Personal Services

Do you need an estate plan? The short answer is yes. If you own property, whether it’s a house, car, jewelry, or collectible, have bank accounts, investments or a retirement plan account, you need to direct how and to whom your property will be distributed after your death. And even if you already have an estate plan, you may be surprised to learn that it is out of date. Changes in your family– the birth of a child or grandchild, death of a spouse or close relative or friend, marriages or divorces in your family all necessitate revisiting your estate plan.

Moving to another state, buying or selling a business and of course, retiring, are reasons to revise your estate plan, too. Last but not least, tax laws may have changed unbeknownst to you. All the reasons you need to have us create the best plan to preserve your family’s wealth.

Anyone who owns property, whether a home, a car, a bank account, investments, business interests, a retirement plan account, collectibles, personal belongings, whatever, needs an estate plan. An estate plan allows you to direct how and to whom your property will be distributed after you are gone.

If you have no estate plan at all, your property could be distributed according to your state’s intestacy laws without regard to family needs or your desires.

The best plan starts with us. Estate planning is an ongoing process. If you’re young and single, an estate plan may consist of nothing more than a will. If you’re a couple just starting out, you might have wills and own a modest home and have joint bank accounts. Add children, and naming a guardian and arranging to provide for them and your spouse in case of unexpected death or incapacity become greater concerns. And, once you start to realize your financial goals, asset preservation and tax avoidance become key.

Although the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 phases out the estate tax, with full repeal by 2010, your estate could still be subject to estate tax after you are gone. And, the repeal of the estate tax may only be in effect for a single year, as the law’s changes will expire after 2010 unless Congress takes further action. So tax planning remains an extremely important part of estate planning.

Effective estate planning requires several steps, beginning with an evaluation of your current situation, followed by setting goals, developing the best possible plan and then implementing and monitoring that plan. Most people underestimate their estates. Use the chart below to estimate your gross estate value.

No matter what stage of life you find yourself in, the financial planning experts at Thaney & Associates CPAs, P.C. can help you create a strategy that will protect all you’ve built, or will build, to ensure that your family’s future is assured long after you are gone.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your personal financial future were set? If all the pieces just fell into place and required no effort on your part? We may not be able to completely remove you from the process, but we’ll do our best to make everything as painless as possible. We’ll first provide you with an accurate picture of your financial situation, so you can make decisions that will benefit you most. Decisions that will enable you to obtain your financial goals, enjoy your business and still have life outside of the office. It’s everything you’d expect from an accounting firm that looks at the bigger picture to help you with.

Like most people, when you start thinking about improving your financial situation, you probably think, “I have a good salary, I pay my bills on time, I do my taxes, I have insurance– I’m handling my finances pretty well– spending time and money on financial planning isn’t worth it for me.” In fact, time spent developing and implementing a well-researched and sound financial and estate plan can mean the difference between doing just pretty well for now and doing extremely well for the long-term– yielding:

• More money for you and your family
• Better preparation and flexibility for life changes
• Increased protection against mistakes and unexpected circumstances

This is where Thaney & Associates CPAs, P.C. financial and estate planning experts can help. Providing peace of mind by ensuring your best odds of permanent wealth and comfort. The Thaney Associates CPAs, P.C. approach to financial success is the result of a multi-step planning process:

• Set achievable financial and personal goals
• Assess your current financial health by examining your assets, liabilities, income, insurance, taxes, investments and estate plan
• Develop a realistic, comprehensive plan to meet your financial goals by addressing financial weaknesses and building on financial strengths
• Put your plan into action and monitor its progress
• Revise your plan to accommodate changing goals, changing personal circumstances, changing financial opportunities and changing market and tax laws

It’s a planning process that requires skill, knowledge, diligence, and discipline. Skill, knowledge, diligence, and discipline you might not have, but Thaney experts do. And, with a little help from you, together we can help you reap great rewards that will make the end result well worth your time and effort. View the Financial Planning FAQs.

Wouldn’t it be nice if your financial future were set and all of the pieces just fell into place and required no effort on your part? The first first step in that direction is to choose the right financial planner. A planner with the insight and knowledge to help you define the best plan possible. That’s where the estate and financial planning experts at Thaney & Associates can help.

Financial Planning by leveraging our experience to help you find the right advisor, we may not be able to completely remove you from the process, but we’ll do the best that we can to make it as painless as possible. It starts with giving you an accurate picture of your financial situation. With this picture, you will be able to make decisions that benefit you most, so that you can obtain your financial goals.

Plan on not working forever. Personal financial planning involves several steps, each one key to ensure that the plan succeeds. It starts with evaluating your current situation, then setting goals, developing the best possible plan and then implementing and monitoring that plan.

In evaluating your current situation, you are determining your net worth. Use the chart at right to determine how much you are worth. If it’s less than you may have thought, we’ll look first at your spending habits, then help you formulate a budget that works for you and allows you to stay on top of your finances so that you can set attainable goals for yourself.

When setting goals, we know that everyone wants to be successful and to be financially secure. We will help you set short- and long-range goals to help you reach your dreams.

• Do you want to have an emergency fund?
• Do you want to start planning your retirement?
• Are you planning for a child’s education?
• Will you be buying a home or starting a business?

No matter what your goals, Thaney & Associates financial planning experts can help you create a strategy that will put you on a course that will best help you realize your dreams.