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Summertime Financial Housekeeping Thumbnail

Summertime Financial Housekeeping

Andrew Gary Charles Verruggio Discovery Financial Planning Investment Management Kevin Ostergaard Robert Len

With the vacations, ball games, and beaches in our lives during the summer, the last thing on most people’s minds are their finances. However, the slower pace of the season offers a great opportunity to take care of a few of your financial to-do’s that take just a few minutes but can greatly help protect, simplify, and advance your financial life. Below, we have included three easy actions that can help you to do so:

  • Health Insurance Coverage While Traveling Abroad: If traveling overseas, it is important to know that Medicare and most private insurers will not cover routine or emergency medical expenses. This could leave you exposed to sizeable medical bills with no opportunity for reimbursement! Because of this risk, it is important to check with your insurer and purchase additional travel coverage, as needed.
  • Rollovers from Old Retirement Plans: After multiple jobs over a long career, it is easy to lose track of the various retirement plans from your previous employers. This smattering of accounts can be left in cash (missing out on growth opportunities) or incurring high fees, which can be detrimental to your long-term financial plan. Our team can guide you to roll these accounts over to an IRA with as little as a quick phone call.
  • Designating Beneficiaries: One of the easiest changes that can carry the most serious consequences is a missing or outdated beneficiary designation on an investment account. If something were to happen to you, are you confident that your investments will properly pass to your heirs? There was a recent court case where an individual listed his ex-girlfriend as the beneficiary for his now $750k IRA in 1987, but the relationship ended in 1989. Unfortunately, his heirs discovered that when he passed away in 2015, the ex-girlfriend was still included on the account! The estate challenged the designation in court, however, the funds still passed to the ex-girlfriend. Beneficiary designations can be added or updated in a matter of minutes, so be sure to login to your investment accounts to confirm them and to keep your advisor appraised of any necessary changes to your wishes.

Please reach out to your WGCA advisor today for any assistance with the above items. We hope you have a safe and enjoyable summer with your loved ones!

The article can be found here: https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2024/05/09/the-ex-girlfriend-and-the-401k-windfall-a-cautionary-estate-planning-tale/

Sincerely,

Andrew Gary, CFP®

Financial Advisor

Learn more about Andrew Gary here, and our financial planning process here.

About Wolf Group Capital Advisors

At Wolf Group Capital Advisors, a comprehensive wealth management firm and Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) based in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, nothing is more important than the fiduciary responsibility we have in managing your wealth. Taking the utmost care, we focus on providing advice tailored to your specific circumstances. With more than two decades advising U.S. expatriates and non-US citizens employed by international organizations, we are qualified in investment strategies addressing global issues. Empathy and curiosity—combined with our experience in life planning and investment management—enable you to explore a wider set of possibilities that can lead to a fulfilling life you’ve worked hard to attain.

 

Disclosure:

The views expressed represent the opinions of Wolf Group Capital Advisors as of the date noted and are subject to change. These views are not intended as a forecast, a guarantee of future results, investment recommendation, or an offer to buy or sell any securities. The information provided is of a general nature and should not be construed as investment advice or to provide any investment, tax, financial or legal advice or service to any person. The information contained has been compiled from sources deemed reliable, yet accuracy is not guaranteed.

 

Additional information, including management fees and expenses, is provided on our Form ADV Part 2 available upon request or at the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure website. www.adviserinfo.sec.gov. Past performance is not a guarantee of future results.