If you’re like many people who establish a donor-advised fund for philanthropic giving, you probably already have a passion for certain causes. Often, individuals and families set up donor-advised funds out of a strong desire to share their blessings and make positive change in the world. Many donors have given to charities on an individual [...]
A donor-advised fund can help you maximize the power of your philanthropy. Many of us procrastinate until the last minute to consider donating to charities at year-end. If this describes you, don’t feel bad, you’re in good company. But you can do something about it. A donor advised fund can help you with both short [...]
A report published in 2012 by Pew Research Center shows that fully 50% of successful individuals worry that their children, or other heirs, do not have the proper financial skills to handle inherited wealth. If half are concerned about this, it’s likely that the other half should be. In 1877, when Cornelius Vanderbilt died, he [...]
Back in the 1960s and 1970s, as women began to venture into the workforce and become more independent, TV became rife with commercials themed around this newly empowered female persona. It didn't matter what the commercials were selling, the message was clear: women can make a difference in their lives and the lives of others. [...]
“Choose well. Your choice is brief, and yet endless.” ~Goethe What does the word “legacy” mean to you? Most people, when asked this question might say that legacy refers to what a person leaves behind, such as wealth and other assets. While this is a part of what makes up a person’s legacy, this perception [...]
Read Phil Tobin's latest article published in Wealth & Management: Americans are currently experiencing the greatest transfer of wealth in history, and many may be unprepared to successfully navigate it. The statistics paint a picture: An estimated $59 trillion will pass from an aging generation to younger generations by 2061, including $21 trillion destined for charities. At its [...]
Hazel Van Dyke Patterson One October day 34 years ago my mother was a vibrant 71-year-old who loved to bowl and visit friends. The next she was gone. Only it didn’t seem like it. In many ways she was still with me, and from time to time I would find myself talking to [...]
We’ve all heard the expression Shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations—one generation accumulates the money and the next two spend it down to zero or thereabouts. Shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves seems to put the blame for dissipating the family wealth on the backs of the children and grandchildren. But is that the only place it belongs? If the [...]
Wealthy families lose their money every day. Statistics show that 70% of the family fortunes created in America are gone in two generations and 90% within three. One of the factors contributing to this dismal record is a misunderstanding of what comprises a legacy. Legacy is more than the sum total of the material assets one [...]