Stites On Estates

Estate, Trust, and Tax Planning

Stites On Estates

A Critical Look at Roth IRAs: The Marshmallow Is Not Always What It Seems

In the late 60s and early 70s at Bing Nursery School on Stanford's campus, Walter Mischel conducted the famous "Marshmallow Experiment" on delayed gratification. Preschoolers were offered a choice between one marshmallow or cookie right...

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC April 25, 2015

Stites On Estates

A Non-Optional Part of Your Estate Plan: Guardians for Minor Children

Whether you're wealthy or not, and whether your estate planning issues are complicated or simple, if you have a child under age 18, you need a Will, because you should nominate a guardian for your...

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC March 29, 2015

Stites On Estates

A Sherlock Holmes Approach to Your Income Statement

I think "budgets" are the reason many more people don't have a sensible strategy for reaching their financial goals. The word "budget" creates obstacles in two ways.First, budgets imply choices, tradeoffs, and the unpleasant word...

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC January 19, 2015

Stites On Estates

Adapt an Irrevocable Trust to a New Family Situation With Decanting

It's not uncommon for an old irrevocable trust to no longer fit a family's circumstances, for the simple reason that Yogi Berra was right when he noted that "It's hard to make predictions, especially about...

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC January 10, 2015

Stites On Estates

Avoid the Wolves of Wall Street When Forecasting Investment Returns

We live in a world of nearly infinite, nearly free information. That includes financial information, commentary, journalism, and forecasts. Among this clutter, it can be very hard to decide what deserves attention, what's worthwhile, and...

by Stites & Harbison, PLLC January 31, 2015