February may be the shortest month, but it’s full of events: there’s Groundhog Day, and early voting in the North Carolina primary starts February 12. There’s Valentine’s and Presidents’ Day, and it is Black History Month! It is also Estate Planning month at Catt Wealth Consulting.
Since we care about all of you, we spent January combing through the files to make sure:
- Every IRA had beneficiaries.
- The registration and naming of beneficiaries was appropriate on after-tax accounts (either Joint with Rights of Survivorship, Joint Transfer on Death (TOD), or Individual TOD, or a Revocable or Family Trust).
Nothing says: “I care about you,” more than naming that special person as your beneficiary.
With this flyer, we include a list of your accounts by Account Type (Registration) and platform (MWP* or SAM**). We also list the beneficiaries we currently have on file. If you wish to change these designations, please contact Daniel at (704) 443-7032 (daniel@cattwealth.com) or me at (704) 502-6649 (martha@cattwealth.com).
If you do not have a Last Will and Testament or a Revocable or Family Trust, we can help you find a lawyer to prepare these documents for you. We neither pay nor accept finder’s fees, so if we refer you to a professional, it is only because we believe in their skills.
If it has been more than five years since you last reviewed your Will or Trust, now might be a good time to revisit it. You may have acquired property that is not listed for disposition in your documents. You may have disposed of property and replaced it with something else.
The federal estate tax exemption for 2026 is $15 million per individual and $30 million for a couple, so for most of you, there will be no transfer taxes if leaving an estate to heirs in the U.S. But if your heir lives outside the country, you may wish to consult with an attorney familiar with the tax laws of the country in which your heir is living.
This brings me to my next subject. I will be visiting my daughter and son-in-law in Great Britain from February 28 to March 14th. If you need cash from a SAM account, you may either contact me before February 26th, or you may call Daniel at (704) 443-7032, and he will call the trading desk at LPL with you. Please remember the trading desk is open from 9:30 to 4:00 each weekday that is not a holiday. The direct line to trading is (800) 558-7567. Please let them know you need the trading desk as your advisor is outside the country.
I also include a two-page summary of economic news for your review. So many of you told me you stopped watching or listening to the news since it was so depressing, but you asked me to inform you when you needed to know something important. This summary is the news that every American should know as they plan their finances and formulate their voting plan. I am happy to discuss this in more detail if you wish.
MWP = Mngd Wealth Port* SAM = Strategic Asset Mgmt.
Securities and Advisory Services offered through LPL Financial, a registered investment advisor. Member FINRA/SIPC.
