Financial planning

Our financial planning conversations don't begin with your finances. Instead we start with you - your life, your family, your priorities, and goals. Once we have your big picture in focus, we'll tailor a plan from a range of financial options using multiple strategies designed specifically to help get you to where you want to be.

Retirement Planning

Now more than ever, planning for your retirement is critical. Gone are the days when pensions and Social Security provided all of the income you needed for retirement. The new reality is that you are responsible for managing your own retirement, and that starts with making sure you’re strategic in your planning.

I can help. At Northwestern Mutual, our approach to retirement planning is designed to help you get to – and through – retirement with a greater level of financial confidence, so you can relax knowing you have a road map to achieve your goals.

You’ll want to start by considering how much to save for retirement and where to save it. By accumulating as much as you can as soon as you can, you can put time on your side – time to plan, time to weather the ups and downs of the market and time to let your money grow. Learn more about saving for retirement on Northwestern Mutual’s website.

And then, as you zero in on retirement, you’ll need a different set of strategies to manage risk and make your money last through retirement. Get a full picture of how to plan for retirement and have the best chance to achieve it in our article "Retirement Planning: How Much Do You Need in Savings?".

Estate Planning

Most people associate the phrase "estate planning" with having a will - a legal document that names your beneficiaries and spells out who gets what when you die. And while the transfer of your assets is an important part of estate planning, a will or a trust is just one aspect of broader estate-planning strategy to ensure your wishes are known, honored and carried out as efficiently as possible when you're no longer able to articulate them.

I work with a team of estate-planning experts at Northwestern Mutual. Together, we can help you develop an estate planning strategy that may include the following:

  • A strategy to reduce or eliminate gift/estate taxes for your heirs
     
  • A plan to protect your estate from mismanagement or from claims of creditors or ex-spouses

In addition to the expertise our team can offer, you'll want to work with an estate-planning attorney to establish:

  • Health care directives or a living will that specifies the extent to which you want health care professionals to treat you if you become ill or incapacitated
     
  • Powers of attorney that grant people you trust the legal authority to act on  your behalf in case of sudden accident or illness
     
  • A will or trust to ensure your assets are transferred according to your wishes
     
  • The naming of a legal guardian for children under the age of 18

Business Planning

Whether you're thinking about launching a new business or planning to expand an existing one, our team can help you create, grow and protect your business's value. 

We'll work with you to develop a personalized financial plan with solutions designed to meet the unique needs of your business, with strategies that can help:

  • Integrate all aspects of financial planning for your business and your personal life to encourage success on both fronts.
     
  • Minimize risk by being prepared for the unexpected.
     
  • Provide coverage to your business that would reduce or offset the loss of cash flow if you become sick or hurt.
     
  • Recruit and retain employees through competitive benefits programs, including fee-based financial planning services.
     
  • Enhance your benefits programs to reward employees who are key to the success of your business.
     
  • Transition your business smoothly with a properly designed and funded business succession plan.

Executive Benefits

As a business owner, it's important to recognize the dedication and commitment of your most important contributors. 

I can help you design an executive benefits package that provides additional compensation to selected employees, which may include: 

  • A supplemental executive retirement plan which allows you to promise to pay additional income to yourself or your key employees at a later date, which is usually retirement.
     
  • An executive deferred compensation plan which allows you or your key employees to forego receipt of a portion of current income until a later date, which is usually retirement.
     
  • Bonus plans which provide you or your key employees with additional income that can be used to purchase insurance, annuity or investment products.
     
  • Fee-based financial planning which includes providing expert financial planning guidance to key employees, plus assistance in implementing their individual plans through innovative brokerage or advisory product solutions.