Ask a Trust Officer: Companion Animal Planning

Dear Trust Officer: Can I provide something for my pets in my will? Didn’t Leona Helmsley set up a trust for her dog? — THOUGHTFUL ANIMAL LOVER DEAR THOUGHTFUL ANIMAL LOVER : Yes,  Mrs. Helmsley did create a $12 million trust to care for her pet, Trouble.  However, the probate court subsequently reduced the size […]

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Slowing Growth or Negative Growth

After a positive start, the week’s trading turned negative Wednesday afternoon and the markets finished the week 0.77% lower. Traders weighed the facts behind the Fed’s decision to hold its Fed Funds rate steady and caution was the dominant mood. Chairman Powell’s description of the economy as being “in a good place” were weighed against […]

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Slow and Steady

The anniversary of the 2008-09 financial crisis bottom came and went on March 9. Since early 2009, the U.S. economy has been in one of the shallowest and longest recoveries in history. The 24/7 cable news financial analysts are obviously disappointed in the lack of action. We have had neither a boom nor a bust […]

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Tax or Penalty?

When you owe money to the IRS, does it matter whether it is a tax or a penalty? That question was put to a bankruptcy court recently.  John Chesteen filed for bankruptcy in June 2017.  The IRS filed a proof of claim for $5,100 in taxes owed.  The Service later amended the claim to add […]

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A 25% Increase

The anticipated consolidation of the post-Christmas rally got underway last week with understandable declines across the board. After a gain of 19.27% in the 41 trading days since Christmas, the S&P 500 eased 2.18%. As has been said many times before, short-term volatility is a feature of investing for growth. These and other days and […]

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The Case for 529 Plans

In a recently published Morningstar report, researchers drew upon data from the Federal Reserve Bank’s “Survey of Consumer Finances” and the Sallie Mae/Ipsos survey “How America Saves for College” to create two savings simulations.  In the first simulation, families continued on their current course, which relied in part upon using ordinary savings and checking accounts […]

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Chronological Milestones

The S&P 500 finished the week 0.39% higher, its fifth up-week in a row and it is the ninth up-week out of the last ten. The month of February finished 2.97% higher following January’s 7.87% gain. After a string of such gains, even the bulls are expecting a pullback to, as the traders say, consolidate […]

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