DuPont Wealth Solutions February 2018

DuPont Wealth Solutions February 2018

L.A.F.F. LAW ADVOCACY FAMILY FINANCE A monthly newsletter providing your family insight about the law and finance (with an occasional dose of humor) from your friends and advocates at DuPont Wealth Solutions and the Law Offices of DuPont and Blumenstiel.

18 FEB

FRIENDS TO LOVERS HOW I MET MY VALENTINE

I am one of those lucky guys who can say with certainty that I married my best friend. It seems like getting to know someone and courting them often get intermingled at the outset of a relationship. Not so with Julia and me. We were friends, then confidants, and finally lovers over our many years of knowing one another. You see, I’ve known Julia since high school. We ran in the same circle of friends and saw each other basically every day of the week. We hung out a lot but dated other people. Things stayed platonic until well after we graduated. It was when we got to college that sparks began to fly.

“APPARENTLY, MY SUBCONSCIOUS PLANWAS TO GET JULIA TO FALL FOR ME BY PROCESS OF ELIMINATION. ENOUGH BAD DATES, AND HER OLD FRIEND FROM HIGH SCHOOL WOULD LOOK LIKE QUITE THE CHARMER, RIGHT?"

We both went to Ohio State and found ourselves involved in its active Greek life. That was when we became more than friends. Not lovers, mind you, but perhaps something just as valuable — drinking buddies. More times than I care to admit, we sat at college bars or the frat house porch and simply enjoyed our time together. Somewhere along the way, I started to develop feelings for her. This was awkward, because at about the same time, my friends were asking me to set them up with her.

good laugh when remembering my romantic “ingenuity.” Eventually, I came to my senses and cut out the middlemen. I asked her out during our junior year, and the rest is history.

Julia and I have now been happily married for over 27 years. The secret to our success is the

many years of friendship we were blessed with before becoming a couple. We got to see the good, the bad, and

This was one heck of a predicament for a young man. On one hand, the dates were mostly harmless (except for an ill-fated canoe trip that is a story for another day). On the other, I wanted to be that date. Like many men, I was be pretty clueless when it came to the dating and love rituals. Because, in youth, we feel the need to complicate everything, I chose to engage in subterfuge. Rather than coming out and asking Julia on a date, I set her up on dates with friends. There were no Prince Charmings among them. Most were fraternity brothers, next to some of whom I looked very impressive. Apparently, my subconscious plan was to get Julia to fall for me by process of elimination. Enough bad dates, and her old friend from high school would look like quite the charmer, right? We both have a

the ugly in one another as we grew into adulthood. Having those underlying roots of friendship allowed our marriage to blossom into something really special. Julia, I’m so glad you came into my life when you did. Very few people can say with such confidence that they married their best friend. Looking back over our life together, it’s hard to believe we could be anything but soulmates. Over the years, we’ve been friends, confidants, lovers, parents, and now co-workers. This year, will you be my valentine?

-Greg DuPont

Wealth Solutions www.dupontwealth.com | Law Office www.DandBlaw.com | 1 Published by The Newsletter Pro . www.TheNewsletterPro.com

INVEST IN YOUR GRANDCHILD’S EDUCATION ARE 529 PLANS RIGHT FOR YOU?

There are many strategies out there for folks who want to invest in their grandchildren’s education. Different options may be more attractive than others depending on your income bracket and the needs of your family. Traditional strategies, like life insurance policies or paying for your grandchild’s schooling directly, only work if you have the capital. Furthermore, those methods can often negatively impact how much financial aid your grandchild qualifies for. Before you commit yourself to one of these paths, it’s worth exploring a third option: 529 saving plans. 529 plans are income tax-free savings plans specially designed to help you invest in a child’s higher education. In general, these are treated favorably by financial aid assessors, meaning you won’t hurt your grandchild’s chances of receiving government grants. There are two broad types of 529 plans: college savings plans and prepaid tuition plans. SAVINGS PLANS College savings plans use one or more investment portfolios to grow your grandchild’s tuition fund. Each portfolio contains a diversified mix of investments curated by the plan’s money manager. Most plans allow you to select from a menu of portfolio options that best fit your goals and risk tolerance. Many college savings plans start aggressive and then We always want to give our clients 100 percent. When you have an appointment to talk about your case, you have our full, undivided attention. We’ll have all relevant documents on-hand, and your case file will be fresh in our minds. Being on the same page does wonders to expedite the legal process. We’re not here to waste your time rehashing details. Which is why we won’t take phone calls while we are in meetings with clients. The last thing you’d want is for us to get pulled away from our meeting with you to talk to someone else about a completely different case! This can be hard to understand if you’re the one placing the phone call. Your lawyer is supposed to be there for you no matter what, right? If you’re handling an emergency, it can be especially difficult to be told to schedule an appointment. In matters of health and wealth, when you need to talk to a lawyer, you NEED to talk to a lawyer. So why don’t we take your incoming call? Simple: It’s the best way to serve you. The only thing worse than not having a lawyer is having one who’s unprepared. We are fortunate to serve a diverse clientele, each with their own unique needs. If you call us out of the blue, chances are we’re going to be caught flat-footed. You might have to rehash crucial details about your case, or worse, some critical factor may slip through the cracks. HOW OUR COMMUNICATIONS POLICY SERVES YOU

become more conservative as your beneficiary approaches college age. The downside with these sorts of plans is that there will always be risk involved; there’s no guarantee on investment returns. PREPAIDTUITION PLANS States and some private institutions have 529 plans available that let you pay for your grandchild’s tuition up front, well before they are ready to head off to college. Some plans guarantee to cover a set amount of future tuition expenses in exchange for a lump sum or payment plan. Other plans allow you to buy “units” or “credits,” which translate to a fixed percentage of an institution’s tuition. Essentially, you pay the cost of tuition today rather than what it will cost by the time your grandchild goes to college. Prepaid plans are far less risky than savings plans, but they aren’t as flexible. They often limit options to state schools or select institutions, though most plans offer some form of reimbursement option if your beneficiary decides to attend another school. College just isn’t as affordable as it used to be. Knowing your options and finding a savings strategy early in your grandchild’s life can help ensure the avenues of higher education stay open for them.

DON’T COLD CALL YOUR LAWYER

In the best case scenario, this wastes your time. At worst, it could negatively affect your case’s progress.

That’s why it is our policy to always schedule telephone appointments with our clients, rather than take incoming phone calls. It ensures that you always get us at our best and that we won’t get distracted from talking about your case. You can rest assured that your scheduled meetings, be they with Greg or Braden, will be focused and productive. As a trade-off, whether you contact us by phone or email, our responses may not always be immediate. Please understand that taking these inbound communications would not only do a disservice to our clients with scheduled appointments, but to you as well. If your concern is urgent, please talk to Mike, Julia, or Heather at the office. If they are not able to take care of your needs, they will either get the answer for you or schedule a call. As part of our on-going efforts to assure that you remain informed about your case, we are implementing new processes to systematically keep you up-to-date so you don’t need to call. Stay tuned.

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The simple fact is, no one wants to talk about long-term care. Yet, with rising costs and higher demand, long-term care should be a topic at the forefront of everyone’s retirement plan. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services estimates that 70 percent of retirees will need some sort of long-term care in their life. When this is combined with the median annual cost of assisted living — $45,000 — the financial impact on your retirement becomes substantial. This begs the question: Are you prepared for long-term care? Medicare won’t cover your long-term care needs. Medicaid can assist with them, but it would require spending down all assets to become eligible, which could bankrupt your spouse. This means that long-term care will often fall to family, which can be extremely stressful and overwhelming for anyone to undertake. In some cases, family can be nonexistent or unreliable, which can leave you with a lack of long-term care options. All of this is volatile, but becomes even more dangerous when you factor in rising costs. YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FORYOUR CARE HAVE YOU PLANNED FOR LONG-TERM CARE? DON’T BE BLINDSIDED BY YOUR RETIREMENT

RISING COSTS

The cost of assisted living or nursing facilities isn’t getting any cheaper. Depending on your state of residence, you could be paying anywhere from $3,500 to $8,000 per month just to make sure your most basic needs are met. In 2017 alone, these costs were up 3.36 percent, and they are projected to continue to rise. Overlooking long-term care in your retirement plan can put you and your family in a troublesome situation. Take the burden off your shoulders now by putting a plan in place for future prolonged medical attention. No matter where you are in your retirement plans, it is never too late to structure your wealth, ensuring you are taken care of. Contact us today and let’s put something in motion so your retirement is ready for any bumps along the way.

SUDOKU

SWEET AND ZESTY DETOX SALAD

FORTHE SALAD • INGREDIENTS

FORTHE DRESSING •

3 cups chopped kale leaves

1 large carrot, roughly chopped

•

2 cups chopped broccoli florets

•

1/4 cup rice wine vinegar

•

2 cups chopped red cabbage

•

2 tablespoons olive oil

•

1 cup matchstick carrots

•

1 tablespoon finely chopped ginger

•

1 cup chopped cilantro

•

1 tablespoon honey

•

1/2 cup toasted slivered almonds

•

1 tablespoon white miso

•

1/3 cup sliced green onions

•

1/2 teaspoon sesame oil

•

1 diced avocado

•

Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. To make the salad, add all ingredients to a large bowl; toss to combine. 2. To make the dressing, add

salt and pepper or add extra honey for a sweeter taste. 3. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve immediately.

all ingredients to a blender or food processor. Pulse until smooth. Season to taste with

Recipe inspired by GimmeSomeOven.com

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PRST STD US POSTAGE PAID BOISE, ID PERMIT 411

614.408.0004 www.DuPontWealth.com

DuPont Wealth Solutions, LLC 655 Metro Pl S #440 Dublin, OH 43017

INSIDE How I Met My Valentine PAGE 1

Protect Your Grandchild’s Future

Don’t Cold Call Your Lawyer PAGE 2

The Biggest Threat to Your Retirement

Whip Up This Winter Salad in a Flash PAGE 3

Presidents Day or Washington’s Birthday? PAGE 4

THE TANGLED HISTORY OF PRESIDENTS DAY HOWTHE HOLIDAY CAME TO BE

On the third Monday in February, the entire nation celebrates Presidents Day … sort of. While the holiday is known colloquially as Presidents

it was expanded to include all federal offices nationwide. And for the next century or so, nothing changed.

However, in 1971, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. This bill officially moved holidays that were once celebrated on specific dates, like Memorial Day and Columbus Day, to a particular Monday in a given month. This allowed for three-day weekends and, hopefully, encouraged retail sales with an extra day of shopping. But this, unintentionally, moved Washington’s birthday celebration to a day between his actual birthday and the birthday of another venerated president, Abraham Lincoln. By the late 20th century, Lincoln’s reputation and legacy were as titanic as Washington’s. Because Lincoln was born on February 12, 1809, many states found it appropriate to make the day a commemoration of two great presidents rather than just one. By the 1980s, “Presidents Day” was the more widely acknowledged name, if not the official designation. Why it hasn’t received a uniform federal name is anyone’s guess, but at least when you say “Presidents Day,” everyone knows what you’re talking about. No matter what you call it, the day is a chance to celebrate some of the people who’ve made lasting contributions to our nation’s history. If you look at any presidential ranking, Washington and Lincoln are probably No. 1 and No. 2. It’s fitting, then, that we celebrate their birthdays in tandem.

Day, its official federal name is still Washington’s Birthday. If that wasn’t confusing enough, different states officially know it as “Presidents Day,” “Lincoln/Washington/ Presidents Day,” “Washington- Lincoln Day,” “George

Washington Day,” and more. Let’s untangle how all these variant names came about and delve into the fascinating history of the holiday.

Washington was born on February 22, 1731. Given his incredible contribution to the founding of the United States, it’s understandable that a national

holiday would be established to commemorate his legacy. The holiday was first established in 1879 for employees in Washington, D.C. Six years later,

4 | Wealth Solutions 614.408.0004 | Law Office 614.408.0529

Published by The Newsletter Pro . www.TheNewsletterPro.com

2017: THE YEAR IN REVIEW Every January, it’s customary to look back at the previous year. What were the highlights? What were the “lowlights”? What were the events we’ll always remember? Most importantly, what did we learn?

Rather than write a long recap of the entire year, let’s first look at this chart:

MONTH

NOTABLE EVENTS

S&P 5001

January

Donald Trump is sworn in as president.

Up 1.79% Up 3.72%

February

North Korea fires a ballistic missile over Japan.

March

The U.K. starts negotiations over leaving the European Union (Brexit).

Down 0.04%

May

A massive ransomware cyberattack strikes computers around the world.

Up 1.16% Up 1.93% Up 0.05%

July

More tension builds as North Korea fires its first intercontinental ballistic missile.

August

Hurricane Harvey strikes, the costliest natural disaster in U.S. history.

Hurricane Irma hits, one of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded. Hurricane Maria follows soon after. Equifax announces a massive >Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6

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