds MASH. Meds MASH provides services such as medication management, assessment of risk, safety assessments and healthcare coaching. The episode is called "Managing Your Parents Medications." It was our 4th episode so you may have to scroll down to the bottom to find it! On this episode, Ms. Fritsch, Pharm.D returns to present her new venture called "Retirement Wellness Strategy." Ms. Fritsch, Pharm.D. assists retirees or those preparing for retirement handle the tough mental hurdles that can make retirement uncomfortable. Ms. Fritsch, Pharm.D explains the 3 common negative outcomes of retirement (1) divorce, (2) stress/health issues, & (3) suicide and how she works to prevent them. Unfortunately, retirement isn't always what someone thinks it is going to be. It can be lonely and depressing. Michelle Fritsch, Pharm.D provides a realistic outlook on retirement to prepare her clients for life after work and uses techniques to prevent her clients from ending up in those 3 outcomes mentioned above. 

Ms. Fritsch, Pharm.D is a geriatric specialist and pharmacist and has many years of experience helping those getting ready to retire and those settling into retirement. If you would like to get in touch, see below:

This episode highlights the 2018 Tax updates directly from CPA and CFP® Ryan Levy. We discuss deducting real estate taxes, itemizing and the new standard deduction and charitable distributions. Interesting fact, you may use your charitable distribution as your Required Minimum Distribution - RMD. Thanks for listening! If you are interested in speaking with Mr. Levy, you may contact him with the information below:

[email protected] (email)

410-946-6050 (office phone)

410-493-5320 (cell phone)

 website: www.thebaltimorecpa.com

Death is an uncomfortable subject, but a necessary one to discuss. In my opinion, it is wrong to hide from estate planning and it is selfish. I know that sounds harsh, but allow me to explain. You have all of these hard earned assets - money, cars, homes, etc. - and you have 3 children. One of the children is the go getter, the one who does their own laundry and possibly cleans up the kitchen after dinner, the one who you know will take care of you if you get sick. This is who we are planning for. When you die, your problems are not over, they just pass down to someone else and probably someone you really care about. Was Aretha Franklin a bad person for never getting her will done? Absolutely not. Was it irresponsible? Yes. We have to come to grips with death and plan around it like any other obstacle because the burden you fear will eventually be someone else's problem. Death is emotional and your family will need time to heal and the amount of work left without proper estate planning can heavily take away from the grieving process. I urge you to push through your fear of death and plan.  

If you would like to contact Ricky about estate planning:

Richard Adams

Rosenberg Martin Greenberg, LLP 25 South Charles Street, 21st Floor Baltimore, Maryland 21201 (410) 727-6600 (410) 727-6674 Direct (410) 727-1115 Fax [email protected] www.rosenbergmartin.com

This is a podcast interview with Colin Meeks and Dr. Susan Daniels from the NIH. Dr. Daniels is Director of the Office of Autism Research Coordination at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)/NIH and manages the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC), a federal advisory body that collects public input and provides advice to federal agencies on issues related to autism spectrum disorder. There are a lot of amazing resources that the NIH provides. Check out their websites and listen to the entire podcast so you can see how the public cam get involved. Also, we have one correction: the actual figure for children with Autism is 1 in 59 (podcast states 1 in 58).

All information regarding the September workshop is on our IACC website iacc.hhs.gov

This is a podcast case study about Aretha Franklin, Death Without A Will. There are numerous cases of wealthy super starts that have failed to execute proper estate planning. Not even a will? It is hard to believe for us in the world of financial planning but we see it far too often. Here we discuss the importance of basic estate planning and briefly review the queen of soul's estate issues as she passed away without a will.

Estate planning is a huge part of the financial planning process. "What if you die?" is a morbid but necessary question. Where do you want your assets to go? Beneficiaries make the financial transfer of assets as painless as possible and all it takes it filling out a name on a form yet we find this section often goes overlooked. If there is no beneficiary placed on an account, then the assets will go through probate and could be taxed unnecessarily. Estate planning is more than just filling in your beneficiaries, but it is a great place to start! Don't forget to check your beneficiaries on all of your accounts and if you aren't sure if you can add one, just call whoever your money is with and ask. Let us know if you have any questions: [email protected]

"100% of money raised will be donated to Autism Speaks. Now in it’s 12th year, Autism Speaks has grown into the world's leading autism science and advocacy organization, dedicated to funding research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families."

Read more about Stacey's mission on http://www.voicesforautism.org/

Colin and Ryan discuss what drives people to get advice. What drives you to make a move? There are many factors that drive people to begin planning, listen to find out what Colin and Ryan see the most often. Sometimes life presents a problem that has to be solved right away and other times you just "decide" to see an attorney for estate planning, accountant for taxes, or financial planner. Maybe you saw a relative go through something horrible - whatever the reason - it is important to plan if you have the means to do so.