Know Your Home Value Before Deciding On The Best Coverage

Buying a house is expensive. This isn’t exactly groundbreaking news. The next step in this process is to then look at insurance product options and decide which is best for you. The problem here is that it is all too easy to think cheap.  After spending all that money on a house – and having the sticker shock that comes with it – it is easy to decide that a cut-rate insurance product option is the way to go for saving some money.

While this can be tempting for the short term, it is a terrible choice to make should anything actually happen to your shiny new (or historically old) property. Here are the three basic questions everyone should ask when deciding which homeowner’s insurance policy is the right one for them.

What would a rebuild cost?

The easiest mistake to make here is to simply get coverage that sits at the price you paid for the home. While this is a good enough guide, the truth is that a purchase price is often lower than what it would cost to rebuild your home – and your life in many ways – from scratch should something destroys your home. A house fire – for example – usually results in a complete rebuild so you have to have enough coverage in your policy to be able to comfortable build up what you lost.

What will it cost you to live elsewhere?

Should a total loss occur then you will obviously need to live somewhere else for a while. This could be any amount of time at all feasible, especially if a home loss is accompanied by endless investigations into the cause and other time consuming things.

While moving in with a relative is usually an option, this can get old quickly for all parties involved. This means that new living costs – or Additional Living Expenses (ALE) – will be incurred. Maybe you will need to rent a home while a rebuild occurs. At the very least you are likely looking at hotel stays and restaurant meals. Check the ALE coverage of a policy to ensure it is right for your situation.

What is your stuff worth?

The other determining question when looking through insurance policy options is that of the worth of what you own. A home inventory is essential, as is looking for additional coverage for certain items of value (collectibles and jewelry). When putting this inventory together think carefully about what you own. It is easy to see the value of a 55-inch flat screen TV, but just as easy to overlook the hundreds of items of clothing in a shared wardrobe. Know what you have, know what it is worth, and plan your insurance option accordingly.

Article by Vital Guidance

Three Vital Nutritional Ideas For Creating A New You

With a new year just around the corner it is that time of the season where we take stock of our lives. One area that we immediately focus on is nutrition, something that makes sense given the role that nutrients play in our health and quality of life.

There are a number of ways to clean up your eating habits and get the most nutrition for your buck. One such way is to look at the little mistakes you are making in what you eat.  Then make simple changes that can add to your overall health.

Here are three small mistakes that are easy – and inexpensive – to change.

Being afraid to make dietary mistakes

Nutrition and healthy eating isn’t a catch-all system. What works for one person – even someone in your own family – won’t necessarily work for you. This can be frustrating when nothing seems to work, but the truth is, finding out what works and what doesn’t is sometimes nothing more than trial and error.

To that end, feel free to try things. If Keto isn’t working for you then move to a different type of nutritional regime. There are so many healthy eating options out there that’ll allow you to get your vital nutrients without having to follow the crowd.

Add don’t subtract

Many people try to start their path to healthy eating by taking things out of their diet.  While we probably all have something we could remove and not cause any damage, it is never wise to suddenly shock the system and take away foods that are actually helping your nutritional balance.

Instead of removing everything, try cutting back while adding other foods. Maybe you can add grains such as quinoa to your diet.  Even adding more plant-based fats or fresh fish would be ideal and help with your nutritional goals. Instead of just restricting, look to expand into new areas and new foods that you haven’t experienced before.

Tracking progress on a scale

Scales do have their place, but they shouldn’t be your total measure of nutritional health. Building muscle is going to counteract the fat loss because muscle weighs more than fat.  Therefore, focus on your body composition and how you feel mentally. Better nutrition leads to better mental health.  Also, it will make you feel more awake, alert, and energetic.

In terms of body, look at the overall size and shape of your muscles and track those as opposed to weight. This will help you set your goals and provide immediate feedback on how your new nutritional program is shaping a new you.

Article by Vital Guidance

Cautions To Help Your Pets Enjoy The Holiday Season

Pets are awesome! The vital relationships that we develop with them help us through life in a myriad of ways. Now that the holiday season is upon us, it is important that our pets get through the season healthy, happy, and – most importantly – safely.

Here are some ways to make sure your furry, feathered or scaly friend enjoy December:

Be careful what you feed Fido

It is easy for a human to gain 15 pounds over the festive period. The combination of rich foods and beverages over the course of a number of parties – or just sitting around the home with family and friends – quickly adds up. This is also true for pets, with the known food given – table scraps – and the non-known food sourced out – garbage raiding – adding up quickly. You wouldn’t want a tummy ache over Christmas, so makes sure your dog doesn’t get one either by carefully managing food intake.

Decorating safely

We all know how much cats enjoy attacking anything that dangles or swings in the breeze. This makes the Christmas season an especially tricky one to deal with in some ways as your cat is going to go crazy over the amount of tinsel and extra power cords throughout the house. One easy way to make things a little safer is to be sure that your Christmas ornaments are shatterproof as opposed to being made out of glass. Think just how easy it would be for a cat to cut its paws or tongue on some of those family heirloom ornaments from the 1970s that come out every year. Look at it as a good incentive to update your Christmas décor too.

Try not to wreck the daily routine

As stressful as Christmas can be on humans, it can be equally as stressful on a pet. This is especially true if you are the type of person that always plays the host, with a parade of different – and perhaps new – people coming into the house on a daily basis. This stress issue can be easily solved by keeping your pet in a quiet part of the house when the hustle and bustle is at its maximum, letting the pet adjust to the noise before introductions are made. This is especially important if this is the first holiday season your pet is experiencing with various visitors.

Related Post: Teach Your Pet The Basics For The Best Companion Experience

Be careful with flames

According to the National Fire Protection Association, the top three days in the U.S. for house fires are Christmas Day, New Year’s Eve, and New Year’s Day. Candles – like all other forms of fire – are fine when monitored but leaving anything burning when going to bed or leaving the house is not a good idea on its own that is only made worse when pets are involved. Ensure your pet is kept at a safe distance from open flames to ensure your vital relationship gets to enjoy another New Year!

Best Healthcare & Life Insurance Programs | Are You Properly Protected?

Protecting yourself, your loved ones, your home, auto or your business against unexpected events is a fundamental aspect of wealth planning. Closing the gap on potential risks can be tricky without a comprehensive plan and process that seeks to methodically evaluate all potential risk factors. That’s why risk analysis is an integral part of our ongoing process.

Life Insurance

Life insurance products offer a spectrum of death benefit protection, spousal coverage and cash value accumulation features for a variety of needs. Life insurance is also used as an important estate planning tool, helping to ensure your beneficiaries and heirs are not saddled with an undue estate tax burden. After a careful analysis of your situation and objectives, we can help you obtain the coverage that meets your needs, choosing among insurance programs from many of the nation’s leading providers.

Disability Insurance

For many of us, the ability to work and generate income is our most valuable asset. Protecting it is paramount to achieving your short- and long-term financial goals. Disability insurance helps guard your income and lifestyle from unexpected interruptions during your working years. Adequate disability coverage can ease the burden of lost income or wages while you recover from an accident or illness. It can also help to prevent the depletion of savings or being forced to sell investments at an inopportune time to raise cash for living expenses. We work with many of the nation’s leading insurance providers to tailor income replacement coverage to your specific needs, adding the features that are most important to you and your family.

Long-Term Care Insurance

When planning for long-term healthcare needs, it’s important to keep in mind that:

  • Medicare is not nursing home insurance and does not cover long-term care
  • Private medical insurance or Medicare supplement plans do not cover maintenance care

Long-term care insurance can help manage healthcare costs and reduce the impact of inflation, while ensuring your healthcare needs, and those of loved ones, are covered well into the future. Adequate financial planning now can help prevent a lifetime of assets from falling short when you need them most.

Other Insurances We Provide

  • Home
  • Auto
  • Commercial/Professional Liability

Auto Carriers Include

  • Allstate
  • Travelers
  • Progressive
  • Safeco
  • Mercury
  • MetLife
  • Infinity
  • Foremost
  • Windhaven
  • American Collectors
  • Hagerty

Home Carriers Include

  • Tower Hill
  • American Integrity
  • Security First
  • Anchor
  • ASI
  • Bankers
  • Elements Property Insurance Co.
  • American Traditions
  • Modern USA
  • Heritage
  • Avatar
  • Cypress
  • United
  • Universal Property & Casualty
  • Florida Peninsula
  • Edison
  • Federated National
  • Homeowner’s Choice
  • Citizens

Commercial/Professional Carriers Include

  • Allstate
  • Philadelphia Insurance Co.
  • Bankers
  • Federated National
  • Ascendant Underwriters
  • Cypress
  • Summit
  • FUBA
  • FWCJUA
  • AMWINS
  • Grenada
  • Hull & Company
  • Appalachian
  • All Risks
  • Shelly, Middlebrook
  • Mcneil
  • Clearwater Underwriters
  • Halcyon
  • Regency
  • Swett & Crawford
  • Bass Underwriters
  • IB Green
  • Tapco

Life Carriers Include

  • Allianz Life
  • Allianz Preferred
  • American Equity
  • American General Life & Accident Ins. Co.
  • American General Life Ins. Co.
  • American National Ins. Co.
  • American National Ins. Co. of NY
  • Assurity Life
  • Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Co.
  • Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Co. of NY
  • AXA Equitable Life Ins. Co.
  • Banner
  • Brighthouse Life Insurance Co.
  • Brighthouse Life Insurance Co. of NY
  • Fidelity & Guaranty Life
  • Gerber Life Insurance Co.
  • Global Atlantic
  • Great American Life
  • Integrity Life
  • John Hancock Life Ins. Co.
  • John Hancock Life Ins. Co. of NY
  • Lincoln National Life Ins. Co.
  • Lloyds of London
  • MassMutual
  • Minnesota Life Ins. Co.
  • Nationwide Life
  • North American for Life & Health
  • OneAmerica
  • Oxford Life Ins. Co.
  • Pacific Life Ins.
  • Pan American Life
  • Principal Life Ins. Co. – NY only
  • Principal National Life Ins. Co.
  • Protective Life Ins. Co.
  • Prudential Life
  • Reliance Standard
  • Sentinel Security Life
  • Standard Ins. Co.
  • Symetra Life Ins. Co.
  • Transamerica
  • United of Omaha
  • United States Life Ins. Co. in the City of NY
  • William Penn
  • Zurich American Life Ins. Co.

Ready to Buy or Sell – Biggest Investment Choices

The decision to purchase or sell a home are two of the biggest investment choices you could ever make.  After all, a home is usually the largest – and most emotional – investment most people will face in their lifetime.  So, how do you know if it’s the right time for you to buy or sell?

There is never a wrong time to buy or sell the right home.  The key is carefully evaluating your finances to reach the right decision.  As trained financial advisors, we work with Realtors around the world to ensure you are prepared to move forward, or from, a home.

Let us help you explore your options today.  You don’t have to know everything as we are ready to help you through every step of the real estate process.

Starting Real Estate Planning & Wealth Management

In fact, nearly everyone does.  Your estate is comprised of everything you own— your car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, personal possessions.  No matter how large or how modest, everyone has an estate and something in common—you can’t take it with you when you die.

When that happens—and it is a “when” and not an “if”—you probably want to control how those things are given to the people or organizations you care most about. To ensure your wishes are carried out, you need to provide instructions stating whom you want to receive something of yours, what you want them to receive, and when they are to receive it. You will, of course, want this to happen with the least amount paid in taxes, legal fees, and court costs.

That is estate planning—making a plan in advance and naming whom you want to receive the things you own after you die. However, good estate planning is much more than that. It should also:

  • Include instructions for passing your values (religion, education, hard work, etc.) in addition to your valuables.
  • Include instructions for your care if you become disabled before you die.
  • Name a guardian and an inheritance manager for minor children.
  • Provide for family members with special needs without disrupting government benefits.
  • Provide for loved ones who might be irresponsible with money or who may need future protection from creditors or divorce.
  • Include life insurance to provide for your family at your death, disability income insurance to replace your income if you cannot work due to illness or injury, and long-term care insurance to help pay for your care in case of an extended illness or injury.
  • Provide for the transfer of your business at your retirement, disability, or death.
  • Minimize taxes, court costs, and unnecessary legal fees.
  • Be an ongoing process, not a one-time event. Your plan should be reviewed and updated as your family and financial situations (and laws) change over your lifetime.

Estate planning is for everyone.

It is not just for “retired” people, although people do tend to think about it more as they get older. Unfortunately, we can’t successfully predict how long we will live, and illness and accidents happen to people of all ages.

Estate planning is not just for “the wealthy,” either, although people who have built some wealth do often think more about how to preserve it. Good estate planning often means more to families with modest assets, because they can afford to lose the least.

Too many people don’t plan.

Individuals put off estate planning because they think they don’t own enough, they’re not old enough, they’re busy, think they have plenty of time, they’re confused and don’t know who can help them, or they just don’t want to think it. Then, when something happens to them, their families have to pick up the pieces.

If you don’t have a plan, your state has one for you, but you probably won’t like it.

At disability: If your name is on the title of your assets and you can’t conduct business due to mental or physical incapacity, only a court appointee can sign for you. The court, not your family, will control how your assets are used to care for you through a conservatorship or guardianship (depending on the term used in your state). It can become expensive and time consuming, it is open to the public, and it can be difficult to end even if you recover.

At your death: If you die without an intentional estate plan, your assets will be distributed according to the probate laws in your state. In many states, if you are married and have children, your spouse and children will each receive a share. That means your spouse could receive only a fraction of your estate, which may not be enough to live on. If you have minor children, the court will control their inheritance. If both parents die (i.e., in a car accident), the court will appoint a guardian without knowing whom you would have chosen.

Given the choice and you do have the choice wouldn’t you prefer these matters be handled privately by your family, not by the courts? Wouldn’t you prefer to keep control of who receives what and when? And, if you have young children, wouldn’t you prefer to have a say in who will raise them if you can’t?

An estate plan begins with a will or living trust.

A will provides your instructions, but it does not avoid probate. Any assets titled in your name or directed by your will must go through your state’s probate process before they can be distributed to your heirs. (If you own property in other states, your family will probably face multiple probates, each one according to the laws in that state.) The process varies greatly from state to state, but it can become expensive with legal fees, executor fees, and court costs. It can also take anywhere from nine months to two years or longer. With rare exception, probate files are open to the public and excluded heirs are encouraged to come forward and seek a share of your estate. In short, the court system, not your family, controls the process.

Not everything you own will go through probate. Jointly-owned property and assets that let you name a beneficiary (for example, life insurance, IRAs, 401(k)s, annuities, etc.) are not controlled by your will and usually will transfer to the new owner or beneficiary without probate. But there are many problems with joint ownership, and avoidance of probate is not guaranteed. For example, if a valid beneficiary is not named, the assets will have to go through probate and will be distributed along with the rest of your estate. If you name a minor as a beneficiary, the court will probably insist on a guardianship until the child legally becomes an adult.

For these reasons a revocable living trust is preferred by many families and professionals. It can avoid probate at death (including multiple probates if you own property in other states), prevent court control of assets at incapacity, bring all of your assets (even those with beneficiary designations) together into one plan, provide maximum privacy, is valid in every state, and can be changed by you at any time. It can also reflect your love and values to your family and future generations.

Unlike a will, a trust doesn’t have to die with you. Assets can stay in your trust, managed by the trustee you selected, until your beneficiaries reach the age you want them to inherit. Your trust can continue longer to provide for a loved one with special needs, or to protect the assets from beneficiaries’ creditors, spouses, and irresponsible spending.

A living trust is more expensive initially than a will, but considering it can avoid court interference at incapacity and death, many people consider it to be a bargain.

Planning your estate will help you organize your records and correct titles and beneficiary designations.

Would your family know where to find your financial records, titles, and insurance policies if something happened to you? Planning your estate now will help you organize your records, locate titles and beneficiary designations, and find and correct errors.

Most people don’t give much thought to the wording they put on titles and beneficiary designations. You may have good intentions, but an innocent error can create all kinds of problems for your family at your disability and/or death. Beneficiary designations are often out-of-date or otherwise invalid. Naming the wrong beneficiary on your tax-deferred plan can lead to devastating tax consequences. It is much better for you to take the time to do this correctly now than for your family to pay an attorney to try to fix things later.

Estate planning does not have to be expensive.

If you don’t think you can afford a complex estate plan now, start with what you can afford. For a young family or single adult, that may mean a will, term life insurance, and powers of attorney for your assets and health care decisions. Then, let your planning develop and expand as your needs change and your financial situation improves. Don’t try to do this yourself to save money. An experienced attorney will be able to provide critical guidance and peace of mind that your documents are prepared properly.

The best time to plan your estate is now.

None of us really likes to think about our own mortality or the possibility of being unable to make decisions for ourselves. This is exactly why so many families are caught off-guard and unprepared when incapacity or death does strike. Don’t wait. You can put something in place now and change it later…which is exactly the way estate planning should be done.

The best benefit is peace of mind.

Knowing you have a properly prepared plan in place – one that contains your instructions and will protect your family – will give you and your family peace of mind. This is one of the most thoughtful and considerate things you can do for yourself and for those you love.  (Info from www.estateplanning.com)

Developing an Approach to Asset Management

Our focus is not on moving your accounts – it’s on you.  You want sophisticated and attentive investment management to maximize your portfolios’ total returns in light of your risk tolerance.  Therefore, we construct each investment portfolio after an analysis of your risk tolerance, investment objectives and time horizon . . . and we can management it on various platforms.

As independent advisors, we have access to a full array of non-proprietary financial products and services as we work with you to help ensure your assets are strategically allocated, diversified and managed.  We seek to create investment strategies tailored to your needs that may include:

  • Cash and money market funds
  • Municipal, treasury and corporate bonds
  • Domestic and international stocks
  • Mutual funds and Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)
  • Annuities
  • Alternative Investments including private placements and non-traded investments

Our goal is simple:  To help you preserve and protect your assets for you and your family.  Through our strategic approach to asset allocation and investment planning, we develop strategies that seek to help you:

  • Meet income needs over time
  • Manage risk in line with your goals and time horizon
  • Generate growth to outpace inflation

Give us a call and let us check your vitals . . .