Trina L. Hanner

10/23/2026

10/22/2026

Trust & Will's 2026 Estate Planning Report found that 56 percent of adults don't have core documents in place, including:

📝 A will: who gets what, and who is in charge of making it happen

🏥 A healthcare directive (or living will): what you want if you cannot speak for yourself

✍️ Two powers of attorney, one for medical decisions and one for financial decisions, each naming a specific person

📄 A letter of instruction: the practical map to where accounts live, who your professionals are, and what your kids or pets need

The friction is that estate work forces a family to sit with mortality, name specific people for specific roles, and make decisions that feel too permanent to rush.

Without something in writing, though, families are left improvising during one of the most difficult moments of their lives.

Most say they fully intend to get to it, but too many put it off until it's too late.

Don't put it off. Talk to a financial professional who can help.

10/19/2026

Social Security recipients will receive a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2027, translating to approximately $75 more per month on average.

The increase comes as inflation continues to affect everyday expenses. September's Consumer Price Index showed prices rising 3.7% over the past year.

But will the adjustment be enough? A September AARP survey found that roughly three-quarters of adults age 50 and older didn't believe a 3.5% COLA would keep pace with rising prices.

The actual increase will vary by recipient, and expenses such as health care, housing, and groceries may affect how far that additional income goes.

The Social Security Administration projects a 3.6% cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities starting in 2027.

10/19/2026

What happens to your cash flow when you stop earning a paycheck?

The 2026 EBRI Retirement Confidence Survey caught something interesting about that shift.

📊 Among workers, 33 percent say they turn to a financial professional for guidance.

📊 Among retirees, that number climbs to nearly 40 percent.

National Retirement Security Week (October 19–25 this year) is a reminder to check whether your strategy is evolving with your lifestyle priorities.

If retirement is within a few years, the practical step is to consider working with a financial professional who can help guide you.

10/17/2026

Fidelity's 2025 wealth transfer study found that roughly 67 percent of parents age 55 and older have never told their adult children what they will inherit, or whether they will inherit anything at all.

About 33 percent would prefer the kids are kept in the dark about the amount.

Their reasons should feel familiar:
✔️ Worry that a specific number will dampen a child's drive
✔️ Discomfort talking about money at all

The same study found:

Most adult children say they are ready to handle whatever they inherit and would rather shape things while their parents are still around to explain the "why" behind decisions.

Families who have inheritance strategies share some similar habits:

💬 Kids know who the financial professionals are and how to reach them
💬 Everyone knows where the estate documents are
💬 They try to manage any surprises well ahead of time

So, do you tell your children or not?

There's no single right answer here.

Sharing exact numbers isn't necessary, but most families find that a broad discussion can help with priorities and expectations.

10/15/2026

More details about those Trump accounts

Trump Accounts auto-enrollment: Under new regulations issued by the Treasury Department, every U.S. child who is eligible for a TA has now had one automatically opened on their behalf. https://kitc.es/3VFpkRy

The new system is being described as 'auto-enrollment', but unlike many other forms of auto-enrollment, there's no way to opt out of TA auto-enrollment for eligible children or their parents or guardians. And once the auto-enrolled accounts have been established, there's no way to close them until after they've been converted to an IRA in the beneficiary's age-18 year.

In this article, Kitces Nerd Ben Henry-Moreland highlights how parents still need to claim their child's Trump Account to make most contributions, and why to claim an auto-enrolled Trump Account (even if it has $0).

10/12/2026

A surprise $90 deposit is landing for some Medicare enrollees this week. For roughly 40 million others, nothing is coming.

The payments are going to people in traditional Medicare Part B, which covers doctor visits, outpatient care, and preventive screenings. Medicare Advantage enrollees, people who pay income-related premiums, and those who already receive premium assistance are not eligible. Most deposits arrive through the Social Security Administration, while some beneficiaries will get a paper check later in October labeled “Medicare Improvement Fund Payment.”

📌 The standard Part B premium is $202.90 in 2026 and is expected to reach $209.50 in 2027.

That context matters. Some analysts note the $90 helps but won’t fully offset rising premiums, and healthcare costs remain a top financial concern across age groups.

For now, the payment is a welcome bit of relief. The bigger question is how coverage costs keep pace over time.

Millions of seniors are getting $90 direct deposits from Social Security this week, prompting questions about the source of the money.

10/11/2026

There is freedom in remembering that what we have has been entrusted to us.

Our abilities. Our influence. Our relationships. Our work. Our resources. None of these begin with us, and ultimately, none belong to us.

That changes the question we bring to God. Instead of asking, “What do I want to do with what I have?” we can ask, “Lord, why have You entrusted this to me?”

Faithfulness may look different in every season. Sometimes God entrusts us with abundance and opportunity. Other times, He entrusts us with people who need our care, decisions that require courage, or circumstances we never would have chosen.

Our responsibility isn’t to control every outcome. It’s to seek the Owner, listen for His direction, and faithfully steward what He has placed in our hands today.

“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” — 1 Corinthians 4:2

P R A Y E R
Father, thank You for everything You have entrusted to me. Remind me that You are the Owner and I am the steward. Give me wisdom to recognize what You are asking of me in this season and courage to follow where You lead. Help me hold Your gifts with open hands and use them faithfully for Your purposes and the good of others. Amen.

10/10/2026

⚠️ Money is one of the most consistently cited sources of stress in America.

For caregivers, that weight often increases! 😮

Having a clearer picture of where things stand can help ease some of the uncertainty that makes financial stress feel heaviest in the first place.

There's no clean solution to money stress.

Most of it is caused by the unknown. The uncertainty.

World Mental Health Day recognizes just how deeply finances can impact our well-being (and vice versa).

If financial stress has been sitting in the background of your life this year, a conversation with a professional can go a long way, be it a mental health professional or a financial professional. Pursuing comfort, understanding, and compassion is a team sport.