Wealth Advisor for High-Income Professionals | VP @LoganFinancial | USA Lacrosse World Champion | Book an Intro Meeting: https://teapaw.org/t.co/BRdbBamQ4B
San Diego, CA
Joined July 2024
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I get questions on living trusts pretty often...
So I wanted to lay out the basics.
A living trust (also called a revocable trust) is a legal document you set up while you're alive. It holds the assets you put into it for your benefit during your lifetime, and when you pass, a successor trustee distributes them to your beneficiaries or keeps managing them based on your instructions.
"Living" just means it's created while you're alive, vs. a testamentary trust which is created in a will and takes effect after death. "Revocable" means you can change it or cancel it any time as long as you're mentally competent.
Typically you're the initial trustee and the beneficiary, so you keep full control of the assets. If you become incapacitated or pass away, the successor trustee steps in.
One reason people set one up is it can help you avoid probate, which is the court-supervised process of administering someone's estate after they die. Depending on your state, probate can be slow and expensive. That only works for assets actually titled in the trust, so most people still pair it with a pour-over will.
It can also help you stay in control of your assets, plan for incapacity + keep things more private, which makes life easier for your loved ones.
For a lot of families, a living trust is a key piece of a sound estate plan.
Disclosure: Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional.
Daniel Logan, MS, AAMS retweeted
My wife and I just got back from a wedding on the Amalfi Coast.
We flew Delta into Naples, and the flights were paid for with miles...
It got me thinking about my clients. A lot of them have traveled for work for 30 years and built up a serious balance of airline miles. What many don't realize is that those miles often don't transfer to your kids when you're gone. A few programs allow it with approval, but most don't make it easy.
So if you've been saving them for someday, this might be the year to book the once-in-a-lifetime trip!
My wife and I just got back from a wedding on the Amalfi Coast.
We flew Delta into Naples, and the flights were paid for with miles...
It got me thinking about my clients. A lot of them have traveled for work for 30 years and built up a serious balance of airline miles. What many don't realize is that those miles often don't transfer to your kids when you're gone. A few programs allow it with approval, but most don't make it easy.
So if you've been saving them for someday, this might be the year to book the once-in-a-lifetime trip!
Daniel Logan, MS, AAMS retweeted
This is the time of year where many clients are feeling very charitably inclined...
And at our firm, we're always glad to help them carry out those gifts. If you give to charity every year, writing a check might be the least efficient way to do it.
Say you own shares you bought years ago for $10,000 that are now worth $50,000.
If you sell them and donate the cash, you owe capital gains tax on $40,000 first.
If you give the shares directly to the charity, you generally skip that gain. If you've held them more than a year and you itemize (very key here), you can generally deduct the full $50,000 market value. For appreciated stock given to a public charity, that deduction is capped at 30% of your AGI, and anything over that can carry forward.
The other piece is bunching.
Ever since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) roughly doubled the standard deduction, most folks aren't itemizing anymore. The 2026 standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples. If your giving plus your other itemized deductions don't clear that, your donations don't do much for you on the tax side.
That's where bunching can come in. Instead of spreading your deductions out evenly, you bunch them all into one year so you clear the standard deduction and itemize in that specific year.
A donor-advised fund may help. You put several years of giving into the fund in one year, itemize that year, take the standard deduction in the off years, and still send grants to your charities on your normal schedule.
Short version: consider giving shares of stock, not the cash, and think about your giving in multi-year blocks.
Daniel Logan, MS, AAMS retweeted
If you plan on being at your company for a while, selecting the automatic increase option in your 401(k) can be a great way to put more money away over time without having to remember to do it yourself.
Many companies offer it, where your contribution goes up by about 1% a year.
Keep in mind each increase means a slightly smaller paycheck, so it's worth making sure it still works with your budget. Plans also set it up differently, so I'd check when the increases kick in and whether there's a cap.
Your contributions still count toward the IRS limit on employee contributions, which is $24,500 for 2026 (not counting catch-up contributions).
This is the time of year where many clients are feeling very charitably inclined...
And at our firm, we're always glad to help them carry out those gifts. If you give to charity every year, writing a check might be the least efficient way to do it.
Say you own shares you bought years ago for $10,000 that are now worth $50,000.
If you sell them and donate the cash, you owe capital gains tax on $40,000 first.
If you give the shares directly to the charity, you generally skip that gain. If you've held them more than a year and you itemize (very key here), you can generally deduct the full $50,000 market value. For appreciated stock given to a public charity, that deduction is capped at 30% of your AGI, and anything over that can carry forward.
The other piece is bunching.
Ever since the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) roughly doubled the standard deduction, most folks aren't itemizing anymore. The 2026 standard deduction is $32,200 for married couples. If your giving plus your other itemized deductions don't clear that, your donations don't do much for you on the tax side.
That's where bunching can come in. Instead of spreading your deductions out evenly, you bunch them all into one year so you clear the standard deduction and itemize in that specific year.
A donor-advised fund may help. You put several years of giving into the fund in one year, itemize that year, take the standard deduction in the off years, and still send grants to your charities on your normal schedule.
Short version: consider giving shares of stock, not the cash, and think about your giving in multi-year blocks.
Disclosure: Raymond James and its advisors do not offer tax or legal advice. You should discuss any tax or legal matters with the appropriate professional. This is a hypothetical story and not indicative of any specific situations or client. It is presented only as an example and not intended as investment advice. Investing involved risk and there is no assurance that any investment strategy will be successful.
If you plan on being at your company for a while, selecting the automatic increase option in your 401(k) can be a great way to put more money away over time without having to remember to do it yourself.
Many companies offer it, where your contribution goes up by about 1% a year.
Keep in mind each increase means a slightly smaller paycheck, so it's worth making sure it still works with your budget. Plans also set it up differently, so I'd check when the increases kick in and whether there's a cap.
Your contributions still count toward the IRS limit on employee contributions, which is $24,500 for 2026 (not counting catch-up contributions).
Peter Mallouk has a diversification analogy I really like.
Think about the restaurants in your neighborhood. If you had to bet on which specific ones will still be around 30 years from now, that's a pretty difficult bet.
But you can probably bet there WILL be restaurants around 30 years from now, and that they'll be charging more than they do today.
That's the idea behind owning a diversified set of securities instead of trying to pick the one or two that are going to make it.
I get asked a lot how much someone should keep in the bank vs. invested...
Short version: it really depends on your income needs, goals, and time horizon. But the way I usually walk people through it is 4 buckets.
Bucket 1 is your checking account. I'd say enough to comfortably cover 1-2 months of expenses (housing, groceries, travel). Keep it in cash and it gets refilled with each paycheck.
Bucket 2 is the emergency fund, 3-6 months of expenses set aside for unexpected costs or life events. A high-yield savings account or money market fund can be a good fit here. I'd always refill this one before putting more into long-term investments.
Bucket 3 is your retirement accounts, so 401(k)s, 403(b)s, IRAs and Roth IRAs. These are meant for the long haul and it's generally best to leave them alone until retirement + let the market grow your wealth over time.
Bucket 4 is a taxable brokerage account. It's flexible and there are no early withdrawal penalties, so it can be a bridge if you retire before you can access your retirement funds penalty-free.
Keep in mind this is just a guide. But I think it's powerful when you match it to your time horizon.
Amount of my day spent on each task:
-Meeting with current clients = 3 hours
-Meeting with prospective clients = 2 hours
-Financial planning work = 2 hours
-Correcting "HAS" to "HSA" when discussing Health Savings Accounts = 100 hours
For many high earners, neglecting a taxable brokerage account can be a big mistake.
The flexibility is incredible.
I’m a fan of having a monthly automatic investment set up, and revisiting it periodically.
Taxable brokerage account = the future flexibility account
It gives you the ability to use it whenever you want and has favorable tax rates if you hold longer than 1 year
You also can borrow from this account quickly, easily, and for very favorable rates
Build this account
Not every dollar should go to retirement
But for most high earners, you should be be able to max retirement accounts and invest a ton here per year
Spent a wonderful weekend celebrating my sisters wedding in stunning Idaho Springs, CO.
Congratulations to the Noolases 🍾🥂
Back to social to catch up on SpaceX IPO, Trillionaire outrage, Iran Peace Deal, etc.
I can’t lie the weekend away from the noise was quite enjoyable 🤷♂️
But back to regularly scheduled programming
63 months 🤯
63.
As in 63 consecutive months with US inflation above the Fed's 2% target.
The Fed lost all credibility when it comes to fighting inflation.
Video: youtube.com/watch?v=bXzTqIir…
The HSA can be considered the most misunderstood account in all of finance.
Most people treat it like a glorified medical piggy bank...and they're leaving a lot on the table by doing that.
Here's what's actually going on ↓
Individuals see 'health savings account' and just think copays.
It's a stealth retirement account hiding in plain sight. Fund it, invest it, and let it sit.
One of the most underused tools out there.
That's all for now. Thanks for reading!
Follow along @dl_wealth for more.
