Estate Planning | Financial Management in Hinsdale

Planning for estate is very similar to creating a road map for what happens to your belongings and your loved ones when you are no longer around to take care of them. Estate Planning is basically a plan to execute your wishes. These plans are to ensure that your family and property are taken care of in the way you wanted. It eliminates guess work and removes any misunderstandings between family when you are not present.

Estate planning is simple, it starts by you listing all the items that you own, such as your home, funds, savings, belongings, art, jewelry, and things of value or essential to you. It also includes items that will help you pass on your legacy or simple items that someone would love to have when you are no longer present in their life.

Once items are listed, you then decide on who receives these items when you are not around. Many people decide what they want to give to their children and their friends. You may include something that has a value or was cherished by them to gift them.

Estate Planning also helps you choose care takers for your children, family and pets. This helps you be at piece that your family is taken care of.  Estate Planning is basically making a long-term plan for when you are no longer with your family. It is like having a set of guides or instructions for your family to see your wishes are followed or to remove any misconceptions they may have in making any decisions.

It also allows you to set a person in charge that you trust when you can’t make any decisions for yourself. This person will act on your behalf according to your instructions. This avoids any confusion or disagreements among family members as to what to do not only with your things but also with your instructions – a plan is put in place.

Estate planning also reduces tax liability on your family when they inherit funds. It helps your family and loved ones get the most of what you have left behind for them.

Estate planning can also include your funeral and burial instructions. It can outline your preferences and any special requests or arrangements you may have wanted.

Estate planning is a proactive way to ensure how to control your legacy and your hard-earned investments and their distributions. Consulting with our financial advisors at Karstens Wealth in Hinsdale will help you navigate the complexities of estate planning. With our financial advisors, you will have guidance for making the decisions for unexpected circumstances.

Karstens Wealth in Hinsdale offers guidance and will share their expertise with the entire process of estate planning. Having a plan in place also helps avoid any probate delays. Probate is the legal process of processing the will. The estate planning makes this easier and reduces costs and wait time for distribution of assets. It helps when a family is waiting for inheritance and are in need for financial access.

Estate planning makes the entre process distribution of assets easier and smoother. This is usually the time that family and your loved ones are in most distress and having guidance smooths the process.

Estate planning for business also allows you to choose your successor to run the business and continuity of your legacy. It allows you to have business succession according to your plans. Another area that can cause a lot of confusion will receive complete guidance and place the successor in its place to run the business.

It is simple and easy to set this plan and Karstens Wealth can help you navigate this process with its financial advisors giving you step by step guidance. Call Karstens Wealth and reduce all the complexities of Estate Planning and eliminate the guesswork from your family.

Retirement Plans | Financial Management in Hinsdale

Retirement planning involves setting aside money for all your financial decisions now so you don’t have to worry about your lifestyle when you stop working. When planning to make these decisions think of how you can enjoy a comfortable and worry-free life when you are not working.

Having a retirement plan is the last thing on everyone’s mind but when you pitch something aside steadily and even with small contributions, you can have a good savings for retirement.

You can set up retirement saving in several ways, such as with an employer sponsored plan, social security, individual retirement account, pension plans, investments, health saving accounts, annuities…the list goes on.

You an start by asking your employer if they offer retirement plans such as 401(K), 403 (B) for non profit employers, Simple e, American funds, these are all ways you can contribute a portion from your salary.

Most employers will match the retirement plan based on your contribution and it can grow rapidly without you worrying about it.

Many of you have heard the term Social Security benefits. This is a government program that provides monthly income to retirees. The amount you receive is based on the amount of your average earning and when you start receiving the benefits.

Individual Retirement Accounts help you save and are typically like a savings account but with tax advantages. Many of you know them as IRAs and there are two types of IRA, Roth IRA and Traditional IRA.

Investments such as stocks and bonds or mutual funds grow over time. Its important to start these earlier as they typically take time to grow and if you start earlier, you can grow more.

Real Estate is always looked as an opportunity of investment but many never see it for retirement. Real Estate can offer rental income and can be utilized to cash it out and use funds for a better investment.

An important part of planning for retirement is also to have a savings account. This will help when there is a emergent need for expense. This way, safety net can be the savings account and will prevent you from pulling out from your retirement savings.

Setting up retirement plans or understanding what is needed when you retire can seem complicated. Our financial advisors, at Karstens Wealth located in Hinsdale and Oak Brook can offer exceptional services in explaining retirement planning based on your individual needs and helping you understand the steps for your retirement planning. We use cutting edge technology and clients’ needs  in exploring, offering than implementing best solutions.

Net Worth Analysis | Financial Management in Hinsdale

A net worth analysis provides an overview health of ones financial health. You basically do this by evaluation the overall wealth or value of what they own and what they owe (debt). The net worth is the value or amount that you are left with if you were to pay off everything after selling all that you owe.

Calculating the assets is taking the monetary value of any of the following that you own: cash and bank account, real estate (Home and any rental properties), Investments such as stocks, bonds, retirement accounts, and personal property such as jewelry, vehicles, collectibles.

You will take the sum of all your assets and subtract all your liabilities such as mortgages, auto loans, student loans, credit card debts:  total assets – total liabilities = Net worth

A positive value would mean that you have good financial health while a negative value means that you have financial challenges.

Managing debt means managing and reducing liabilities and increasing net worth. It’s important to regularly monitor so you can make informed decisions. It helps you focus on reducing liabilities and managing lifestyle choices.

If you are planning on purchasing a home or an investment property, analyzing your net worth may help you assess your financial capacity to handle expenses and unplanned emergencies.

Karstens Wealth is located in Hinsdale, our financial advisors can help you in reviewing your net worth to help you gain a clear understanding of your financial standing. We can guide you in making informed decisions, plan towards retirement, save towards education or major purchases, build and protect wealth.

Karstens Wealth’s financial advisors can help you evaluate your net worth, help you prepare for emergencies, invest for financial goals and retirement.