Category: Pet Trusts

A growing number of women are not simply participating in wealth creation. They are leading it. New research on high-net-worth Millennials highlights the rising influence of women as founders, executives, and equity owners, raising important questions about how families and financial institutions understand wealth, stewardship, and financial decision-making differently today.

LPL Research is pleased to present Midyear Outlook 2026: Policy, Buildouts, & Bottlenecks. This semi-annual update offers a comprehensive analysis of the economic and market environment and highlights potential implications for investors and their portfolios. In our 2026 Outlook: The Policy Engine, we spent considerable time talking about how policy is increasingly a driver of capital markets.

Every family has a system for making financial decisions, whether formally defined or not. Effective family governance brings shared values, roles, communication, and decision-making into focus. By making expectations explicit, families can strengthen trust, prepare future generations, and navigate meaningful transitions with greater clarity, continuity, and shared purpose over time.

Predictions of a market crash can create anxiety, but forecasts without timing or magnitude offer little direction. A more constructive response is to revisit your goals, time horizon, allocation, income needs, and exposure to risk. Preparation can help you make thoughtful decisions rather than reacting to headlines or fear alone.

A successful business transition involves far more than valuation and deal terms. Owners also need time to consider personal financial independence, tax and estate strategies, succession, family readiness, and life after the business. Coordinated planning can help align the transaction with the owner’s values, relationships, and long-term vision for wealth.

Regular family meetings can create space for honest communication, financial education, and shared decision-making across generations. With a thoughtful agenda, age-appropriate participation, and consistent structure, these conversations may help families clarify values, prepare younger members, address difficult topics, and build the trust and continuity that support stewardship of family wealth.

An executive offer is the beginning of a broader conversation about leadership value, expectations, and long-term opportunity. Women leaders can evaluate more than salary, including incentives, equity, vesting, severance, and transition protections. Thoughtful preparation can help align compensation with the role’s responsibilities, risks, and potential impact over time more confidently.

Tax documents may be revised when issuers provide updated information, creating the possibility of an amended return. Before filing your 2025 taxes, review the timing of your consolidated 1099 and discuss your circumstances with a qualified tax professional. Our team can coordinate approved LPL Financial documents with your tax advisor.

For founders, entity decisions may shape future eligibility for the Section 1202 Qualified Small Business Stock exclusion. This article examines C corporation requirements, holding periods, conversion considerations, and rule changes, emphasizing why founders should coordinate early with qualified tax and legal professionals before capital raises or liquidity events.

LPL Research is pleased to present Outlook 2026: The Policy Engine. Their annual update offers a thorough analysis of the economy and markets, highlighting potential implications for you. I’m pleased to bring you a few of the key highlights today. The year 2025 offered a clear illustration of today’s prevailing market regime — one that

Olson Wealth Group is pleased to announce that Courtney McClimon, our Director of Operations, has been named one of the 2025 Notable Executive Assistants by Twin Cities Business. This recognition highlights leaders who demonstrate exceptional leadership, professionalism, and positive impact within their organizations. Sharon Olson, Managing Principal of Olson Wealth Group shares “Courtney stands out

When the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA) became law in July 2025, the headlines focused on infrastructure spending and sweeping tax reforms. Yet for business owners, the most immediate effects stem from smaller but meaningful tax adjustments: the reinstatement of 100% bonus depreciation, the return of immediate expensing for research and experimentation (R&E) costs, higher Section

The wealth management sector has talked about a multi-trillion transfer of assets and liquid wealth from Baby Boomers to younger age cohorts for years. And yet changes made in the industry haven’t always kept up with events, so a figure from a multi-family office argues. The following article has been written by Sharon Olson (pictured),

We started 2025 on a high note, although we acknowledged that “no market environment is ever permanent, and that change is always potentially around the corner.” Well change did come, and with it, volatility, perhaps in part because we assumed President Trump’s policies would simply mirror those of his prior term. The impact of policy

The day you sold your business was monumental. It was the culmination of years—likely decades—of relentless effort, personal sacrifice, strategic thinking, and leadership. The check cleared, the contracts were signed, and just like that, a significant chapter of your life came to a close. But as the adrenaline fades and the dust settles, you may

Olson Wealth Group is proud to announce that Sharon Olson, our Founder and President, has been recognized as a 2025 Notable Wealth Managers by Twin Cities Business. Twin Cities Business’ Notable Wealth Managers list recognizes outstanding professionals who are making a significant impact in the wealth management industry in the Twin Cities area. The honorees are selected based

Women have long been the architects of family wealth—not just by managing the household, but by nurturing relationships, shaping values and planning for the future. It’s no surprise that women, who are more likely to inherit wealth, are often excellent stewards of multigenerational prosperity. Women today are shaping one of the largest wealth transfers in

Women are poised to take control of an unprecedented share of wealth, setting the stage for a seismic shift in financial decision-making. By 2030, they are expected to manage $30 trillion in assets, according to a report from McKinsey & Co. This growing financial influence is already evident in households, where more than two in three women take

When Susan, a high-level executive at a successful tech company, looked at her portfolio, her heart sank. Despite the immense wealth her company’s stock had generated, she faced an alarming reality: Over 80% of her holdings were tied to a single, volatile asset. The risk of losing everything in a downturn kept her up at

Looking back, 2024 clearly echoed many of the themes from 2023. By and large, the economy continued to defy expectations and surprised once again. Stocks continued their strong performance, driven by powerful trends in artificial intelligence and technology. On the other hand, the bond market experienced another lackluster year amid policy ambiguity and uneasiness over

Nearly $400,000 a year for a landscaper to maintain a home he didn’t live in. Unknowingly paying for 16 cars and 23 cellphones. Those are just some of the frivolous expenses that actor Al Pacino details in his new memoir, Sonny Boy, expenditures that eventually whittled his fortune down from $50 million to nothing. Thankfully, Pacino appears

As we move forward from an emotional election and gain clarity, we recognize that political divisiveness may not disappear now that the election is over, we hope this allows us to make more progress in bridging our divides. For many investors, achieving an outcome and removing the cloud of uncertainty is, in and of itself,

The Minneapolis-St. Paul Business Journal held a panel discussion recently on estate planning. Panelists included Sharon Olson, president, Olson Wealth Group; Nicholas Hulwi, attorney, Hellmuth & Johnson; Erika Toftness, attorney, Larkin Hoffman; and Jennifer Lammers, attorney, Best & Flanagan. Dyanne Ross-Hanson, president, exit planning strategies, served as moderator. Dyanne Ross-Hanson: Estate planning is such a

It’s understandable that some ultrahigh-net-worth individuals believe Roth IRAs are “not for them.” After all, in my experience, many UHNW people are not fixated on saving for retirement. However, by dismissing Roth IRAs, they are inadvertently missing out on a powerful estate planning and wealth transfer tool. With federal income tax rates scheduled to increase

“Before anything else, preparation is the key to success.” When it comes to preparing for family meetings, these words, attributed to Alexander Graham Bell, ring especially true. For multigenerational families of wealth, family meetings can be the linchpins in aligning the family around a shared vision for the family’s wealth and what they want that

LPL Research recently unveiled Midyear Outlook 2024: Still Waiting for the Turn, the semi-annual report that recaps where the markets and the economy have been over the first half of 2024. As we reach the halfway point of 2024, a sense of persistence defines the economic and market landscape. Trends from late 2023 have continued,

Recently, my clients announced that their son and daughter-in-law were having twins. They were incredibly proud and highly motivated to start saving for their education. I told them about the 529 college savings plan which also allows tax-free distributions for private elementary and high school. The 529 plan provides an excellent tool where approved educational

Sharon Olson, CFP®, CEPA, President and Founder of Olson Wealth Group and Inspired Life Family Office®, has been recognized as a Trust and Estate Practitioner (TEP) by STEP, the global professional body for trust and estate advisors. STEP has over 21,000 members globally, including lawyers, accountants, trustees, and other practitioners that help families plan for

Olson Wealth Group President and Founder, Sharon Olson, CFP®, CEPA, recently participated in the Mergers and Acquisitions Table of Experts panel discussion hosted by the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal (MSPBJ). The discussion featured insights and perspectives from distinguished professionals, including representatives from Olson Wealth Group, Highland Bank, RSM, EisnerAmper, and Hellmuth & Johnson. As the President and Founder of Olson Wealth Group and

Many of us have heard the cautionary tale of “shirtsleeves-to-shirtsleeves in three generations,” in which a family builds a fortune only to have it gone by the third generation. Many successful families understandably wonder how a family can lose its wealth in such a short amount of time. And more importantly, they want to know