What are the opening hours?

Monday 9am - 5pm Tuesday 9am - 5pm Wednesday 9am - 5pm Thursday 9am - 5pm Friday 9am - 1pm

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions

Home
United States
Mishawaka, IN
Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions

Call Directions Website Contact the business

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions serves as your personal CFO, providing fiduciary wealth and tax strategies to help you build, protect, and optimize your future.

Schedule your call today! >> https://hilltopwealthtax.com/schedule-a-call/ Hilltop’s obligation is to serve your best interests. We do not accept commissions. Hilltop’s fees are based on a percentage of assets under management, so our success depends on your success.

10/29/2026

Writing charity checks but getting zero tax break? 👀

If you're retired with an IRA and still donating the old-fashioned way, there's a good chance you're leaving a meaningful tax opportunity on the table.

A Qualified Charitable Distribution allows you to send money directly from your IRA to a qualifying charity — and that amount is never counted as taxable income. Not a deduction. It simply disappears from your income before taxes are calculated.

Most retirees don't itemize anymore. The standard deduction has made it nearly impossible for the majority of people over 65 to get any tax benefit from a personal charitable check. A QCD sidesteps that problem entirely.

To use one, you need to be at least 70½, the transfer must go directly from your IRA to the charity, and the 2026 limit is $111,000 per person. If you're already taking Required Minimum Distributions at 73 or older, a QCD can count toward satisfying that requirement too.

Are you currently giving from your IRA, or still writing personal checks? Let us know in the comments.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

10/28/2026

Your finances just changed — do you know it? 👀

Most people only review their financial plan on a set schedule. But some life events can't wait for January.

Here are 3 that should trigger an immediate review:

A change in marital status — whether marriage, divorce, or the loss of a spouse — reshapes nearly every financial decision you have in place. Tax status, beneficiaries, income. The legal side gets handled. The financial side often doesn't.

A career or business change is one of the most underestimated planning moments out there. Old retirement accounts sitting idle, benefit coverage in limbo, a savings strategy that no longer matches your income. That window to act has an expiration date.

Any shift in income, family, or goals. Great financial planning isn't calendar-driven. It's life-driven. The advisors who make the biggest difference aren't the ones who check in every year on schedule — they're the ones who show up when it matters.

If any of these describe where you are right now, don't wait to take a closer look.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

10/27/2026

Still running the same plan from your 40s? 👀 That could be a costly mistake.

Most people who've done everything right, built solid savings, maxed contributions, and stayed disciplined, assume their plan is still working because the numbers look good.

But the assumptions underneath that plan? Often untouched for years.

After 50, three things shift that most financial plans aren't built to handle:

Sequence-of-returns risk becomes a real threat. A rough stretch of market returns close to retirement can cause lasting damage that younger investors simply don't face.

Healthcare costs move from a vague line item to an active planning variable.

And tax exposure in retirement is almost always higher than people expect, especially with large IRAs, business interests, or multiple income streams.

Waiting until your 60s to revisit these assumptions isn't a neutral move. By then, the window to make meaningful adjustments is much smaller.

You don't need to start over. You need a reset built around where you're going.

If you want to understand how this shift works, get a copy of Erik's book, The Personal CFO Revolution, through the link in bio.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor serving business owners, executives, and high-income professionals approaching or in retirement.

10/23/2026

Claim too early and you lose up to 30% forever. 👀

Most people treat Full Retirement Age as a formality. It's actually the number that locks in your Social Security income for life.

For anyone born in 1960 or later, FRA is 67.

Claim at 62 and your benefit is permanently reduced by as much as 30%. Wait until 70 and you could receive up to 24% more than your standard amount, thanks to an 8% annual increase for every year you delay past 67.

But the piece most people overlook? FRA also shapes spousal and survivor benefits.

A spouse's benefit is capped at 50% of the worker's FRA amount, not 50% of a delayed benefit. If one partner passes early, that distinction can quietly reshape the surviving spouse's income for decades.

Without a coordinated claiming strategy, these pieces can work against each other in ways that are hard to undo.

Drop your birth year in the comments and let me know where you're landing on timing.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor serving professionals and retirees between ages 50 and 72.

10/21/2026

Your will doesn't control everything. 👀

Most people discover that too late, and the consequences can be significant.

Retirement accounts and life insurance policies pass directly to whoever is named on the beneficiary form, completely outside of your estate plan. If your will and your beneficiary forms are out of step, the form wins every time.

Here's the problem: people update their wills and trusts when life changes. But those beneficiary forms? Often untouched for a decade or more.

Divorce, remarriage, new children, a family member passing. Any of these can make an old designation financially devastating if it's never corrected.

Real coordination between your documents and your designations is what actually protects what you've built.

Hit follow for more on estate planning and retirement strategy.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

10/20/2026

3 buckets. No plan. Here's what that costs you. 💸

Most people heading into retirement have taxable accounts, pre-tax accounts like a 401(k), and tax-free accounts like a Roth, but very few have a clear strategy for which one to draw from first.

That sequencing decision is far more consequential than most realize.

The order you pull from these accounts shapes your tax bracket in retirement, determines whether you trigger Medicare surcharges, and affects how long your money actually holds up.

Without a coordinated plan, many retirees don't discover the problem until their 70s, when Required Minimum Distributions arrive and push them into a higher bracket than they expected.

By then, a lot of the planning options have already closed.

This is where investment management ends and a real retirement income strategy begins.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor serving clients between ages 50–72 approaching or in retirement, including business owners, executives, and medical professionals.

10/19/2026

The 4% rule has a flaw most retirees never see coming 👀

By the time inflation has done its work over a decade, that $40,000 annual withdrawal could buy noticeably less than it did on day one.

And that gap doesn't stay flat. It compounds across a 20 to 30 year retirement in ways that most basic projections quietly understate.

Healthcare, housing, travel, and everyday costs don't rise at the same rate as the general inflation figure most plans use. So while your withdrawal number inches up each year, your real purchasing power can erode faster than it appears on paper.

The 4% rule was always meant to be a starting point, not a complete strategy. What it doesn't answer: which accounts to draw from first, how to sequence your income sources, and how to build a plan that adapts when inflation shifts.

That's the coordination most retirement income plans are missing.

Follow for more on building a retirement strategy designed to last.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results.

Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

10/15/2026

Congress just added a $6,000 deduction for seniors 👀

Starting in 2026, Americans 65 and older qualify for a brand-new enhanced deduction on top of the regular standard deduction. Most retirees haven't heard about it yet, and even fewer are planning around it.

Here's what makes it worth paying close attention to:

A qualifying single filer could deduct up to $24,150. A qualifying married couple where both spouses are 65 or older could deduct up to $47,500. That's meaningful tax relief, but only if you actually qualify and structure things correctly.

Two catches that often get overlooked:

The deduction phases out above $75,000 in modified AGI for single filers and $150,000 for married filing jointly. Every $1,000 over those thresholds reduces the benefit by $60.

A larger deduction can also reduce how much of your Social Security is taxable, because Social Security taxation is linked to your combined income. That ripple effect can add up in ways most people don't anticipate.

This isn't about automatically taking the new deduction and moving on. It's about running your full income picture to figure out what actually comes out ahead for your situation.

Have you talked to your advisor about how this affects your 2026 return? Drop your biggest question in the comments.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

10/13/2026

🍷 Retirement planning is about more than just the numbers. It's about understanding your options and making informed decisions for the years ahead.

On September 17th and 22nd, Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions welcomed guests to Cooper's Hawk Winery & Restaurant in Merrillville, Indiana, for two evenings focused on financial education and retirement planning.

Led by Erik Brenner, Cliff Hawkins, and Tyler Bolla, our dinner seminars explored important considerations surrounding retirement income, tax planning, and strategies designed to help individuals navigate their financial futures.

We enjoyed the opportunity to meet new faces, answer thoughtful questions, and share a glimpse into Hilltop's approach to comprehensive financial planning.

A special thank you to everyone who attended and helped make these evenings possible!

📅 Interested in joining us for a future event? Visit our website to learn more about upcoming opportunities.

*Educational content is for general informational purposes only and is not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice.*

09/14/2026

Your LTC plan could be missing the most important part. 👀

Most pre-retirees assume long-term care planning means shopping for a policy and moving on. But treating it as a standalone insurance decision leaves some of the biggest risks in your retirement completely unaddressed.

A single extended care need can cost $90,000 to $120,000 or more per year. Without a plan that accounts for this, that expense comes directly out of your portfolio, compresses your spouse's income, and slowly dismantles the estate you spent decades building.

The options today go well beyond traditional LTC insurance. For high-net-worth households, hybrid life insurance structures and asset-based approaches can address care risk while keeping your money productive, even if care is never needed.

Long-term care risk belongs inside a coordinated retirement income plan. If yours doesn't include it, this video is worth a few minutes of your time.

If you want to see how this fits into your plan, schedule your complimentary introductory call through the link in bio.

Educational content only; not individualized investment, tax, or legal advice. Investing involves risk, including possible loss of principal. Past performance is not indicative of future results. Strategies discussed are general in nature and may not be suitable for your situation. Consult your tax and/or legal professional regarding your circumstances.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor serving individuals approaching or recently in retirement.

Address

4100 Edison Lakes Parkway Suite #225
Mishawaka, IN
46545

Opening Hours

Monday	9am - 5pm
Tuesday	9am - 5pm
Wednesday	9am - 5pm
Thursday	9am - 5pm
Friday	9am - 1pm

Telephone

(833) 889-7526

Website

https://hilltopwealthtax.com/schedule-a-call/, https://hilltopwealthtax.com/resources/, https://hilltopwealthtax.com/

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.