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My younger daughter and her husband today gave their toddler girl a baby brother. The handsome little bruiser clocked in at just a hair over NINE pounds. Mama and son are doing well.

Congratulations! Grandkids change everything.

I know a full-service broker is expensive, but I have seen enough issues at tax time where they would have made a huge difference. For example, fairly intelligent client with a discount broker that had allowed him for years to put 100% of the max contribution into a Roth IRA and a 100% of the max contribution into a Traditional IRA (yes, double the allowed amount). His explanation when I finally heard about the excess contribution, "I didn't think you needed to know about Roth contributions because there's no tax benefit. What a mess to straighten out.

One of the major problems with doing it yourself is cognitive decline as you age and risk assessment (you are correct). I got into investments in the early 90's (got my Series 6 in 1991 while in college) and it was common to see people who had 100% of their portfolio in bonds and CDs. Now it is common to find seniors with 100% of their portfolio in equities and they've never owned a bond or CD. The son in law of a client has 100% of his portfolio in gold. My brother in law has a friend who's entire retirement portfolio is in guns. He has hundreds of guns in his home and he'll sell a few every month in retirement. He told my BIL that guns NEVER go down in value so I asked what if the house burns down.....

What is astounding to me is how much he looks like his mama looked when she was born. Same rosebud mouth, same nose, same hair, same just-wanna-pinch-them cheeks. Mama had more eyebrows.

"A far-reaching data breach by a government contractor has put Social Security numbers, birth dates, driver’s license numbers, health insurance claims, medical history notes, prescription information and other personally identifiable information of 612,000 Medicare beneficiaries at risk. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), the federal agency that manages Medicare, as well as the contractor in question, Maximus Federal Services, have begun sending apology letters to individuals whose data may have been impacted by the May 2023 security breach. In an 8-K filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on July 26, Maximus estimated the cost of the investigation and “remediation activities” thus far has been approximately $15 million, though the investigation is ongoing. Moreover, Maximus says files impacted by the cybersecurity hack contain Social Security numbers and protected health information “of at least 8 to 11 million people” whom the company anticipates having to notify. According to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, Information at risk includes: Name Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number Date of Birth Mailing Address Telephone Number, Fax Number and Email Address Medicare Beneficiary Identifier (MBI) or Health Insurance Claim Number (HICN) Driver’s License Number and State Identification Number Medical History/Notes (including medical record/account numbers, conditions, diagnoses, dates of service, images, treatments, etc.) Health Care Provider and Prescription Information Health Insurance Claims and Policy/Subscriber Information Health Benefits and Enrollment Information" This is another one of the MoveIt related hacks. It's taken almost two months for the hack to be publicly acknowledged and they still have 8 to 11 million people still to notify!

"Hackers breached the computer system of a technology contractor to the Oregon Health Plan and other healthcare operations and gained access to the personal information of as many as 1.7 million clients. PH Tech disclosed Tuesday that a “coordinated attack” by hackers led to the breach. The company suspected there had been a breach in June. The firm said it suspects the hack took place on May 30. Information exposed is believed to include some personal information, including names, dates of birth, social security numbers, mailing addresses and email addresses, as well as health records that could include diagnoses, procedures, claims and member and plan ID numbers." Again, here it is two months later before the hack is acknowledged. Many of these hacked firms view this as a public relations issue. "Lets delay announcing bad news!" It's becoming very clear that most CEOs and Board Members don't value IT Security because it doesn't create any profits!

A former client died about two weeks after her return was efiled. The family closed her bank account on the return before the Service deposited her refund. The Service sent her administrator two forms 1310 to send in but no address as to where to send their copy. I am assuming that would be the mailing address for Virginia taxpayers. Is this correct ? Oddly enough the administrator received only the forms with no letter or instructions as where to send.