Deborah Ann Fox, CPA

09/05/2026

One of the greatest gifts you can leave your family is a “Red File” giving them a roadmap to navigate through the minefields when you become disabled or die. So much of the information they will need isn’t in your package of documents: where your assets are located, passwords, key contacts, wishes for your long-term care, even down to your favorite colors or TV shows, so they’ll know all this one day when you’re unable to communicate.

Trusts & Estates board members weigh in on what most concerns their clients.

09/05/2026

While looking for s/t else, I found this 12/31/2019 post:
is like Accounting -everything must balance" -unknown.
"Time goes by quickly.
At some level, we are free to choose how we spend our time. In 2019, I chose to help family with end of life and then take next steps (2 parents).
In 2020, I need to create Balance.
Lifestyle By Design.
is my ."
Today, 9/2/26, I can say best laid plans didn't happen. Time tells all tales and had a different story to tell. COVID19 in March 2020. Only child's unexpected death 8/31/2020 took me on another ride. I've earned my and share my knowledge/heart to help others move through theirs. ♥️

Time goes by quickly.

At some level, we are free to choose how we spend our time. In 2019, I chose to help family with end of life and then take next steps (2 parents).

In 2020, I need to create Balance.
Lifestyle By Design.

is my .

08/30/2026

" asks us to face what’s been lost; joy reminds us what’s still here. When we let them coexist, they don’t cancel each other out; they complete the picture. doesn’t erase grief, and grief doesn’t diminish joy. Together, they form the full expression of love: the ache and the awe, the sorrow and the spark. To feel both is not a failure of mourning; it’s the proof that your heart, even broken, still works."

Grief and joy may seem like opposites, but neuroscience tells a different story. Here’s why allowing both may be the most powerful step toward healing.

08/30/2026

"Caring for aging parents involves more than emotion — it often requires legal planning, financial organization, and clear communication as needs evolve."
"Preservation of Dignity and Choice: When we plan ahead, the senior retains the power of choice. They are appointing their trusted person while they still have the capacity to do so, providing them dignity and control over their future security. Waiting until incapacity forces the court to choose, stripping the individual of that fundamental right."

Helping Your Aging Parents is difficult but important. There are lots of things to consider. In this post, we explain the most important.

08/29/2026

Why do I talk about , , ? To normalize it. Because it is healing. And to help others feel less alone and know what to do. This The First Hour post got my attention:

"This page exists because no one handed us a guide.
On August 12, 2025, my son Noah was murdered. I followed his phone to a parking lot, was told by a police officer "I hate to tell you, your son's dead," and spent the next several hours signing documents I didn't understand, making decisions I couldn't undo, and navigating systems that were never explained to me.
Nobody told me what to do. Nobody tells anybody.
The First Hour is the book I wish I'd had that night. Practical. Immediate. Written for the family standing in the parking lot, or getting the knock on the door, or sitting in the waiting room with no idea what comes next.
If you've been through this — or if someone you love has — this page is for you. Share your story. Tell us what no one told you. Help us make sure the next family has something to hold onto.
The book is available now on Amazon. Link in bio.
[email protected] "

This page exists because no one handed us a guide.
On August 12, 2025, my son Noah was murdered. I followed his phone to a parking lot, was told by a police officer "I hate to tell you, your son's dead," and spent the next several hours signing documents I didn't understand, making decisions I couldn't undo, and navigating systems that were never explained to me.
Nobody told me what to do. Nobody tells anybody.
The First Hour is the book I wish I'd had that night. Practical. Immediate. Written for the family standing in the parking lot, or getting the knock on the door, or sitting in the waiting room with no idea what comes next.
If you've been through this — or if someone you love has — this page is for you. Share your story. Tell us what no one told you. Help us make sure the next family has something to hold onto.
The book is available now on Amazon. Link in bio.
[email protected]

08/20/2026

💔 signifies my hot button this year because following the death of a spouse, income often goes down in the year of death, and then taxes can go up the year after death IF filing status changes from MFJ to Single as shown here:

"But tax planning isn't just about your taxes right now — it also includes considering how the decisions you make today might affect your spouse, your heirs, and your future decades from now.

A commonly overlooked scenario is the death of a spouse. Despite the fact that a household's income is often reduced after the of a spouse, the surviving spouse will usually file as a single taxpayer the following year. Because single brackets reach higher rates at lower income thresholds than married couples who file jointly, many surviving spouses end up paying more in .

However, taking time to plan strategies like Roth conversions while both of you are alive may help reduce that future tax burden, known as the 💔Widow's Penalty.

OBBBA tax breaks can help you preserve more of what you've saved for retirement. Tax planning will help it keep working for your family after you're gone.

08/17/2026

Family history teaches what’s possible. As Jason Harrison put it about his ancestors: “As we learn about things they went through, the hardships they endured, sometimes that helps us endure our own hardships.” We are all of us the legacy of ordinary people, people who set out for new places and fought wars and kept working hard when they were tired and kept being brave when they were scared. We are the products of their ingenuity, their luck, their stubbornness.

Lessons that can be bracing, cruel, and optimistic, all at once.

08/15/2026

Ten Sources of Family Conflict after Death
# 6 Treatment decisions at end of life
End of Life can happen suddenly or slowly
And can also come at any time.
I know a 19yo who drowned in CA, a 34yo who died of ovarian cancer, a 44yo who was found on unconscious on the floor at work (heart).
Plan early
Plan smart for both your and wishes/needs.

Sources of conflict after death.

Plan early; Plan smart for both your and wishes/needs.

08/14/2026

in on Monday 8/31/26
Navigating Tomorrow- Budgeting for Home Long-Term Care. Key Takeaways:
- Crafting an Aging-In-Place Budget
- Public and Private Funding Resources
- Open Family Communication and Self-Care
-Realities of LTC costs