The Hook Jones Group - Baird Private Wealth Management

06/02/2026

Did you know a single 401(k) can hold three completely different types of money?

• Pre-tax contributions (taxed on every dollar withdrawn)
• Roth 401(k) (tax-free)
• Voluntary after-tax (the backbone of the mega backdoor Roth)

A $600,000 balance might be $350K pre-tax, $150K Roth, and $100K after-tax. Splitting it 50/50 without knowing which buckets each person gets could mean one spouse walks away with mostly taxable dollars and the other with mostly tax-free.

One number. Three very different outcomes.

05/28/2026

The riskiest exit strategy is the one that feels most comfortable: later.

Owners rarely plan late on purpose. They plan late because the business is busy, life is busy, and “not today” is easy.

But transitions are long-term projects. Starting early gives you leverage—more choices, more control, and more time to reduce the things that create discounts (like owner dependence).

Exit planning creates flexibility before you need it.

05/26/2026

If your business is your biggest asset… do you treat it like one?

Most business owners don’t ignore planning because they’re careless. They ignore it because everything feels “fine.”

Then one day it hits: a huge chunk of net worth is tied to the business… and there’s no clear plan for how that becomes future income.

Built to Sell puts a simple spotlight on why this matters: the more a business relies on the owner, the harder it is to scale—and the harder it is to create options.

This isn’t about selling tomorrow.

It’s about seeing the blind spot today, so you make better decisions while you still have time.

05/21/2026

One of the biggest risks I see in divorce financial affidavits…The numbers look right, but they’re not. Tax withholding on a pay stub isn’t your actual tax bill. It’s just an estimate based on a W-4.
So on paper:

Someone can look like they earn less than they do or more than they realistically take home and those differences don’t just stay on paper. They can influence negotiations, support assumptions, and long-term outcomes. Not because anyone is doing something wrong, but because no one has taken the time to verify the math behind the numbers.

Before decisions are made, one simple question can change everything:

Has anyone tied these figures back to actual tax returns and pay stubs?

Have you ever seen something like this get missed?

05/19/2026

A client paid bi-weekly receives 26 paychecks a year, not 24.
This is one of the most common errors I see on financial affidavits — multiplying a paycheck by 2 and then by 12, which assumes 24 pay periods. That simple math mistake understates annual income by nearly 8%.

On a $5,000 bi-weekly paycheck, that's roughly $10,000/year missing from the picture. Enough to change a support calculation.

The affidavit is the foundation of every divorce negotiation. The math has to be right.

05/07/2026

Today is Give DeKalb County day and The Hook Jones Group is once again proud to be a community matching partner for 2026. With over 150 participating recipients, there's no shortage of good that will be done today in our community. Learn more about the event and find ways to participate at .

Join me and give back!

05/07/2026

AND WE’RE OFF! 👟

Give DeKalb County 2026 has officially KICKED OFF! Online donations are now open, and we can't wait to see our community come together once again. Head over to the website to make your gift and watch those totals climb in real-time!

04/24/2026

04/24/2026

Many business owners know they should have a retirement plan…
They just aren’t sure which one makes sense.
SEP IRA? SIMPLE IRA? Solo 401(k)? Something else?

We’ve seen plenty of plans set up because they were “easy,” not because they were the best fit.

We recently added a small business retirement plan selector to our website that helps narrow options based on business structure, size, and goals.

If you own a business and have ever thought, “I should probably look at this again,” the tool is here:
👉

Answer four quick questions and get a personalized retirement plan recommendation for your business - SEP-IRA, SIMPLE, Solo 401(k), and more.

04/14/2026

A question worth revisiting more than once:
“Is a Roth or Traditional IRA actually better in my situation?”
Having two different tax buckets provides significant flexibility, but which to prioritize often changes as income, tax laws, and retirement timing evolve. What made sense five years ago may not be optimal today.

We recently refreshed our Roth vs. Traditional IRA calculator to help illustrate how today’s tax rate vs. future tax rate can impact long‑term outcomes.

It’s not meant to replace planning — just to give a clearer picture before making a decision.

If you’re contributing to an IRA or thinking about conversion strategies, you can explore it here: https://hookjonesgroup.bairdwealth.com/tools-roth-vs-traditional