Military Officer - October 2007 - (Page 38)

financialforum Check-up Time Tax season might be several months away, but fall is the perfect time to review your ﬁnances to prepare for the upcoming year. Phil Dyer, CFP, gives you some pointers. A Need Help With Your Estate Plan? ■ If you need to update your estate plan, try MOAA’s Lawyer Listing Service to find an estateplanning attorney. All of the listed attorneys offer MOAA members a 25-percent discount on regular and customary charges. Visit www .moaa.org/products and click on the Lawyer Listing Service link. s we enter the final quarter of 2007, consider giving yourself a mini ﬁnancial check-up to end the year on a high note and prepare for 2008. Here are some key things to look at: Feeling charitable? The IRS is letting us contribute up to $100,000 directly from an Individual Retirement Account (IRA) to a qualiﬁed public charity by the end of 2007. You pay no tax on amounts withdrawn, and those dollars are not subject to required minimum distributions. However, you also don’t get an income tax deduction for the contribution. Discuss the pros and cons with your tax or ﬁnancial advisor and try to initiate the transfer no later than Dec. 15, as many charities and IRA custodians will likely cut off transfers in late December. Private foundations, donoradvised funds, and fraternal organizations are not eligible for this provision. Estate-planning review: Fall is an excellent time to review your estate plan. Do you have all of the following in place? ■ current will (ﬁve years old or less) ■ living will ■ health care power of attorney ■ durable power of attorney ■ guardianship and minor’s trust provisions (if your children are minors) If these aren’t in place, consider contacting your estate-planning attorney to update your documents. In addition, if you are married and the total value of all assets — investments, home equity, and the face value of your life insurance owned by you (or your spouse) — is at least $2 million, consider adding a credit shelter trust (also known as a bypass or A-B trust) arrangement to your estate plan to protect assets from the federal estate tax. Portfolio review: Despite the recent market turmoil, stocks have enjoyed a very strong run-up since 2003. Therefore, review your investment portfolio to see if you need to rebalance to stay within your target asset allocation. For instance, if your long-term allocation is 60-percent stocks and 40-percent ﬁxed income and the stocks now represent 65-percent of your portfolio, it is probably time to cut back on your stock allocation. Along with the tax review (below), you can identify whether you are a good candidate for asset sales. Tax review: “Roughing in” your taxes this October or November can save you from penalties and interest next April. Ask your investment advisor for a preliminary gains, loss, and income report and review the results with your tax advisor to see whether you need to make any year-end quarterly tax payments. The results also can be used to decide which assets to sell. Remember, spending a small amount of time on year-end ﬁnancial planning allows you to avoid the last-minute rush and really enjoy your holidays! MO — Former Army Capt. Phil Dyer, CFP®, is deputy director, Beneﬁts Information and Financial Education. To ﬁnd a ﬁnancial planner near you, contact Garrett Planning Network at (866) MOAA-GPN (662-2476) or www.moaa .org/garrett, or visit www.moaa.org/ﬁnancial center for other resources. PHOTO: SEAN SHANAHAN 38 MILITARY OFFICER OCTOBER 2007 http://www.moaa.org/products http://www.moaa.org/products http://www.moaa.org/garrett http://www.moaa.org/garrett http://www.moaa.org/financial

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Military Officer - October 2007

Military Officer - October 2007 Contents From the Editor From the President Your Views MOAA Directory Rapid Fire Washington Scene Financial Forum Ask the Doctor Chapter Activities Cover Story: A Hero's Welcome? Partners in Patriotism Tales from Beyond the Battlefield Financial Results of MOAA Pages of History Information Exchange Faces of MOAA Member Books MOAA Scholarship Donors Advertising Index MOAA Member Services MOAA Calendar Sounding Taps Encore

Military Officer - October 2007

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