Meet Samantha
Her Story
Samantha, prefers to go by Sam, comes from a large family with three brothers and one sister. She is the second oldest among her siblings. Never married or had kids herself, she takes great joy in being Aunt Sam to her many nieces and nephews. Sam moved every few years for her work, and is thrilled with her current job which brought her back home near her siblings, nieces and nephews, and her aging parents.
The Challenge
Sam is a corporate attorney for a large healthcare company. Sam has never worked with a financial planner before, instead managing her finances on her own.. She is worried that she does not have enough money to hire a financial planner or that her situation is not sophisticated enough. She enjoys her work and plans to continue working until she’s 65. Sam is looking for a trusted advisor to help her securely get to the “finish line” and beyond. Her top priorities are making sure she has “enough”, mitigating the effect of taxes, supporting charities that are an important part of her life, and spoiling her nieces and nephews.
The Plan
Step 1
Reallocate Sam’s portfolio so that she has seven years worth of expenses in conservative “safe” assets.
Step 2
Create a Donor Advised Fund and donate appreciated company stock to the fund. This will give her the tax deduction for the full value of the stock and effectively “pre-fund” her charitable contributions for her retirement years when she expects to be in a lower tax bracket.
Step 3
Increase tax advantaged savings by making annual backdoor Roth contributions in addition to maxing out her company retirement plan.
Step 4
Conduct an analysis of liability and long term care insurance to ensure that Sam is protected against any unforeseen incidents.
The Result
Sam is gaining peace of mind as each piece of the plan is put into place. She knows that she can retire on her own terms, when she is ready. Until then, she finds great fulfillment in her charity work and, of course, being the favorite “Aunt Sam.”
