Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions

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

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.

09/09/2026

Your IRA beneficiary choice could cost heirs thousands 👀

Most people assume naming a trust is the smarter, safer option. It adds structure, control, and asset protection. But there's a tax consequence that often gets missed entirely.

Many trust arrangements remove the ability to stretch IRA withdrawals over a lifetime. Under the 10-year rule, the full balance may need to come out within a decade, which can push your heirs into the highest tax brackets year after year, unnecessarily.

Naming an individual directly tends to be more tax-efficient and flexible. But it comes with no guardrails. If your heir is a minor, has creditor issues, or struggles with financial discipline, that money can disappear fast.

The right answer isn't obvious. It depends on your heir's situation, your estate goals, and how the IRA fits into your overall legacy picture.

This is exactly why estate planning and tax planning need to be part of the same conversation, not two separate ones.

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.

09/04/2026

Your income just changed. Your plan didn't. 👀

Whether it went up or down, the financial framework you were operating on is already out of date, and most people don't realize how much that matters until months later.

Here's what tends to happen when people skip the recalibration:

A raise or windfall without a plan quietly disappears into lifestyle. Taxes creep up. Savings rates stay flat. You feel like you're doing well, but the numbers tell a different story.

A drop in income triggers the instinct to wait and see. But every month of inaction has a real cost, especially when compounding is involved.

There are three specific areas that need attention right after a major income shift: your tax withholding, your contribution strategy across retirement and savings accounts, and your cash flow plan.

Skip any one of them, and you're flying the same flight plan to a destination you're no longer heading toward.

The window to get this right is narrower than most people think. Watch the full video to see exactly where to start.

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.

09/03/2026

Inherited an IRA? The clock is already ticking. ⏳

Most people don't find out about the 10-year rule until it's too late to plan around it.

For non-spouse beneficiaries, inherited IRAs must be fully emptied within a decade of the original owner's passing. And if that owner had already begun required minimum distributions, annual withdrawals are required each year throughout that 10-year window — with a 25% penalty for any year you miss.

The bigger issue for high earners: these distributions pile on top of your existing income. For business owners, executives, and medical professionals already in the top brackets, that stacking effect can create a tax surprise that's entirely avoidable with the right plan in place.

The advisors who handle inherited IRAs well don't move fast. They map the full picture first, then build a distribution schedule designed to minimize the tax hit across all 10 years.

If you've recently inherited an IRA or expect to, this is worth watching.

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.

09/02/2026

One word on this form redirects who inherits. 👀

Most people fill out a beneficiary form once and never look at it again. But buried inside is a designation that almost nobody notices, and depending on which option is checked, the outcome for your family can be completely different.

Per stirpes and per capita sound similar. They are not.

One ensures a deceased beneficiary's share passes to their children. The other redistributes that share among your surviving named beneficiaries, leaving the grandchildren with nothing.

Same form. Same account. Opposite results.

What makes this especially critical: your will has no say over this. Retirement accounts and life insurance policies pass by beneficiary designation, entirely outside your estate plan. Even the most carefully drafted will can be overridden by a single outdated form.

For anyone approaching retirement with multiple accounts, business interests, or a large IRA, this is worth a 10-minute review.

To learn more about beneficiary coordination and estate planning strategy, hit follow.

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.

09/01/2026

Your advisor isn't building your tax bill. You might be. 👀

Most high earners heading into retirement assume strong investment performance is the key to keeping more of their money. But the real driver of your lifetime tax liability is something most advisors never address: your distribution strategy.

Which accounts do you pull from first? In what order? At what tax rate? These decisions, made before retirement income starts, can have an enormous compounding effect over a 20- or 30-year retirement.

The challenge is that most people have an investment advisor working on one side and a CPA working on the other, with no one coordinating between them. That gap between silos is where unnecessary taxes quietly take hold.

The fix isn't finding a better advisor or a better accountant in isolation. It's having someone whose job it is to connect the two sides into one cohesive plan.

If you want to see what that kind of coordinated strategy actually looks like, grab a copy of Erik's book, The Personal CFO Revolution, through the link in his 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.

🎓 Meet the 2026 Hilltop Kids Scholarship recipients!This year, we’re proud to recognize Zach Woods, Aaliyah Lyons, and K...
09/01/2026

🎓 Meet the 2026 Hilltop Kids Scholarship recipients!

This year, we’re proud to recognize Zach Woods, Aaliyah Lyons, and Kenedi Bradley, three members of the Class of 2027 who are preparing to continue their education and pursue paths focused on supporting, educating, and empowering the next generation.

Congratulations to all three students on this exciting next chapter! 💙

Learn more about each recipient and their goals: https://hilltopwealthtax.com/2026-hilltop-kids-scholarship-recipients/

*Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions ("Hilltop") and HILLTOP Kids are under common control. HILLTOP Kids is a 501(c)(3) status entity with the IRS. HILLTOP Kids serves to collect donations to be used for at-risk youth programs. Hilltop may have an economic incentive to favor clients who donate to HILLTOP Kids. However, Hilltop maintains policies, procedures, and controls to routinely monitor these conflicts to help ensure that clients are treated fairly and equitably.*

08/31/2026

Your advisor may not be required to act in your best interest 👀

Most people never think to ask which legal standard governs their financial advisor's advice. But the answer changes everything.

There are two different standards at play in the financial industry. One only requires that advice be considered appropriate for your situation. The other legally requires the advisor to prioritize your interests above their own, no exceptions.

The gap between those two standards is where real, strategy-first planning either exists or it doesn't.

For executives, business owners, and professionals approaching retirement with complex financial pictures, this distinction isn't a minor technicality. It shapes every recommendation you receive.

Watch to understand exactly how these two standards differ and what to look for when evaluating your own advisor.

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.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

08/28/2026

Think estate planning isn't for you? Read this. 👇

The most common reason people skip estate planning isn't laziness. It's the belief that they don't have enough to make it worth it.

But here's the reality: if you have assets and people who depend on you, you already have a reason to plan.

Without three foundational documents in place, the decisions you'd want to make for your family don't just get delayed. They get handed to a court — at the worst possible time, in a process your loved ones have to navigate while grieving.

A will. A durable power of attorney. A healthcare directive.

Those three documents alone can protect most of what matters for most families. They don't require a large estate. They just require the intention to put something in writing before life makes that choice for you.

The real cost of no plan isn't financial. It's the burden placed on the people you love most.

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.

Hilltop Wealth & Tax Solutions is a financial advisor.

08/27/2026

One wrong move here can cost you thousands 👀

Social Security timing is one of the most consequential decisions in retirement, and three specific mistakes come up again and again.

Claiming early because "you never know" feels cautious, but it can permanently reduce your monthly benefit by about 30%. Delaying to 70 can produce a check nearly 77% higher. Whether that tradeoff works in your favor depends on how long you live, but for most people, the breakeven falls around age 80 to 83.

The tax angle is where things get more surprising. Claiming at the wrong time can push more of your benefit into taxable territory. The IRS can tax up to 85% of your Social Security depending on your other income sources, and most retirees don't realize this until it's already happening.

The third mistake is the one with the biggest ripple effect. Social Security doesn't live in a silo. When you align your claiming decision with your Roth conversion strategy and your portfolio withdrawal sequence, you can reduce your lifetime tax burden considerably. When you treat them separately, they can undermine each other.

Watch the video to see how these three decisions connect.

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.

08/26/2026

Most retirement plans weren't built for this shift. 👀

For the first time, more central banks around the world plan to reduce their dollar holdings than increase them.

This doesn't mean the dollar is collapsing. It still accounts for nearly 60% of global reserves. But a slow, steady move away from dollar dominance can quietly affect your retirement in three specific ways, and most people aren't thinking about any of them.

From inflation assumptions baked into your withdrawal strategy, to how long interest rates might stay elevated, to whether your portfolio is actually diversified for the world ahead, rather than the one behind us, there's more to unpack here than the headlines suggest.

Watch the full video to see exactly how this plays out for retirement income planning.

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-net-worth professionals approaching or 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

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