By Jane Fink-Silvers

On June 30, 2011, Ohio Governor John Kasich signed legislation that repeals the Ohio Estate tax for decedents dying on or after January 1, 2013. This is a big change to Ohio law that will likely impact every Ohio resident, either directly or indirectly.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

In our practices as consultants to physicians nationwide, we see significant estate planning mistakes made by doctors and their families (including their parents) everyday. Fortunately, there are a few simple tools doctors can use to help circumvent such mistakes and allow their families to avoid the unnecessary costs that come with poor planning. Let’s discuss some signs of poor planning and discuss solutions that can help doctors manage these avoidable mistakes.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Karen Zupko

Becoming an employee at a hospital can be a great fit for many doctors. But, for many others, this decision could come at an unnecessarily high financial cost. Read this article and you'll understand how much more Net Income (net of overhead and taxes) you can achieve in private practice when you invest in better management and systems. Once you understand how good things could be for you, you will be able to more fairly assess the costs and benefits of giving up private practice for hospital employment.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Changes in tax laws can catch successful people off guard. With most physicians so busy worrying about potential reimbursement reductions, they don’t have the time to address the important challenge of establishing a tax-wise estate plan for their families. In our experience, fewer than 5% of doctors have an adequate estate plan in place when we meet. This upcoming tax law change will create even more shortfalls in most doctor families’ planning.

By David B. Mandell, JD, MBA, R. Paul Wilson, CRPC®

Each month, we speak with physicians across the country, many of them specialists like orthopedists and orthopedic surgeons, who are hospital employees and are frustrated with the type of tax and retirement planning options they have, compared to their colleagues in private practice. At the same time, a common trend in the medical landscape today is the acquisition of medical practices by hospitals – so more and more specialists are becoming hospital employees everyday. If you are a presently a hospital employee or one who is considering the move, this article is a must-read.

By Christopher R. Jarvis, MBA, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Estate taxes used to reach rates as high as 60%. Then, for one brief year, they were abolished altogether. If you are reading this article, then you didn’t die in 2010 in time to save your family any and all possible estate taxes.

By Michael Lewellen, CFP®, R. Paul Wilson, CRPC®

As advisors to young physicians across the country, we are often asked the question: “What is the most important thing I should be doing financially in the first years of practice?” Our answer is simple: “You need to build a solid foundation” – yet, the application of this concept (Foundation) is different for each physician. However, as with patients, we often see very common symptoms and can make some generalizations about what is involved in creating a ”financial foundation” for many young doctors. We will do that here in this article.

By Terry Allman, CPC, QPA, QKA, CRPC®, John Kelly, Jason O'Dell, CWM

Defined Benefit Pension Plans as well as Cash Balance Plans are generating a lot of interest with medical practices, both large and small.

Medical practices find that these retirement plans are a great way to increase retirement savings and reduce taxes at the same time. As an additional benefit, the plans provide asset protection for doctors. In addition to reducing income taxes, the significant contributions are a great way to catch up if you have not saved enough in the past or if your retirement account balances are down due to market losses during the recent economic turmoil.

By John Cornish

Tax advantages of Life insurance

By John Cornish

Sales of fixed indexed annuities hit a record-breaking $8.7 billion, a 16% increase from the year-earlier period.