Aspects of your financial life to review as the year closes.
The end of the year can remind us of last-minute things we need to address and the goals we want to pursue. Here are some aspects of your financial life to consider as this year leads into the next.
Investments
Set a goal to review your investments with your financial professional. You’ll want to come away from the meeting with an understanding of your portfolio positions. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation. Remember, asset allocation and diversification are approaches to help manage investment risk. They do not guarantee against investment loss.
Retirement Strategy
Consider reviewing your current retirement account contributions, including opportunities to maximize deposits to these accounts. This may also be an appropriate time to evaluate catch-up contribution eligibility and determine whether to take advantage of these options.
Taxes
It’s a good idea to consider checking in with your tax or legal professional before the year ends, especially if you have questions about an expense or deduction from this year. Also, it may be prudent to review any sales of property as well as both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Look back at last year’s loss carried forward. If you’ve sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. As always, bringing all this information to your financial professional is wise.
Charitable Gifting
Plan charitable contributions or contributions to education accounts and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion allows you to give away up to $19,000 in 2025. Such gifts do not count against the lifetime estate tax exemption amount as long as they stay beneath the annual federal gift tax exclusion threshold. Besides outright gifts, you can explore creating and funding trusts on behalf of your family. The end of the year is also an excellent time to review any trusts. Using a trust involves a complex set of tax rules and regulations. Before moving forward with a trust, consider working with a professional familiar with the rules and regulations.¹
Life Insurance
The end of the year is an excellent time to double-check that your policies and beneficiaries are up to date. Don’t forget to review premium costs and beneficiaries and consider whether your insurance needs have changed. Several factors could impact the cost and availability of life insurance, such as age, health, the type of insurance purchased, and the amount purchased. Life insurance policies have expenses, including mortality and other charges. If a policy is surrendered prematurely, you may pay surrender charges, which could have income tax implications. Before implementing a life insurance strategy, you should consider determining whether you are insurable. Finally, remember that any guarantees associated with a policy are dependent on the ability of the issuing insurance company to continue making claim payments.
Life Events
Evaluate any significant life changes in the last year: marital status, moving, changing jobs, buying a home, starting a business, inheritance, gifts, or additions to the family. All these circumstances can financially impact your life and how you invest and plan for retirement and wind down your career or business. While it’s likely that you have discussed these matters with your financial professional already this year, bring them up in your review. If you haven’t had this conversation, don’t have an advisor, or are thinking of changing advisors, you don’t have to go it alone. Instead, talk to me. I want to get to know you and learn about your financial goals. My goal is to become your investment professional for life—not merely someone who watches over your investments from time to time, but a friend who watches out for your financial well-being all the time. As my business continues to grow, it grows from personal relationships with grateful clients. I particularly like helping clients who wonder if their accounts have “fallen through the cracks.” I will actively care about your investments. Rest assured, I’ll treat you with the utmost care and courtesy because your respect and support mean so much to me.
Keep in mind that this article is for informational purposes and is not a replacement for real-life advice. Contact a tax or legal professional before modifying your tax strategy. The ideas presented are not intended to provide specific advice. Also, tax rules are constantly changing, and there can be no guarantee that the rules will stay the same for any period of time.
Michael Frie, CFP®
PBS Wealth Management Consultants
In Olde Town Arvada at:
7674 Grandview Ave, Suite 200
Arvada, CO 80002
(303) 424-2100 ext. 6425
[email protected]
Michael Frie, CFP® is a registered representative that offers securities and investment advisory services through Osaic Wealth, Inc., member FINRA (www.finra.org) / SIPC (www.sipc.org). Osaic Wealth is separately owned and other entities and/or marketing names, products or services referenced here are independent of Osaic Wealth. Osaic Wealth does not offer tax or legal advice. Certified Financial Planner Board of Standards Inc. owns the certification mark CFP®, CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNER™, and federally registered CFP (with flame design) in the U.S., which it awards to individuals who successfully complete CFP Board’s initial and ongoing certification requirements.
Citations
- IRS.gov, 2025
Keys & Counsel
Unlocking the legal side of homeownership.
As you gather around the dinner table this holiday season, filled with family and friends, consider this: do your loved ones know your wishes for what should happen to your home, your heirlooms, or even that beloved vintage Broncos helmet from 1977, the year of their first Super Bowl appearance?
The holidays may seem like an unusual time to think about “what happens to my helmet and my house when I die?” But just as everyone has a special place at the table, your home deserves an intentional place in your estate plan.
For most of us, real estate is our most valuable asset. Transferring it smoothly into the right hands takes thoughtful planning — and there is no one-size-fits-all solution. Your plan may include a trust, a will, or some other structure, each with potential benefits and drawbacks, depending on your situation. There is, however, one pathway that in most circumstances is an ill-advised choice — transferring your home by quitclaim deed.
Unlike estate planning, which transfers an expectant interest in your house, a quitclaim deed transfers a current interest. A current interest transfer may include some unintended consequences, such as increased capital gains tax to the intended beneficiary, headaches if you want to later sell or rent your house, and decreased flexibility to change your mind regarding who inherits your home — and possibly a court proceeding.
So as you finish setting the table, finalize the seating chart, and cross the t’s and dot the i’s on the place cards, take a moment to ask yourself whether your estate is as nicely arranged as your table. If your wishes are not as clear as they should be, perhaps this season of gratitude is the perfect time to reach out to your estate planning attorney. After all, peace of mind for you and your family is something worth celebrating.
This article is provided for information purposes only and is not legal advice. Use of this information does not create an attorney-client relationship. Information in this article may not reflect the most current legal developments.
Victoria S. Long
7400 Wadsworth Blvd., Suite 201
Arvada, Colorado 80003
303-420-1234
www.ArvadaLaw.com
This Tax Notice May Already Be in Your Mail
The IRS is currently has limited functionality due to the government shutdown. You may still receive some notices, but these are from the automated IRS system. You can respond via mail but the 800 is not being answered at this time. We have seen a large number of notices that the IRS has not received taxpayer’s payments. It appears there is some type of system wide issue with the application of payments. We are not sure if this is due to the shut down or was an issue prior to the shutdown.
If you have received a Colorado notice indicating that they have not received your payment you will need to provide proof of payment. This can be the online confirmation of your payment or the cashed check (front and back) from the bank. This seems to be some type of issue on Colorado’s part in getting payments applied. You can resolve this by following the instructions on the notice or contacting your tax preparer to assist you with the issue.
Marcy Glisson, CPA