Practice

Understand the three levels of happiness and be ready to connect them with their financial-planning equivalents.

Being able to sell is still important, but in today's market it's just one of many skills that a bank advisor needs to thrive.

There are fresh messages about the value of annuities—but don't assume your clients are aware of them yet.

He didn't want to lose and didn't want to do what was necessary to win.

The president of Charitable Solutions LLC discusses how advisors can counsel clients about alternative ways to contribute to charities.

Our legal expert discusses when you must report a claim against you even if you didn't do anything wrong.

Active and automatic ways to keep your new prospect pipeline flowing all the time.

Trading on the New York Stock Exchange in the common stock of the parent company of American Airlines will be halted after next Wednesday.

The principle behind the annual gift tax exclusion is to shelter gifts commonly made on birthdays, holidays, weddings and other special occasions. However, many high-net-worth individuals may also utilize the annual gift tax exclusion as a strategy to mitigate the impact of future estate taxes.

The principle behind the annual gift tax exclusion is to shelter gifts commonly made on birthdays, holidays, weddings and other special occasions. However, many high-net-worth individuals may also utilize the annual gift tax exclusion as a strategy to mitigate the impact of future estate taxes. According to Richard Behrendt, director of estate planning for Baird’s Private Wealth Management group, the timing of making year-end gifts is important because a transfer of property is treated as a completed gift for federal gift tax purposes only after the donor has unconditionally relinquished all dominion and control over the transferred property. Even if the donor has no intention of revoking (taking back) the gift, simply retaining the ability to revoke the gift through the end of the year could shift the completion of the gift into the next calendar year. Under the Internal Revenue Code, individuals may give up to $13,000 to an unlimited number of non-charitable beneficiaries in each calendar year. Married couples may double-up and make combined gifts of up to $26,000 to children, grandchildren, or other non-charitable beneficiaries. Here are six rules investors need to consider before making any year-end gifts.