September 21, 2020
Published by 
Stephanie Ramsey on September 21, 2020
Stephanie Ramsey on September 21, 2020Scenario: Kirkland Cremation and Funeral Services provides services to approximately 150 families in its community. The business is owned by Clark Kirkland. Clark has one other licensed funeral director besides himself and also relies on multiple part-time funeral assistants. Most of these funeral assistants work regular part-time hours averaging 24 hours per week. In late March, when COVID-19 led to his state mandating “safer-at-home” orders, Clark made the difficult decision to lay off most of his part-time staff to do his part to help contain the virus. His expec-tation was this would be only a short period of time as he was an essential business and he needed his staff. However, the federal government then enacted the stimulus package providing additional benefits to newly laid off employees. For the past several weeks, even though Clark has offered his part-time employees […]
September 1, 2020
Published by 
Foresight on September 1, 2020
Foresight on September 1, 2020Dan Isard, Doug Gober, and Chris Cruger bring long time industry leader to join their team Phoenix, AZ—September 1, 2020 — “We are pleased to announce we have brought on an established industry leader, John T. McQueen, to our ever-growing and dynamic team. The addition of John as our Director of Client Experience allows us to deliver the highest level of knowledge and expertise to our clients,” Dan Isard, the founder and managing partner of The Foresight Companies, recently announced. “John conveys sincerity, confidence and reliability at the highest level. His capabilities and experience in this profession will provide a high level of knowledge to our clients and the entire industry. We couldn’t be more excited to have John on board,” Isard added. “I am excited to be a part of The Foresight Companies and to have the opportunity to […]
August 28, 2020
Published by 
Nicole Vullo on August 28, 2020
Nicole Vullo on August 28, 2020We are awaiting Congress to pass a new stimulus bill. In the original bill, it appeared that all PPP loans up to $150,000 (and potentially up to $250,000) would be “automatically forgiven.” This meant filing only a confirmation of use/need. As we are still waiting for final guidance, some lenders are telling those with PPP loans of $150,000 or less continue to wait it out. There is no hurry to apply for forgiveness as they are hoping the government will pass legislation that will simplify the forgiveness process for these loans. At this time, if your PPP loan is greater than $150,000 you should reach out to your bank to see if you should submit the forgiveness application. Most companies will be able to use the EZ application. The instructions for the SBA version of the EZ application may be […]
August 26, 2020
Published by Nicole Vullo on August 26, 2020
Nicole Vullo on August 26, 2020Did you know that for 2020, The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act waives all required minimum distributions (RMDs) from defined contribution retirement accounts, including 401(k), 403(b), or IRA plans? The rules surrounding RMDs can be complicated and can sometimes require a few conversations with your financial advisor to successfully navigate. If you are required to take RMDs the 2020 waiver applies to you regardless of age. This includes those 72 years of age, and those who turned 70.5 if you were born before 7/1/49 but have not taken RMD’s yet. If you already withdrew your RMD for the year, you have until August 31, 2020 to roll the funds back into your retirement account. The CARES Act has made many changes to retirement accounts that may be of benefit to you in 2020. Need help interpreting the […]
August 21, 2020
Published by 
Dan Isard on August 21, 2020
Dan Isard on August 21, 2020In this first industry spotlight, I think it is important to identify the magnitude of the funeral and cemetery businesses in the United States. Many years ago, the brokerage house Goldman Sacks was running a desk that dealt only with the stocks of those owning funeral homes, cemeteries and vendors to this space and they called the space “Deathcare”. Many of us rejected this phrase, but alas, 30 years later it is still being used. I will not but you might see it that way. There are by most estimates about 19,000 total funeral home locations in the United States. This is down from about 21,000 just a decade earlier. Some have merged with others, but most have been sold off for their real estate value. Some were liquidated by big companies and others by mom and pop owners. The […]