Blair Perry - Inventa Wealth Advisors

Losing a spouse brings emotional and financial challenges. This guide outlines key steps: obtain death certificates, notify Social Security/employers/insurers, review accounts and beneficiaries, understand survivor benefits and taxes, updat

The Financial To-Do List After a Spouse Dies Essential financial to-do list after a spouse dies: death certificates, Social Security survivor benefits, life insurance claims, beneficiary updates, tax changes, and estate planning. Learn what to handle in the first 90 days, and what to avoid during grief to protect your finan

There's a version of your father you didn't know. The one who existed before you came along. Before the responsibility. Before the sacrifices, you may not have fully understood until you were older.

Most of us only piece that together with time.

What fathers leave behind isn't just memories. It's a way of moving through the world.

A standard.

A sense of what it looks like to take care of the people who depend on you.

That's worth honoring. 👔

Happy Father's Day weekend to every father and father figure out there.

That's Abraham Lincoln's signature.

It appears on the Emancipation Proclamation, signed January 1, 1863.

Yet, it would be two and a half more years before enslaved people in Texas learned they were free.

They were kept in the dark on purpose.

On June 19, 1865, Union soldiers arrived in Galveston and delivered the news.

That's what Juneteenth commemorates.

It has been celebrated by Black Americans for more than 150 years and became a federal holiday in 2021. It's a day worth understanding, not just observing.

Wishing everyone a meaningful Juneteenth. 🤍

Wealth transfer to children requires thoughtful planning to avoid negative outcomes. This guide covers lifetime gifting, 529 plans, step-up in basis, incentive/discretionary trusts, and family conversations.

How to Pass Wealth to Your Kids Without Destroying Their Incentive How to pass wealth to your children without harming their work ethic or financial responsibility. Explore lifetime gifting strategies, 529 plans, incentive trusts, step-up in basis, and how to structure inheritances that support long-term success.

Most people assume that a spouse's unused estate tax exemption passes to the surviving spouse automatically.

It doesn't.

Claiming it REQUIRES A FILING WITH THE IRS within 9 months of a spouse's death.

The IRS doesn't send a reminder. The deadline just passes.

A six-month extension is available, bringing the total window to 15 months. But the clock starts the day your spouse dies, not the day you think to ask about it.

This is exactly the kind of detail that gets lost in the fog of grief and estate administration.

It's also exactly the kind of thing we watch for on behalf of the families we work with. We also help families by working with their tax, legal, and accounting professionals to make certain that paperwork is completed in a timely manner.

Rebuilding retirement after a gray divorce at 55+ requires honest assessment of assets, understanding Social Security spousal and survivor benefits, maximizing catch-up contributions, and updating beneficiary and estate documents. A solid

Rebuilding Your Retirement After Divorce at 55, 60, or 65 Divorced after 55? Learn how to rebuild your retirement: assess post-divorce assets accurately, optimize Social Security spousal benefits, use catch-up contributions, update beneficiaries and estate plans, and create a sustainable income strategy for your new future.

Father's Day is at the end of this week. Before the dinner and the gifts, there's something worth talking about.

Most men will show up for everyone around them without being asked. But when it comes to their own health, the appointments get pushed off longer than they should. 💚

The CDC reports that women are 33 percent more likely than men to visit the doctor and twice as likely to seek preventive care.

If there is a man in your life worth celebrating on Sunday, ask when he last had a checkup.

That conversation might matter more than any gift.

Sequence of returns risk is the danger that poor market returns early in retirement, combined with withdrawals, can permanently damage your portfolio—even if long-term average returns are strong. Learn why the "retirement red zone" is....

The Sequence of Returns Risk: Why When You Retire Matters as Much as How Much You Save Sequence of returns risk can devastate your retirement if markets drop early when you start withdrawing. Discover why the first 5–10 years are critical, real-life examples, and practical strategies like cash reserves, flexible withdrawals, delaying Social Security, and asset....

Most people know June 14 as Flag Day. Fewer know why.

In 1777, the Second Continental Congress passed the Flag Resolution, officially establishing the Stars and Stripes as the flag of the United States.

13 stars. 13 stripes. One for each of the original colonies.

It took another 172 years before Flag Day became an official national observance.

Happy Flag Day.

True or false: Setting up a trust means your estate will avoid probate.

False. And it's one of the most common estate misunderstandings wealth strategists see. ⚖️

A trust doesn't protect anything the day you sign it. It has to be set up, meaning your assets need to be physically transferred into it:

▪️ Real estate titling may need to be addressed.

▪️ Bank and investment accounts need to be retitled in the name of the trust.

▪️ Insurance policies may need to be updated if the trust will be involved.

Overlooking these steps leaves the trust as an empty legal container.

Your estate may still go through probate. Creditors may still have access. The protections you prepared for may not apply.

The paperwork gets done, life moves on, so don’t let the trust get lost in the shuffle.

It happens more than most people realize. 📋

It's worth a conversation to make sure what you've built is actually doing what you intended. A trust involves a complex set of tax rules and regulations. Before moving forward, consider working with a professional who can guide you through the trust activation process.