Mark’s pension, Ann’s new salary, and stock options quickly pushed their household into a higher tax bracket. They weren’t sure what this meant for withholdings or Emily’s future eligibility for benefits like SSI.

Our Approach: We ran projections to estimate their new tax liability, created a plan for stock option taxation, and coordinated their income with a future special needs trust to protect Emily’s eligibility. We worked with Mark and Ann to prepare for their meeting with an estate planning attorney. When they met with their attorney, they had a clear vision of what they wanted to accomplish.

The jump in income gave them breathing room, but also the temptation to spend more.

Mark and Ann wanted to buy a larger home and take family vacations, but they worried about losing track of their long-term goals.

Our Approach: We built a spending plan that balanced lifestyle upgrades with savings and investing. Automating contributions to retirement and Emily’s special needs trust ensured their future stayed on track before new spending took over.

With higher income and expenses, their existing safety net wasn’t enough. They also needed to revisit life and disability insurance in light of Emily’s long-term care needs.

Our Approach: We helped them increase their emergency fund, review coverage options after losing SGLI, and purchase supplemental insurance through Ann’s employer to ensure protection if something happened to either parent.

Their higher income opened new doors: maxing out Ann’s 401(k), using a backdoor Roth strategy, and aligning investments with their retirement timeline.

Our Approach: We restructured their portfolio to balance growth with stability, taking into account Mark’s pension and Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). We also ensured investments could support both retirement and Emily’s future care.

More income meant more at stake if they didn’t protect it properly. Beyond wills and trusts, they had to make decisions about guardianship, powers of attorney, and how to structure Emily’s inheritance.

Our Approach:

• Help Mark and Ann work with an attorney to establish a special needs trust to receive SBP benefits, inheritance, and life insurance proceeds.

• Guided them on when to apply for SSI and Medicaid (age 18) and how their higher income would interact with those programs.

• Helped them weigh guardianship vs. supported decision-making and worked with them to secure powers of attorney for medical and financial matters through their estate planning attorney.

• Helped them clarify their goals and priorities for their estate plan so it reflected their new financial situation and circumstances.