We sat down with her and discussed her goals, how she would like to spend her time during retirement and what she would like to be able to provide for her children.

We were concerned that more than 90% of her wealth was in her company's stock, either in options, stock purchase, or deferred comp. We helped her create a vision of what life would be like when she wasn't answering emails or attending meetings. We then helped her set up a plan that included a target date for retirement, improved her diversification and took advantage of preferential IRS tax treatment. Using our experience with executive plans, we unraveled her benefit package and saw that she got what she was entitled to. With our help, Jackie's tax savings over the subsequent years were estimated at over $30,000.

Eighteen months later her company was sold and she was able to retire early. Again she sat down with us. We helped her roll-over her 401k assets and manage her portfolio risk to secure her retirement income. Jackie is now enjoying her retirement, doing what she loves best - being involved with her family and helping with charities. We recommended her to a local attorney who could help her finalize her estate plan to benefit both her children and leave the charitable legacy that is so important to her.

Case Study Two: "Les & Diane"
Lester and Diane presented a different challenge. They are both retired from senior management positions. Happily married for over forty years, they now enjoy their three children and many grandchildren. But they felt that their lifestyle was restricted by insufficient income from Social Security and pensions, and they were reluctant to tap their savings for fear of running out of money. Les and Diane were seeking someone to look at their whole financial picture and help them better enjoy their retirement.

The first thing we helped them do was increase their cash flow by almost 50% through a personal pension strategy. Their advisor discussed how much income they could expect to take from their retirement accounts and still have enough for their life expectancy into their mid 90's. They discussed how to "right size" into their dream home, why it may make sense to keep a small mortgage in retirement, and how to invest their IRA's to yield sustainable income. They redirected their low cost basis stocks into a diversified Charitable Remainder Trust to secure a lifetime stream of income - and a large current tax deduction. Their advice helped them to get more income while reducing their taxes. It took the worry out of retirement and put the enjoyment back in.

Case Study Three: "Chuck & Val"
Chuck and Val are both in their late fifties, happily married, with four kids and several grandchildren. Chuck had built a substantial business that they needed to sell in order to have more time to enjoy family, reduce stress, and participate in their charities

Chuck and Val had worked their entire lives to build a successful business, but now found themselves too busy to enjoy life. We helped them evaluate strategies that included a sale to outsiders or to insiders (key group of employees). We referred them to a bank that could assist in funding the transaction and organize other financing for their firm to improve profitability.

Now that they are retired and enjoying life, we are helping them with the spending plans to make sure that their assets last for 40+ years of retirement. As they aren't old enough for Social Security or Medicare, careful consideration has to be taken to make the assets last. They also wanted to help benefit their children and grandchildren during their lifetimes. We helped them set up family owned investments that would benefit them while minimizing estate taxes.

After a few years of retirement, Chuck has developed a second career in real estate and we are helping him evaluate his investment opportunities. We also helped him set up a retirement plan for his real estate profits that he can defer on a tax-advantaged basis.

Case Study Four: "Bill & Susan"
Bill and Susan are in their late sixties. It is the second marriage for both of them; they both have children from previous marriages. Bill is a business professional who loves what he does. He is trying to determine whether to retire or to keep working. Susan is retired. They have grandchildren.

Bill is well-respected in his career and is earning a great income. He recently purchased a vacation home and loves getting away. The challenge is that he is not ready to go fully into retirement and would like to keep his options open.

We discussed with them how much income they could expect to receive in retirement from their assets. We also discussed what hobbies they have and what Bill would do if he had more time to do it. As it turns out, his hobby is his job and he doesn't want to leave work entirely, so we helped him think through a junior partner and ways that he can give himself more flexibility with his job. This was a perfect solution because it helps him maintain a great standard of living, while he mentors the next generation of professionals and ensures continuity for his clients.

Case Study Five: "Dave & Holly"
Dave & Holly are in their mid-forties; it is the first marriage for both of them. Dave is an outside sales professional who recently joined a startup company. Holly is a marketing executive. They have two children, one in high school and one in junior high. They are planning for college expenses and evaluating their savings options through their employers' retirement plan, 401K's, deferred compensation, and stock options. They are slightly underwater on their home, and concerned about paying down debt and reducing their tax load. Although they have a fair start on retirement income, they are concerned about looming college expenses.

Both Dave and Holly have action packed days keeping up with their careers and family responsibilities. They make a great income and want to make sure that they are taking care of their finances.

We helped them with a "Financial Physical" and reviewed their investment allocation, retirement funding goals, college planning, insurance needs, and estate protection. Dave was putting most of his savings into his company stock. We suggested that, he be more conservative on his other savings. Furthermore, Holly should be more conservative on her 401k options as well. We determined how much it would take for them to fund their kids' college education and discussed funding options such as 529 plans and local scholarships. We also recommended that they continue to fund their own retirement plans first before funding the kids' college funds (because you can't get grants, loans or scholarships for retirement).

We determined how much they should have in life insurance and helped them obtain low-cost term insurance. We also helped them to realize the financial impact should one of them become disabled and unable to work. We also helped them understand their need for umbrella liability insurance coverage (especially with two teenage drivers) and referred them to a local insurance specialist that was able to help them get coverage at a lower rate.

We helped them understand their estate planning options using wills and trusts and recommended that they meet with a local attorney to complete their documents.

Overall, we helped them evaluate where they where financially and what it would take to accomplish their financial goals. We now meet annually to update their plan and monitor their progress.