Today’s post was donated to our blog by my friend and colleague Woody Derricks, who is the president of Partnership Wealth Management, based in Baltimore, Maryland.

Woody offers monthly teleseminars on a range of financial topics and he’s licensed in many states to offer financial assistance.  Partnership Wealth Management’s complimentary July Webinar will be held on Tuesday, July 13, 2010 (12 noon – 1:00pm EST) and will focus on Women and Investing.  Please call Loury Davis at 410-732-2733 for more details and to reserve your space today!

You can also check out Woody’s website by clicking here.

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Okay, here’s Woody’s article…

Market Pullback – Not a Financial Crisis

By Woody Derricks, President, Partnership Wealth Management
410-732-2633

On Thursday, May 6, 2010, the stock market, as measured by the S&P 500, expanded its recent pullback (more…)

By Woody Derricks

(Note from Barb Elgin:  Today’s post signals the start of new resources for you and all readers of Coach Sappho’s blog:  the inclusion of guest experts who will share with you information, tips and suggestions specially designed for the GLBT community.  Today’s post focuses in on financial concerns and was written by guest author, Woody Derricks.  Woody is a comprehensive financial planner who specializes in the financial concerns of the gay and lesbian community.)

For gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgendered individuals, reaching financial goals frequently present unique challenges.  You may be aware of some of the issues that can affect you and your loved ones’ financial well being – others may come as a surprise.  One thing is clear: when it comes to managing your wealth, it is critical that you understand your options and opportunities – as well as potential obstacles.

If you are in a relationship, the first step is to include your partner. Because many domestic partners maintain separate bank accounts, they feel as though they should plan for the future as individuals.  I ask my clients: Do you own your home together?  Would you like to pass on a portion of your estate to your partner?  If your partner became disabled, would you provide financial support?  If the answer to any of these questions is yes, then you may want to evaluate your financial future as a couple.

Disparities in age present another hurdle for domestic partners. Frequently, partners may have a difference of 5, 10, 15 or more years between them.  Age affects the way we perceive risk with our investments and how we prepare for retirement.  Younger investors are more likely to accept ups and downs in the market as they have a longer time horizon.  Additionally, they have more time to accumulate funds for their retirement years.  For those who find themselves rapidly approaching retirement or who have already retired, the focus shifts from building for retirement to protecting those assets they have accumulated.  Balancing the need to grow with the need to protect can be a daunting task.

Other areas of concern include insurance and estate planning. You should ask yourself several questions: When I pass away, will my partner be entitled to my pension benefits?  How can I best protect my partner and myself while I am alive and after I have passed away? As we know, family members do not always look favorably on the relationship and may desire to have your assets for themselves.

Believe it or not, the Tax Code has produced some benefits for domestic partners. Due to the government viewing same-sex couples as individuals, many higher income partners find that they can contribute more to their Roth IRA’s, pay taxes at a lower rate, and have more deductions available to them than a married couple with a similar combined income.  Work with your financial planner and your tax advisor to identify each of the areas from which you could benefit.

As many look to grow and protect their wealth, they are turning to comprehensive financial planners.  Comprehensive financial planners separate themselves from traditional stockbrokers by providing their clients with thorough investment, retirement, tax, and estate planning strategies while developing a long-term relationship.  If you are in the market for a comprehensive financial planner, you will want to work with someone who understands your needs, respects your relationship, and, most importantly, someone you can trust.

Woody Derricks, the President of Partnership Wealth Management, LLC, has over 10 years experience helping GLBT individuals and couples reach their financial goals.  Click here to find Woody on Facebook.

This article is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide specific advice to any individual.  Consult your legal, tax, and/or financial advisor to determine what is appropriate for your situation.

Securities offered through LPL Financial, Member FINRA/SIPC.

If you undervalue what you do, the world undervalues who you are.  And when you undervalue who you are, the world undervalues what you do.

- Suze Orman, Women and Money

Amazingly wise words don’t you think?  And, they come from one smart, adorable lesbian who has truly ‘made it’ financially!  I am sitting here at the computer, writing to you on a rainy day, and treating myself to Orman on PBS as she presents her “Women and Money” Show.

Yes, the show isn’t new.  But, truthfully, each time the show comes on,  I half listen, with the TV in the background, continuing on with my busy day instead of stopping what I am doing and listening more closely.  Today, I listened (more…)

One of my ‘single but dating one woman exclusively’ community members wrote me upset today as she is discovering what gay marriage activists have been squawking about for awhile now.  Yes, it’s true, I wrote, gay couples lose out financially in multiple ways when they can’t marry.  Even if a gay or lesbian couple is married in the five states where it is now legal or, signs on for those so-called domestic partnership benefits some local governments are allowing, it’s a ‘crumb’ compared to the whole loaf of bread straight couples receive.

I followed up on my community member’s request by locating one of the original papers written summarizing this inequality – Tax Implications for Gay Couples – by Goldberg and Badgett at the UCLA William’s Institute.  Another great piece that describes how these inequities play themselves out in the lives of real flesh and blood gay and lesbian couples is described here in an interesting NPR piece entitled ‘With the Gay Tax Love Doesn’t Come Cheap’.

As the author of the NPR piece eloquently states,

“The media’s primary focus on the morality debate around same-sex marriage means that most of the public, gay or straight, knows little about the very real economic costs of inequality. It doesn’t matter that Joan and I married in Massachusetts five years ago this week, or that our home state recognizes our marriage. It makes no difference that she works for a progressive company with an active LGBT employees group. Companies pay for their employees’ health insurance with pretax money through a federal program, and same-sex marriage isn’t federally recognized.”

What I find interesting about all of this is that, as gay and lesbian individuals start to value themselves and their relationships more, hearing facts like the above ‘hits home’ in ways they never have before.  Ten years ago, I know I didn’t yet comprehend the real financial ‘benefits’ I was being denied as a tax-paying, but devoted partner in a long term, committed relationship.  In my heart, I was as married as most of my married straight peers.

Ten years ago most of us didn’t much consider what we were being denied.  Now, we understand the impacts much, much more, particularly as we get older, grow old together and face more and more of the financial vulnerabilities of living and loving as committed couples, parents, families, etc.

Get educated.  Get angry.  Take constructive action.  While ten percent of gay and lesbian Americans can now legally wed their same sexed partner, even they still find their marriages invalidated federally.  We need to overturn nasty laws like DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act) and give 100% of gay and lesbian couples in America federal marriage benefits – now!

We cannot allow our community to be erased,” said
Amy Balliett, co-founder of Join the Impact. “Tax season is yet another time where
same-sex couples are reminded that despite abiding by the requirements of American citizenship by paying our taxes, we are still are treated as second class citizens.”

I don’t know about you but what a relief to have the taxes done for another year!  I hear more than usual procrastinated this year.  I’m sure there is the usual percentage of those who put it off, but, this year, many avoided doing their taxes because it was hard looking ‘long and hard’ at the reality of the losses that happened this past year, on multiple levels.

Well, there is another big loss, that has been happening forever, at least on the federal level (and in most states), and that is the lack of tax and inheritance protections for same sex couples, protections straight married couples take for granted.  Protections some straight couples want to withhold from gay couples.

I came across a great article on Echelon Magazine that talks about the issue, how much more clearly and boldly gay activists are telling this story, that must be told, and points to the congressional study that showed NOT granting same sex couples tax and inheritance rights is much more expensive to our government and society as a whole.

Click here for the article.

And, btw, congratulations to my home state of Maryland, who is moving to pass a law giving same sex couples tax and inheritance protections, on a state level.  The only step remaining is for Governor O’Malley to sign the bill, which he has already indicated he will.  Click here for more information.  Wahoo!

Just like you, I’ve been quite concerned about the current economic realities.  This post is directed at those wonderful single lesbians who are seeking a life partner or soul mate in these tough economic times.

There has been a curious spike in profits for a couple of industries, I hear.  One is the liquor industry.  Ha!  I won’t cover the reasons for that one, as well as the potential pitfalls, in this post.  However, the other industry that is faring well in these challenging economic times is the online dating industry!

I’ve been hearing about the rapid increase in sign ups at online dating sites.  Just what is this spike in interest in online dating about, particularly in a time when many people are tightening their budgets?

(more…)

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So, I just hopped over to Oprah’s website to pick up my free copy of Jean Chatsky’s ebook ‘The Difference’.  It’s not too late – she’s giving it away until midnight tomorrow night.  Thanks to Pam and twitter for reminding me!  I saw a bit of Oprah the other day and heard about the book but had totally forgotten.

Chatzky is everywhere these days on big time TV, so, I made sure to at least skim through the book immediately to see what she has to say.  Her book is very timely, given that the topic is financial success. Chatzky’s book is premised on a large study that looked at the lifestyle habits and success of Americans.  The study discovered that Americans can be divided into four groups:

• The wealthy
• The comfortable
• Those living ‘paycheck to paycheck’
• Those falling further into debt

I’m going to hold a series of LIVE chats for Lez Rendezvous members over the next few weeks where we’ll get together as a group and talk about the book.  We’ll be dividing the book up and assigning attendees chapters to read and then we’ll come back and share with other members what their chapter was about.

This should be a lot of fun!  I too find the book timely and offering some interesting ideas for getting into greater integrity with my financial life!  How about you?  If you are single and already a ‘Lez Rez’ member, just be sure to check the group’s online ‘calendar of events’ for all the details for attending.

IF YOU ARE A SINGLE LESBIAN AND YOU AREN’T YET A LEZ RENDEZVOUS MEMBER…sign up by midnight this Sunday night (March 15, 2009) and you will get your first month of membership FREE!

TO SIGN UP - Just click here and, when you get to the ‘check out’ enter the code ’48HROFFER’.

I’ll see you there!

Barb Elgin