Listen to Episodes of Talking Money^®

BEST OF TALKING MONEY: Beneficiary Designations – Don’t disinherit your grandchildren. Plus, does your financial advisor have skeletons in the closet?

Air Date: November 22nd, 2023

Do you have your beneficiaries set up correctly on your life insurance and retirement accounts? Are Registered Investment Advisors required to tell you if clients have filed a written complaint, an arbitration claim or a civil lawsuit against them? Mike reviews some questions you need to ask when searching for a financial advisor.

Beneficiary Designations – Don’t disinherit your grandchildren. Plus, does your financial advisor have skeletons in the closet?

Air Date: February 4th, 2023

Do you have your beneficiaries set up correctly on your life insurance and retirement accounts? Are Registered Investment Advisors required to tell you if clients have filed a written complaint, an arbitration claim or a civil lawsuit against them? Mike reviews some questions you need to ask when searching for a financial advisor.

Beneficiary Rules

Air Date: May 14th, 2022

Alan Cox, Director of Estate/Trust Planning and Estate Settlement at Ronald Blue Trust, joins Mike to answer several listener questions:

• How does the age of death affect the beneficiary’s claiming requirements?
• What if no beneficiary was named?
• Is there still a 10 year rule?
• Does the age of the beneficiary matter?

Tax Efficient Planning

Air Date: January 22nd, 2022

In this episode of Talking Money, Mike answers questions related to tax planning and more:

• Can you itemize deductions? What are the different thresholds for being able to itemize?
• What is “bunching deductions” and how does that work?
• What about using a donor advised fund for charitable giving?
• Why doesn’t it work to put municipal bond funds inside of an IRA?
• How could  the increase in gift tax exclusion change what I choose to give to my children?
• What are some ways to set up beneficiaries when you have been married more than once?
• How can you get money from your spouse’s account if they become incapacitated?
• What are some other beneficiary considerations people need to keep in mind?

The Many Options of Beneficiary Selection

Air Date: October 16th, 2021

Mike takes a look into the world of beneficiaries and answers some common questions:

• What takes priority: what your Will says or how beneficiaries are named in the various contracts?
• Per stirpes: what is it and how does it keep your assets in your family?

(for more information on per stirpes, read this Blog post.

• How can you make sure your in-laws get what you expect?
• What are some accounts that have beneficiaries?
• Is it possible to name a charity or other non-profit as beneficiary? Is that a good idea?

For more reading on beneficiaries, check out Ron Blue’s book Splitting Heirs.