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By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

Recently, I went to a Sunday afternoon Yankees game with my brother in law Rick and our friends Armen and Bernie. No matter how old I get, there is nothing like the experience of going to Yankee stadium to watch a ball game. I have not been to that many games over the years, so each one has been a special treat.  Since the new stadium opened in 2009, there is the Yankee Clipper metro north train that goes directly to the stadium right from New Haven which makes the round-trip experience so easy.  No driving in nasty traffic, particularly on the ride home after a long day. No battling for a parking space and paying a small fortune to park for a few hours and hope your car will still be there after the game. No battling with the traffic jam after the game when thousands of people are trying to negotiate out of the parking lots. The train was so easy. We were all able to sit and relax and have some great conversation which made the day that much more enjoyable.

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

Part of any sound financial plan is having a complete plan designed to manage your legacy if you don’t wake up for breakfast in the morning. This often involves establishing a process to simplify estate administration, mitigate taxes, and efficiently distribute assets to or for the benefit of your loved ones and heirs. Well thought out estate plans do not have to be overly complex, but often involve the coordination of your estate planning documents (wills, trusts, POAs, etc.) along with beneficiary designations to work effectively. One incorrect beneficiary designation can corrupt an entire estate plan, which can cause unnecessary stress, costs and taxes if not proactively addressed. Below are 5 of the most common mistakes we see regarding beneficiary designations:

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA, MSA

I’ve been a laggard when it comes to embracing social media as part of everyday life, but I’ve recently come around. Realizing the career destroying potential of an unflattering picture, a controversial post or being tagged in something completely out of my control, I decided that a hands-off approach was the best way forward. Now that I’m in my 30s and a little more ‘grown up,’ my outlook has changed. Even more surprising is that my friends have grown up, too. My newsfeed, which was previously full of college party pictures, is now filled with pictures of friends traveling, work related content, family photos and, of course, a barrage of baby photos from parents and grandparents alike. 

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

Cash is king, except when it’s not. You may be wondering under what scenario is cash not king, and that is when using it compromises your ability to do something else that may be more important from a long-term perspective. Let’s take the example of a young family who is actively trying to accumulate retirement. Their goal is to save $10,000 a year towards this goal and both spouses are about to make $5,000 year-end IRA contributions when they realize their car breaks down and they find out they need a new one.

By Thomas Morrone CFP®, CPA

The title may be somewhat misleading but hopefully it grabbed your attention to read this because it is still interesting, and the Coast Guard was involved. I have written before about my kayaking adventures around the Branford shoreline. I try to get out on the water as often as possible but do not actually do so as much as I would like. Recently, Cathy and I had planned a day on the water with her sister Joan and her husband Rick. Joan and Rick live on a lake and they are frequent kayakers. Also, Rick has a group of fellow kayakers that travel around the state to explore various bodies of water, so he is always up for a little “road trip” with his kayaks. Any reason for the four of us to get together works for me, especially if it includes kayaking. On our scheduled day, they brought their two kayaks to our house on the roof of their vehicle for our little excursion.

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

With no clear regulation on who can call themselves a financial planner, wealth manager, financial advisor, or any other similar title, it’s hard to ascertain what to expect when first meeting with a financial professional. I like to break advisors into two classes, those that provide asset management services and those that embrace holistic financial planning. I have a colleague that is quick to add a third category he likes to call ‘lip service’ advisors (those that say they do planning, but don’t) to the mix, but I digress. While there is no right or wrong way for advisors to serve their clients, you should understand what you’re getting into and what you’re going to get out of the relationship you hope to form with your next financial professional. Here are four of the most important things to consider as you prepare for your first meeting, in no particular order:

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

American consumers recently celebrated a significant one-year anniversary, albeit one we are all trying to forget. Ironically, that is exactly what the criminals who hacked the Equifax credit bureau in August of 2017 are hoping that you do. One year later, memories start to fade, free credit monitoring services expire and many assume that if something hasn’t happened by now that they are probably out of the woods. This common misconception is the opposite of the truth; time is to the benefit of the criminal that has been patiently waiting for the dust to settle to stage an attack right as we let our guard down.

I’ve learned a lot about Cystic Fibrosis (CF) over the past couple of months, which is kind of odd seeing as I don’t have a direct connection to someone that suffers from the disease. Through my network of friends and colleagues, I became involved with the New Haven’s Finest program, sponsored by the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation that recognizes professionals in the local area for outstanding achievements. Working with the organization, I not only learned more than I ever thought I would about CF and how it affects the day-to-day lives of those that live with it, but I also had the opportunity to meet people that suffer from CF, tour the Yale Cystic Fibrosis Research Lab and meet those that are passionately involved with the Foundation itself.

By Paul Morrone CFP®, CPA/PFS, MSA

If you Google ‘what is a trust’ you will get over a billion hits (I tried it, it was 1.070 billion), which is hard to digest in one sitting. You’ll see references to various trust types, of which there are many, each that serves a very specific purpose. There will be articles about estate taxation, charitable giving, life insurance, business succession and dynasty trusts as you scan the deluge of information available online about such a broad topic. Technicalities and advanced planning topics aside, what is a trust?

By Tom Morrone CFP®, CPA

I can’t tell you why, but I have been an Eagles fan for basically my whole life. Maybe I connect with their music and the stories that they tell, and the long run of their career has been an incredible story. Cathy and I saw them about eight years ago and they were amazing and have always said that one of these nights we will see them again. Well that happened this past July 21^st because our children gave us tickets for Christmas to see them in Boston. We had plenty of time to plan our little Boston excursion which of course started with reserving accommodations. We stayed in a Windham which was no hotel California but was in walking distance to the TD Garden. The drive to Boston was exactly what you would expect but once we were in the city it got a little busier and the traffic was very chaotic. It was living life in the fast lane for sure. Once we checked into the hotel, we were able to take it easy before we attacked Boston with vengeance.