Think You Won’t Owe Estate Tax?
The current estate tax exemption amount is $11.7 million per spouse before a 40% estate tax kicks in. How many of us even have that many...
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Preparing for What’s Next
What is the optimal tax-efficient order and timing to leverage your assets? How can you reduce the tax burden on your spouse and family now and after you pass? What’s the best approach to Required Minimum Distributions (RMD), and how should you factor those into your financial planning? How can you maximize charitable giving to ensure the greatest impact and tax-smart timing?
Plan for Confidence
Marsh Wealth Management is a boutique firm providing customized tax, preservation, and distribution strategies that ensure you get the most from the money you’ve earned. Effective financial planning isn’t just about When and Where. It’s also about What, How, and Why. That’s why we develop your personalized financial plan to cover four key areas:
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Investments
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Tax Strategies
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Healthcare
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Legacy & Estate
In addition to creating a strategy we’re confident about, Marsh has been meticulous about implementation and follow-through with details, often pointing out nuances that could work to our advantage, whether related to investment vehicles, tax implications, or other retirement issues. They also just seem to enjoy what they do, which helps make what could be an arduous process much more fulfilling. Our advice is to compare what they have to offer and see if it might work for you. It certainly has for us!
– Gordon and Reid S.
The testimonial above was provided by a non-compensated current client who has no conflicts of interest.
A proactive tax strategy protects you and your family members.
Keep more of what’s yours.
One size does not fit all. Your lifestyle requires a unique wealth management approach. That’s why Marsh provides personal, customized tax strategies and legacy plans. Led by CPAs and a Certified Financial Planner, our team can help you and your family keep more of the money you’ve earned.
Enjoy your retirement, protect your lifestyle, and minimize your tax burden.
The CFP Advantage
Yvonne Marsh is also a CFP® professional (Certified Financial Planner). While just about anyone can use the title “financial planner,” only a select few are certified by the CFP Board. CFP® professionals have met rigorous qualifications for financial planning and years of experience delivering financial planning services to clients. CFP® professionals also commit to high ethical standards and are held accountable by the Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards, Inc.
The CPA Advantage
In the accumulation stage of your wealth plan, taxes are usually simpler. Max out your pre-tax and ROTH contributions, and itemize to ensure you’re taking advantage of mortgage interest and charitable contributions. But as you near the preservation and distribution stages, tax issues become more complex, and a slight misstep can be very costly. As CPAs and fiduciaries, Mike Marsh and Yvonne Marsh counsel clients not just on the what and how of tax strategies but on the when.
The Fiduciary Advantage
Fiduciaries are required to put their clients’ interests above all others. While this may seem obvious, consider that many financial advisors are not fiduciaries. It is commonplace for advisors to profit (through “revenue sharing”) by investing their clients’ money with specific funds, whether they are the best funds for the client or not. As fiduciaries, we are held to a higher standard of transparency and care, accounting for each client’s goals, risk tolerance, and circumstances.
Why Marsh?
Several years ago, my husband and I became clients of Marsh Wealth Management. We were not pleased with the firm we had been using but didn't realize how underserved we had been. Our relationship with Yvonne and her firm has become one of trust and financial benefits. The advice we have received has always been timely and wise. It has been a pleasure to refer friends and family to Marsh, as we are confident their experience with the company will be as positive as ours.
– Suzanne W.
The testimonial above was provided by a non-compensated current client who has no conflicts of interest.
The Money Cycle
Why a Strategic Distribution Plan Matters
Tax Strategies
Your Personalized Tax Plan from Marsh Wealth Management will help you approach and organize your assets proactively so you can keep more of what you’ve earned. Expiring tax cuts, a stressed Social Security system, and a ballooning national debt are likely to push tax rates higher, eating into your savings and using up your money faster than you expected. The CPAs at Marsh can advise you on the most tax-efficient order of withdrawals to minimize your tax burden. Areas of opportunity include:
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Systematic Roth conversions completed annually through December 2025, when the current tax code expires.
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Using the Qualified Charitable Distribution rules to their maximum effect.
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Reviewing your non-retirement investment holdings for tax-efficiency, including such things as the balance of tax-preferenced qualified dividends versus ordinary dividends, tax-preferenced long-term capital gain versus short-term capital gains, and the minimization of mutual funds’ capital gain distributions.
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Leveraging charitable gifting of highly appreciated non-qualified assets to (1) avoid capital gain while rebalancing your portfolio and (2) create a tax deduction to offset the income created from Roth conversions.
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Using Charitable Remainder Trusts or Charitable Bequests to minimize the 40% estate tax, which will become problematic when the estate tax exemption reverts back to $5.5 million in 2026.
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Evaluating the tax advantage of IRA disclaiming rules, allowing the surviving spouse to pass some pre-tax IRA dollars to a named contingent beneficiary at the first spouse’s passing.
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Ensuring that the marriage portability provisions for the Federal Estate Tax exemption are not inadvertently overlooked at the first spouse’s passing.
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Providing guidance to your heirs regarding how to best structure their taxable IRA inheritance within the 10-year confines created by the SECURE Act in 2019.
Investments
Your plan will include an Investment Bucket Strategy that categorizes your assets for Now, Soon, and Later while honoring your risk preferences. We will assess the tax efficiency of your current strategy and outline the most tax-efficient order of asset withdrawal during retirement. We can also assist with Roth conversion and RMD strategies.
Healthcare
A financial plan would be incomplete without factoring in healthcare needs. We consult on health savings accounts and Medicare cost minimization while helping you plan for long-term care funding.
Legacy & Estate
We listen to your legacy goals, review beneficiary designations, and make recommendations from a tax and probate perspective. We will work with you to disarm potential landmines that your heirs could face in the future. We can even connect you to an estate attorney if legal documents need to be updated.
How can we help you?
Marsh Wealth Management has been proactive in advising me of strategies to address proposed income and estate tax law changes. Marsh has also provided valuable advice regarding fixed index annuities and long term care insurance.
Richard R.
The testimonial above was provided by a non-compensated current client who has no conflicts of interest.
to help you enjoy your retirement with confidence
Accumulation
In your earning years, financial planning focuses on accumulation. Marsh 401k+ and back-door Roth allocation strategies ensure you are maximizing pre-tax savings tools. Other investment strategies can help you save for retirement, college, or other big-ticket items.
Preservation
The most overlooked phase of the money cycle, preservation focuses on managing the wealth you’ve accumulated with a strategy that accounts for your needs Now, Soon, and Later. This ensures you can live comfortably, without fear that you will outlive your money.
Distribution
Knowing when, which, and how much of your assets to leverage throughout your retirement can significantly impact your tax burden and your legacy. The CPA/fiduciary team at Marsh Wealth Management will map tax-smart strategies to ensure you stay in control of your money.
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