If you work with clients who are parents—whether their kids are young or entering high school—you will inevitably find yourself having conversations about funding college education. Many families are dependent on financial aid programs to make higher education attainable. So, how can you help? By becoming a resource for your clients during the first step they will need to take to determine their financial aid eligibility: the free application for federal student aid (FAFSA).

Even today, living to age 100 is considered an impressive accomplishment. But it isn’t as rare as it used to be, thanks to the efforts of those in the medical research field. In fact, according to an article published on DailyMail.com last year, Dutch scientists believe that life expectancy will increase to an astonishing 125 years by 2070! While this may be welcome news to many, it has created new pressures for the financial planning community to help clients prepare for retirement income needs that go past the long-accepted mark of age 90.

You help your clients navigate today’s complex financial environment on a daily basis. But did you know that you’re in a unique position for teaching financial literacy to your clients’ children? 

Given recent changes to the tax code, it’s very likely your clients have questions about their existing estate planning strategies. Of course, having a thorough understanding of these changes will help you identify issues in their current plans. But perhaps more important, you’ll be able to identify unique estate and tax planning opportunities under the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA).

One of the primary goals of estate planning is to minimize income and estate taxes while efficiently transferring wealth to the next generation. An oft-used means of achieving this goal is the irrevocable trust, which removes transferred property from the grantor's estate. But just how safe are irrevocable trust assets?