Financial Planning Aids and Tools We encourage our clients and friends to view the following planning tools.  These tools are helpful aids and are general in nature and do not have any "official authority".  If you have specific questions on these topics, please give our office a call.  Please note, in accordance with IRS Circular 230, these planning items are not to be considered  covered opinions or other written tax advice and should not be relied upon for a governmental audit, tax dispute, or any other purpose.

Business Owner   Articles     Benefits and retirement plans       Benefit plans for small businesses       Disability income insurance for the self-employed       Group health insurance: a valued employee benefit       Group term life insurance       Health insurance for the self-employed       Key employee life and disability insurance       Life insurance for the self-employed       Offering group disability insurance       Retirement plans for small businesses       Split dollar insurance plans       Understanding individual 401(k) plans       What employers need to know about workers' compensation insurance     Starting a business       Advantages and disadvantages of self-employment       Choosing an entity for your business       Funding a business       Hiring your first employee       Qualifying for the home office deduction       Record keeping for your own business       Starting or buying a business       Tax planning for the self-employed   Decision Tools     Benefits and retirement plans       401(k) plans       Building a retirement plan for your business       Comparison of types of educational assistance       Individual 401(k) Illustration     Business planning basics       Net worth calculator   Education Planning   Articles     Education planning basics       ABCs of financial aid       Can I afford to send my child to college?   FAQs     Financial aid       Are any financial aid programs tailored especially to parents of post-secondary students?       Are there any assets that are not counted for financial aid purposes?       Can an UGMA/UTMA account reduce my child's financial aid for college?       Can anyone get a Pell Grant?       Can we negotiate our child's financial aid award?       Do colleges offer financial aid?       How can my child find scholarships for college?       How do I apply for financial aid?       How do I know if I'm eligible for federal financial aid?       How does the federal financial aid process work?       Is there anything I can do now so that my child can obtain more financial aid later?       What are the major federal financial aid loan programs?       What happens if our child's college does not give us all the financial aid we need?       What is a Stafford Loan?   Government Benefits   Articles     Medicare and Medicaid       Coordinating long-term care insurance with government benefits       Health insurance in retirement       Medicaid and nursing home care       Medicaid and the principal residence       Medicaid planning basics       Medicare   Decision Tools     Medicare and Medicaid       Medicaid eligibility for nursing home care       Medicare figures at-a-glance   Tax Planning   Articles     General tax planning       Am I having enough withheld?       Choosing an income tax filing status       Help! I can't pay my tax bill       Income tax planning and 529 plans       Surviving an audit       Tax benefits of home ownership       Tax planning for income       Tax planning for the self-employed       Taxation of investments       Year-end tax planning     Tax credits and deductions       Education tax credits       Personal deduction planning       Qualifying for the home office deduction       Understanding personal tax credits   Decision Tools     Tax credits and deductions       Comparison of education tax credits and deductions       General business tax credits       Is my home mortgage interest fully deductible?       Tax credit sampler