You Have Questions, We Have Answers and Guidence

 
 

Can I take a sabbatical or career break?

We all need a break every once in a while, and a few weeks of vacation doesn’t cut it. Avoiding burnout has come to the forefront with less of a sigma than it once had.

We will want to make sure to discuss:

Will you have enough cash on hand to pay your bills during the sabbatical?

What is the long term impact on retirement (absence of contributions, social security award, etc)?

Tax Planning opportunities and pitfalls to avoid. While this might seem like prime time to do Roth conversions at a lower rate, we have to make sure it works for your individual situation, especially if you are going to pay for the taxes on the conversion from current cash instead of reducing the amount converted to Roth.

Estate Planning

Keep health benefits while on sabbatical.

Will you need to change some investments to income instead of growth to give you funds to live off?

Resources to Avoid and Recover From Burnout:

Cleveland Clinic 12 Ways To Recover From Burnout

What changes if I want to retire in Europe?

You’ve been to a cafe on St. Mark’s square and decided you would not mind having that every day in retirement. Before you pack your bags, sell the house, and book your flights, there are a few items to be aware of.

  • US citizens are taxed by the IRS on “global accreations of wealth” no matter where or how you obtained it, however, there are a few exceptions. Your tax picture can be very different if you retire to France instead of the United Kingdom or Spain.

    For example, the US and France have a tax treaty that says retirement payments such as Pensions will only be taxed “in the source state of income”.

    Source: Article 18 of Convention between the Government of the United States of America and the Government of the French Republic

  • We recommend speaking with an attorney for offical advice on this matter.

    A US citizen can theoritically live outside the US and never return while retaining their US citizenship.

    Maintaining ties to the United States is essential if you wish to retain your US citizenship. This can include returning to the US every once in a while, filing a US tax return, and maintaining a US residence. Although you will want to plan your travel back to US very carefully if you want pass the “Physical Presence Test” and help make getting the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion easier by being outside the US for 330 or more days during any year.

  • As long as the clients remain US citizens, we can continue to work with them.

We can help you answer these and more:

Am I saving the right amount for retirement?

Am I using the best mix of my tax advantaged accounts (HSA, 401(k), etc)?

Am I making the best use of my company benefits?

What is the best thing to do with my RSUs and stock options my company gives me?

Markets are changing, should I change any of my investments?

I now have to help my family with their finances and investments in addition to my own. Help!

It’s different when you have to help family handle their finances. Of course, you have to balance managing your own finances too.

We meet with family members to help them take a holisitic look at the finances of their family member they are helping and walk through what’s going on to help them come up with solutions.

Common questions we get:

  • I’m helping my parents with their portfolio, how should they be invested?

  • My family sent up a trust and I am one of the trustees, how do I invest the funds the trust receives?

  • I need to give my family member some help, financially, is it a taxable event if I give them $10,000?

  • How long should my parent’s money last?

  • How much can I help my parents before it starts impacting my long term finances negatively?

We do this by working with your team of Attorneys, Accountants, and other experts you might have hired.