Owning individual stocks offers several benefits to investors—the first knowing exactly what you own. Hopefully, you’ll know more about your stocks than just the stock symbol. Peter Lynch, former manager of the Fidelity Magellan Fund, said you need to be able to explain in one minute why you own a stock. Another benefit is that you decide when to buy and sell. Controlling the timing of gains and losses are important with your income taxes. You can’t get this control investing in mutual funds. Sure, you can invest in tax efficient funds, but as a fund shareholder you can’t control when dividends and capital gains are distributed. Some people accumulate certain stocks when they inherit shares, buy stock in the company they work for, or buy shares from the insurance company they have their policies with. more…

To get your estate planning documents prepared, you’ll need a good estate planning attorney. Having a well thought out and properly documented estate plan is like having a parachute – it better work the first time or else. There is no estate planning version 2.0. Either version 1.0 works or it doesn’t. It’s simple…get it right the first time. OK, you can have lots of versions while you are alive; it’s only the last version that matters. more…