Episode Details

Retirement is a series of stages. In this episode of Wealth Strategies Unleashed, Robert Gilliland & Karen Heider offer a holiday gifting playbook — the financial stuff people ask about every year:

• Annual gifting basics: Robert explains the annual gift amount for 2025 and how couples can effectively double it per recipient and that you can do it for multiple people (kids, grandkids, etc.) without making it complicated.
• Helping with college: They hit the idea of front-loading a 529 as a way grandparents can make a meaningful impact early, with the reminder that you still want to be aware of plan limits and how much is actually needed depending on the school path.
• The “better gift” idea: financial literacy: Karen pushes the point that one of the best gifts isn’t money, it’s teaching habits early:
• Charitable giving options: They touch on donor-advised funds as a flexible way to give (especially in big-income / big-tax years), plus the family tradition idea: kids pick a charity and “sell the case” so giving becomes intentional and values-based.
• QCD reminder: Karen adds the qualified charitable distribution angle for people who are eligible, donating directly from an IRA to a charity to reduce taxable impact.
• Legacy: Robert’s take: define what “legacy” actually means (minimum inheritance, income stream, etc.). If there’s a “minimum amount” you want each child to receive, life insurance can be a clean way to set that floor and he emphasizes trust planning to protect inheritances from divorce/creditor risks.

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The information contained herein is intended to be used for educational purposes only and is not exhaustive. Diversification and/or any strategy that may be discussed does not guarantee against investment losses but are intended to help manage risk and return. If applicable, historical dis