📥 Grab Your Free Charitable Giving Planning Resources:

Charitable giving can be simple, but the tax and planning decisions behind it often are not.

Get four practical resources to help you make more informed giving decisions:

A QCD guide, a donor-advised fund guide, a breakdown of which assets may be best to give, and an overview of the charitable-giving vehicles available when your planning gets more complex.

→ Download All 4 Resources Here

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🎙️ Episode Description:

Earlier this year, the U.S. Tax Court threw out a $665,000 charitable deduction.

The donors had an appraisal, the required IRS form, and a signed letter documenting the donation.

And yet the court denied the entire deduction... because of ONE missing sentence.

And that same requirement can apply when you write a check to your church, give from your IRA, or buy tickets to a charity gala.

In this episode, I walk through what went wrong and what it can teach the rest of us.

Here's what you'll learn:

→ Why a canceled check alone may not be enough to back up your deduction

→ How QCDs, appreciated stock, and new 2026 rules can change the tax outcome of the same donation

→ The 4 questions I'd ask before making your next charitable gift

The charity gets your gift either way. The question is whether you get the tax benefit, too.

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📆 Book a Call With Our Team:

Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments.

See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.

👉 Learn More and Book a Call Here

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Episode Resources:

→ Grab the Episode Show Notes

→ Get Your FREE Tax-Smart Retirement Toolkit

→ Learn About the Total Retirement System™

Once required minimum distributions begin, the IRS decides how much comes out of your IRA each year.

But it doesn't decide when...

You can take it all in January, wait until December, or spread it out across the year.

At first glance, the choice seems almost meaningless.

The required amount is the same, and the distribution still lands in the same tax year.

But the timing can matter in ways that aren't always obvious.

And even if you're years away from taking RMDs, this is a decision you'll eventually need to make if you have money in pre-tax retirement accounts.

Here's what you'll learn:

→ The 3 things RMD timing can still affect (and how much each one really matters)

→ Why the order of your RMD, charitable gifts, and Roth conversions can matter more than the month you withdraw

→ When taking your RMD early, late, or throughout the year makes the most sense

By the end, you'll have a simple framework for thinking about RMD timing before it becomes another retirement decision you're forced to make on the fly.

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📆 Book a Call With Our Team:

Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments.

See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.

👉 Learn More and Book a Call Here

***

Episode Resources:

→ Grab the Episode Show Notes

→ Get Your FREE Tax-Smart Retirement Toolkit

→ Learn About the Total Retirement System™

One multi-decade study suggests nearly half of working households may be at risk of falling short in retirement.

But another respected study found that fewer than 20% were actually behind.

So which one should you believe?

The answer reveals a weakness in the way we typically measure retirement progress.

Here's what you'll learn:

→ Why 2 respected studies reach such different conclusions about who's really at risk

→ The 3 ways the "save a percentage" rule can break down for families

→ Why the years when saving feels impossible may be more normal than you've been told

→ How your 50s and 60s can become the most important saving windows of your life.

By the end, you'll have a better way to judge whether you're truly behind and a clearer picture of the opportunities that may still be ahead.

And if nothing else, you'll understand why a difficult savings season today doesn't necessarily define where you'll end up.

***

📆 Book a Call With Our Team:

Your retirement involves complex, interconnected decisions—taxes, income, healthcare, estate planning, investments.

See how they fit together in one coordinated strategy built around your numbers.

👉 Learn More and Book a Call Here

***

Episode Resources:

→ Grab the Episode Show Notes

→ Get Your FREE Tax-Smart Retirement Toolkit

→ Learn About the Total Retirement System™