Markets overall had their best month of the year in July, rallying off the news of a strong Jobs Report. Stocks and bonds continued to push higher despite a poor Q2 GDP print and 75 basis point increase of the Fed Funds rate. While markets were mostly positive, the U.S. economy is starting to show signs of stress, especially in the housing market and corporate earnings.

When a loved one passes, they leave an estate consisting of all their assets – ranging from investment and bank accounts to their wedding ring and antique armchair. These assets must be gathered, inventoried, valued, and maintained during what is called Estate Administration. Once the many formalities required under state and federal law are satisfied, assets can finally be transferred to heirs as directed by the deceased’s estate planning documents – usually a Will, Revocable Trust (also called a Living Trust), or both. Where a Revocable Trust is used, it must still be paired with a Will (called a Pour-over Will) to ensure assets not previously transferred and titled to the Revocable Trust ‘pour’ into the trust at death and are distributed according to its provisions. The intersection of federal and state tax and administrative and property laws often results in the process taking significantly longer than most anticipate, with even seemingly simple estates requiring several months or even years to fully settle. To help prepare you for the intricacies of this process, we have compiled the following core concepts and commonly asked questions.

It’s a scenario for many entrepreneurs and senior executives: You’ve spent your career helping to build a successful company and have reaped the professional and financial rewards. As you near retirement or a profitable exit from the business you love, you need to prepare for the next phase of life.  You know that retaining a large position in a single entity may be too risky for your retirement years and the rational choice is to shift from building wealth to preserving it. The first step in this next phase is the uncomfortable process of divesting from your concentrated stock holdings.

There are many reasons why you should do this, which we will highlight in this piece, as well as many behavioral biases that prevent individuals from doing what is in their own best interest.  We will explore both of those factors, as well as the number of innovative options available to help address concentrated stock risk. These solutions include selling programs, hedging strategies, charitable solutions, and risk sharing.