Financial Planning
‘You get one-on-one guidance and a comprehensive financial plan that helps manage risk, improve performance, and ensure the growth and longevity of your wealth.
Retirement Planning
Do not put retirement planning on the back burner. Use a tax professional to plan ahead now, and reap the benefits later.
Estate Planning
The hassles and red tape associated with estate planning can be daunting, but you don’t need to do it alone. Our team is waiting to assist you through every step of the process.
Elder/Senior Care
With our elder care services, you get the help of a caring, honest and knowledgeable professional. Someone on your team, looking out for your loved one’s best interest.
FINANCIAL PLANNING
FINANCIAL PLANNING IN CHICO, CA
Creating Financial Freedom!
Building and preserving your personal wealth requires specialized attention. You get one-on-one guidance and a comprehensive financial plan that helps manage risk, improve performance, and ensure the growth and longevity of your wealth.
We help you…
- Save enough for a comfortable retirement by identifying your retirement needs, analyzing your assets and sources of retirement income, reviewing estimated shortfalls, and identifying the best ways to save for retirement given your financial situation and risk tolerance.
- Pay for your child’s college education by accurately estimating the amount of money you’ll need, analyzing your assets, reviewing estimated shortfalls and considering general alternatives and strategies to help address these potential shortfalls, and developing an optimal savings plan given your financial situation and risk tolerance.
- Protect your family in case of you become disabled by ensuring you have enough money in your emergency fund and analyzing your life, disability, health, home, and auto insurance coverage. We also review your will and various powers of attorney designed to take care of your affairs in the event you are incapacitated and can’t manage them yourself.
- Achieve your investment goals by identifying the steps needed to maximize your investment returns as well as the steps needed to help minimize your risk while building increased predictability of your investment returns.
- Leave a legacy for your heirs by maximizing the value of your estate by saving tax dollars, professional fees, and court costs. As well as minimizing the costs of probate, creditors, lawyers, and estate taxes, which can negatively impact the value of your estate. We also help you stay in control of your affairs by providing a road map for passing your estate on to your heirs.
RETIREMENT PLANNING
RETIREMENT PLANNING IN CHICO, CA
CALIFORNIA RETIREMENT PLANNING – PLAN AHEAD NOW, REAP THE BENEFITS LATER
Whether you’re already retired, close to it, or just getting started in your career, it’s never too early to start thinking about retirement planning. Unfortunately, for many people, life gets in the way and retirement planning is put on the back burner until suddenly, retirement is right around the corner.
Some of the benefits of starting your retirement planning now instead of later include:
- Providing long-term security for your family’s future
- Tax-free contributions – Pre-tax contributions are subject to income tax only after withdrawal, typically when you retire
- Protection from bankruptcy creditors if you need to declare bankruptcy
- Selection of retirement plans (IRAs, SIMPLE Plans, SEP plans, Keogh plans, and 401(K) plans to name a few) to meet everyone’s needs
The key to successful retirement planning is an understanding of your current financial situation and projecting future needs and developing a plan to make sure it happens. If you’ve already started saving for retirement, how do you know you’re saving enough to live the comfortable lifestyle you deserve? Are your income expectations realistic? Are you sure you have your money in the right retirement plan for you?
OUR RETIREMENT PLANNING SERVICES
Tax rules regarding retirement plans are complex however. Each benefit plan has specific requirements as outlined by the IRS and not every plan can be used by everyone. For example, contributions limits vary by the type of plan, your income, and your age. Some plans may require withdrawals at a certain age, while others have no age limit. Some withdrawals are taxed at retirement, whereas others are tax free. You’ll need to understand the tax implications of your retirement planning choices.
That’s why it’s best to use a tax professional like us. When you use our retirement planning services, you benefit from our in-depth knowledge and years of retirement planning experience.
HERE’S WHAT HEATHER’S BOOKKEEPING AND TAX SERVICES CAN DO AS YOUR RETIREMENT PLANNER:
- Evaluate your current financial situation, including assets and liabilities to achieve an overall value for your estate
- Calculate the best way to withdraw funds from your 401K, IRA, Roth IRA, and other retirement plans, for example lump sum or installments over a certain period of years
- Create a budget that meets your retirement goals
- Review your individual Social Security account to determine when to begin taking your social security benefits
- Figure out which retirement plan works best for you and your family, how much you need to contribute now to make sure you have enough money to live comfortably during your golden years
- Determine whether you (or your small business) qualifies for a tax credit for contributing to an IRA
- Determine whether you (or your small business) qualifies for a tax credit for contributing to an IRA
- Develop a comprehensive retirement plan, keeping in mind that it is likely to change over the years as your life changes.
START PLANNING YOUR FINANCIAL FUTURE NOW
There’s no time like the present to start planning your financial future. If you’re ready to start planning for your retirement years, call us first. Don’t wait until it is too late. We’ll help you make sure your retirement years are nothing but smooth sailing ahead.
We recommend Tax Saving Strategies that help you…
- Grow and preserve assets by keeping Uncle Sam out of your pockets.
- Defer income so you can keep your money now and pay less taxes later.
- Reduce taxes on your income so you keep more of what you make.
- Reduce taxes on your estate so your family keeps more of what you’ve made.
- Reduce taxes on your gifts so you can give more.
- Reduce taxes on your investments so you can grow your wealth faster.
- Reduce taxes on your retirement distributions so you can retire in style.
ESTATE PLANNING
ESTATE PLANNING CHICO CA
Estate planning on your own can be complicated and costly. And the list is endless… state taxes, bureaucracy, probate courts, unfair appraisals, health care concerns, eligibility of heirs, life insurance, IRA’s, 401K’s, annuities, burial or cremation costs, and intent regarding death-postponing treatment to name a few. Not knowing your legal and financial rights often ends up costing you more in the end.
Thoughts of estate planning often bring more questions than answers: Could an heir be too young to inherit? Should the inheritance be given at a certain age? Is the intended beneficiary in a shaky marriage with divorce as a possibility? Are there children from a previous marriage? Should inheritance be protected from potential creditors of the heir? Are there taxes that can be avoided? Are you able to avoid the probate court rules, delays, and costs?
Planning what happens to your estate when you’re gone can seem frustrating and intimidating without qualified help.
You may feel that you’re too young to care about estate planning. Or, perhaps the reminder of death makes you uncomfortable. You might be tempted to put the whole thing off, assuming that it will just take care of itself. In all cases, estate planning ends up saving your family lots of time, heartache and money.
And we can help.
Every estate planning situation is different. In order to help you, we want to know you, your unique situation, and the nature of your relationships. We offer discussion, recommendations and useful research tools to make your planning simple, efficient, and worry-free. We are available throughout the process for further discussion regarding questions, change of circumstances, and alternatives. At every step, we’ll be there with you.
We help you…
- Clearly define your estate planning goals.
- Organize and create your estate planning team (experts on law, finance, and taxes) if you need one.
- Evaluate and recommend estate planning options.
- Prepare, organize and review your estate planning documents including current wills, trusts, health care and power of attorney.
- Decrease the problems and expenses associated with probate.
- Lessen taxes at time of death.
- Arrange for management of your estate in the event you are incapacitated.
- Draft a working plan for conserving and effectively managing your estate after death.
- Transfer the assets of your estate to heirs the way you want.
- Organize fair and adequate liquidation of estate to cover taxes and other expenses.
- Amend your plan as needed.
You also get help with…
- Living Wills and Trusts.
- Lifetime Family Wealth Transfers.
- Family partnerships and other business relationships.
- Leaving money to charities.
- Preparation for estate and trust tax problems.
The hassles and red tape associated with estate planning can be daunting, but you don’t need to do it alone. Our team is waiting to assist you through every step of the process.
ELDER/SENIOR CARE
ELDER/SENIOR CARE
As your cherished family member gets older, they may need some help with their day-to-day financial tasks. Ordinarily simple tasks such as balancing a checkbook and paying household bills become increasingly difficult for the elderly.
You could take care of their day-to-day financial tasks yourself, if you have the time and live close. But if you don’t, you may want to consider hiring a professional to help.
With our elder care services, you get the help of a caring, honest and knowledgeable professional. Someone on your team, looking out for your loved one’s best interest.
Your loved ones get assistance with their daily finances and business duties and you are kept informed of every step we make. That way, you always know that your family member’s needs are being met.
Whether your loved one is no longer entirely independent or simply needs extra help to enjoy their lives, you get help in any of the following areas…
- Reviewing and paying household bills, budgeting, and record keeping.
- Assistance with check writing and checkbook balancing.
- Making sure money is received, receipted, and deposited.
- Offering second opinions regarding household issues and unexpected situations.
- Handling day-to-day financial transactions such as home repairs, routine maintenance, and emergency medical expenses.
- Planning retirement account distributions and safeguard against improper disbursements.
- Organizing and reviewing personal, financial, and legal documents to determine what needs to be addressed.
- Preparing an inventory of personal assets and investments.
- Identifying and planning their retirement income, needs, and goals.
- Determining current and long-term cash flow needs by analyzing income and expenses.
- Addressing questions about lifestyle, Social Security, pensions, Medicare, and long-term insurance.
- Monitoring investment portfolio and other assets in conjunction with their investment advisor.
- Preparing, planning and filing income, trust, gift, and estate tax.
- Providing referrals to local services and agencies.
- Arranging a proper level of care, transportation, and caregiver assessment.
Any more questions? Feel free to contact us today!
FREE CONSULTATION: 530-399-0989
Heathers Bookkeeping & Tax Services, has been serving the accounting needs of Chico, CA and HUMBOLDT COUNTY surrounding areas for years. If you need help managing any aspect of your home or business’s finances, we want to hear from you. Get your FREE initial consultation to determine how we can best serve you.