The Client

After diligently saving throughout their careers, a couple came to our team with over $2,600,000 in investable assets. Currently, they managed the funds on their own, investing in 401(k) and IRA accounts. 

With their retirements on the horizon, they were seeking help to determine when to take Social Security, when to tap into their retirement accounts, and how much they could spend without running out of money. The couple also dreamed of taking their children and grandchildren to Hawaii to celebrate their retirement.

The Plan

We first met with the clients to develop a comprehensive financial plan, covering their goals and risk tolerance. Utilizing Baird's Wealth Center and planning technology, our team also prepared Social Security and tax analyses for the couple and their tax professional to review. 

The Solution

Our team charted a customized path for the couple to follow:

• Creating a distribution method for when to take Social Security to maximize withdrawals over their lifetime.
• Developing a plan for responsible spending, ensuring they could cover the goals they would like to achieve during retirement.
• Connecting the couple with a travel agent to determine the cost of their dream family vacation; and successfully including it in their financial plan. 
• Helping to reduce the risk of their portfolio so they could accomplish their goals at a lower level of volatility.
• Managing (and continuing to manage) their monthly distributions in a tax efficient manner, without causing income-based increases to their Medicare premiums.

From there, we confirmed their beneficiary information was listed as intended, so their legacy will continue to live on. The clients ended up referring their children to our team after their return from Hawaii. 

The Client

A client was the recipient of over $1,700,000 in highly appreciated stock and cash buyout when the company she worked for was purchased unexpectedly. Our client was very concerned about taxes and she did not wish to own such a significant amount of one stock in her portfolio.

Our client was also facing a 50% cut in her annual salary. Although this adjustment was challenging, she considered the windfall a blessing. She wanted to reallocate this money to help her family and several charities she was involved with. 

The Plan

Since this was a long-standing client of our team, Sean knew how charitably inclined she was. With this in mind, he helped set up a donor advised fund to reduce her tax burden for the current year, updated her financial plan to include the large inflow of funds and reduced annual salary, and created a tax analysis report so she and her tax professional could review and set up a liquidation plan for the appreciated stock position.  

The Solution

Through strategic planning, our client ended up with significant in tax savings and was able to stay on track with her newly adjusted financial plan. She was able to support several charities and help her family succeed. 

The Client

A new client was the third generation of a family-owned business.  Through our discovery process, Mac determined that the client and his family were never able to contribute the maximum amount into their 401(k) plan at work due to testing limits.

The family also had over $3,000,000 in a money market account as a reserve for the company. The funds were earning very little interest and were not fully FDIC insured. 

The Plan

Since Sean is a Qualified Plan Financial Consultant, he was able to review the 401(k) plan documents and suggest amendments that gave every employee the ability to contribute the maximum amount. This also afforded the company a more tax-efficient saving method for highly compensated employees.  Mac then recommended a portfolio of cash equivalent products from various banks for the reserve funds. This portfolio offered full FDIC insurance coverage with significantly higher interest than they were earning before.

The Solution

Sean and Mac were ultimately asked to advise the 401(k) plan by the business owner and later helped amend the plan as recommended.  The client was able to gain a better success measure on their financial plan since they were able to contribute much more to their retirement plan.  Using his knowledge as a Qualified Financial Plan Consultant, Sean also structured an investment review process that is in line with today’s fiduciary standards for all participants, improving the investment options.

While going through the analysis and cash flow of the company, the board determined they wanted more opportunity for growth, and Mac reallocated a portion of the cash reserves investments for the business.  We then assisted in drafting an Investment Policy Statement for the reallocated funds and built a portfolio aligned with the company's long-term needs.

The Client

A long-standing client of our team was recently widowed and had no local relatives.  Sadly, she was diagnosed with dementia, but before then, she shared her intentions to us regarding her estate: 

• She wanted to live comfortably at an assisted living facility of her choosing.
• She wanted to name a corporate trustee to manage her financial affairs when she became incapacitated.
• Though she didn’t have children of her own, she had a nephew with special needs and wanted to be sure he was cared for during his lifetime. At the end of her nephew’s life, she wanted her remaining assets to go to a charity near and dear to her heart.

The Plan

Working closely with her estate attorney, we recommended that she establish two types of trusts. The first was a revocable living trust, where she would control her own money until she wasn’t able to do so. At that time, the trust named Baird Trust as the successor trustee. 

Baird Trust’s role as the successor corporate trustee was to oversee the assets, alleviating her from the burden of trying to handle it herself, all while adhering to her wishes.

At the end of the client’s life, all of the assets were moved to a special needs trust for the benefit of her nephew. Once again, Baird Trust would be corporate trustee, covering all of the duties to pay all necessary expenses for his health, maintenance, and support.

The Solution

Fortunately, our client lived a long life after her diagnosis, but eventually her cognitive abilities declined and Baird Trust took over the affairs as Corporate Trustee.  She lived in the assisted living facility as she wished, and Baird Trust maintained constant communication with her, and the service providers to ensure she had the best care possible.

Baird Trust paid all of her bills, managed her investments, and helped ensure all her needs would be met by the assets of the trust. When she passed away, the trust transferred the assets into the special needs trust for her nephew.  To this day, Baird Trust still manages the investments for the nephew’s benefit and will one day carry out her wishes to gift the remaining assets to the charity our client felt so strongly for. 

NOTE: Every client situation is unique. Since we specialize in working with high-net-worth clients on estate planning, each plan is uniquely tailored to the clients' needs and wishes. Furthermore, estate planning can also play an important role for tax savings strategies. We welcome a conversation with you and your family to organize your appropriate strategy before sitting down with an estate attorney, which can save you time and money.