Series of Workshops Offer Estate Planning and Investment Planning Advice

A series of four free workshops will be offered on select Thursdays from 7:30 – 8:30pm at the Somerset Hills YMCA, 140 Mount Airy Rd, beginning April 1st. The goal of the series is to better educate the community by providing an educational service and to raise awareness of endowment opportunities. The workshops are presented by the Somerset Hills YMCA’s Endowment Committee.

The first, ‘Estate tax laws are changing; are you prepared?’ will be led by John McManus, a Basking Ridge resident and member of the Somerset Hills YMCA Board of Directors. John, a graduate of Fordham University School of Law, has his own law firm representing individuals and families in wealth transfers and legacy planning and is the past president of the Estate Planning Council on Northern New Jersey. John is regularly invited by financial institutions in the tri-state area to speak on estate planning topics.

The second workshop, ‘Taxable Municipal Bonds, Build America Bonds, and Tax-free Municipal Bonds; what are they and should you own them?’ will take place Thursday, May 6th, and will be presented by Eric Keith, a graduate of the University of Tennessee and an investment counselor with a large investment firm in NJ, who brings nineteen years of experience in finance and real estate to his presentation. “Few people know about Build America Bonds, for instance, that they were introduced with the Obama administration as part of the stimulus package and that are partly subsidized by the federal government”, said Eric Keith.

The third workshop, ‘What happens if you become incapacitated – do the courts make decisions for your well-being?’ and the fourth, ‘401Ks and Rollovers – should I roll it, leave it or take it?; And what are Traditional and Roth IRAs – should I convert it?’ will be held May 27th and June 17th led by McManus and Keith respectively. “I love giving my time to the Somerset Hills YMCA,” said John McManus, “and if I can simplify complex estate matters to members of the community, I am even happier.”

For more information, please contact Alison Buxton, VP of Development, at abuxton@somersethillsymca.org or 908.766.7898 ext. 1508 or visit www.somersethillsymca.org