We believe in giving back to our local community. As a business, we recognize we have a social responsibility to support non-profit organizations in West Michigan. Our contributions and volunteer efforts help create stronger, healthier places for West Michiganders to live and work. Our Legacy Trust Charitable Giving Program aims to actively engage local organizations…

Did you hear the story about the guy who was appointed the trustee of a woman’s trust and he totally took advantage of her and stole all her money?  Or the one about the attorney who appointed himself the trustee of a friend’s trust and wrote the trust leaving everything to himself and his sons…

As the Thanksgiving holiday passes and we enter the Christmas season, I typically like to take time to reflect.  I, for one, feel like I have much to be thankful for. This year brought a number of changes for me personally, professionally and for my family.  We successfully moved from out of state.  My wife…

Periods of market volatility such as we experienced in August and September often bring with them a chorus of advice, reminding investors to stick with their long-term strategy rather than to make rash, emotional decisions.  (In fact, I was one such chorister on this very blog.)  Now that markets have calmed somewhat in recent weeks,…

It is that time of year when many people start to think about their charitable giving. This probably explains why I have received so many recent questions about the status of the Qualified IRA Charitable Distribution (QCD) rules that have been such a source of confusion over the last several years. You may remember this…

In the estate planning and administration worlds there are a lot of moving parts and it can be overwhelming to understand them if you don’t work in those areas every day. If you’ve been told that you need to get your estate plan done, or that you need a will, or if you’re wondering whether…

President Obama designated October as National Cyber Security Awareness Month to raise awareness of threats to the data systems that have become part of our everyday lives and to encourage each of us to take steps to safeguard those systems. We’d like to share with you a few recent scams and tips to help ensure…

Too often these days’ market pundits, academics, and other media outlets define risk as volatility. They continue to pound the table stating that the more violently the price of a security wiggles around on a chart the more risky it is. The thought goes that if it can be measured and quantified then it is…

We have the privilege of working with many clients on a very personal and technical level. Our role is to help clients get from point A to point B. Very rarely is that route linear, which means we devise many different paths in order to provide options to achieve what matters most to each relationship.…

As you know, August has brought significant volatility to the stock market with both the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 5.8% last week and another 4% on Monday. The selloff came amidst continued declines in oil prices, economic turmoil in China, and uncertainty from the Federal Reserve as the minutes from…