Laurie Burkhardt

We recommend that one should strive to build a diversified portfolio of various assets whose returns don’t all tend to move in the same direction. If one asset class “zigs” while others “zag,” you can potentially offset some of the impact of the declining asset. This often conjures up the old saying “don’t put all your eggs in one basket.”

Like every parent, you want your children to become happy, self-sufficient adults. But once childhood, adolescence, and college are over, what happens next? How do you guide your kids to become financially independent grown-ups who are able to navigate the ins and outs of budgeting, paying the bills, and saving for their own futures?

This time of year brings back memories of anticipation for me and my family. It feels like only yesterday my twins were heading off to college, even though they are now independent adults.

Your parents are updating their wills and possibly their trust documents, and they ask you a huge question: “Will you be the executor of our estate?” You may be honored and flattered that they trust you enough to give you that responsibility, but you may also be petrified because you do not know what it entails, and it sounds like it could be too much responsibility.