Wealth Planning Blog

What is an ABLE account? An ABLE account is a tax advantaged savings account for individuals with disabilities, which can be used for disability-related expenses on behalf of the designated beneficiary. Although contributions are not tax-deductible, these accounts have several benefits, including: Non-taxed income, One account per beneficiary, Investment strategy can be changed twice yearly, ABLE accounts do not affect SSI, Medicaid or other public benefits. Regulations on these accounts will be written by the Treasury Department in 2015.

Children bring a lot of joy to a parent’s life, but also come with a great amount of responsibility and stress. Prior to children, my hardest decision was whether or not to cook dinner or eat out with friends. That decision is a cake walk compared to the decisions I now make as a parent: daycare or nanny, bottles or sippy cups, feeding choices, public school or private school, sleeping habits, immunizations, etc.

“Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It’s the transition that is troublesome” – Isaac Asimov, American science fiction novelist and scholar. Though it may not be exactly what Isaac Asimov meant, I couldn’t help but think about his quote this past week as my family faced the unexpected and WAY too soon passing of one of our own. Transition is hard ... I mean really hard! Grieving may be exhausting … both physically and mentally but it is an essential and extremely important process for any family in this situation to go through.