Growing older is easier with someone in your corner.

• Beneficiary designations

  The forms on your retirement and insurance accounts decide who receives them, and they take precedence over a will. We go through every account together and make sure each one says what you want it to say.

• How your accounts and property are titled

  The way something is held determines who receives it, and how quickly. Held one way, it passes directly to the person you have chosen. Held another, it goes through probate first, the court process for settling an estate, which can run many months. This is straightforward to review and to put right.

• The authorizations that let someone help you

  Banks, brokerages and the IRS will only discuss your accounts with someone you’ve formally authorized. A few simple forms handle it: an IRS power of attorney, so tax notices come to me and I can speak with the IRS on your behalf; authorizations at your custodian, so statements reach the people who should see them; and a trusted contact (such as an adult child) on file, so the institution has a familiar person to call.

• Helping both of you feel comfortable with the finances

  In many households one person has looked after the money for years and the other hasn’t needed to. I’m glad to sit with whoever would like to understand it better, at whatever pace suits them.

• One clear picture of everything you own

  Every account, every policy, every pension, gathered and written down in one place.

• Simplifying what you hold

  Retirement accounts left behind at former employers, several IRAs, an old brokerage account. Bringing these together means less paperwork, and a picture that you and your family can follow.

• Understanding your income and expenses

  A clear and accurate picture of what comes in each month and what goes out. It’s the foundation for every other decision.

• Social Security timing

  When each person claims affects what the household receives for the rest of your lives, and the two decisions interact. I’ll walk you through the options and what each would mean for you.

• Required withdrawals from retirement accounts (RMDs)

  At a certain age the government requires you to take a set amount out of these accounts each year, and I keep track of the amounts and the dates for you.

• Roth conversions

  In some years it’s worth moving money from a traditional retirement account into a Roth, paying the tax now so that less is owed later, either by you or by your children. Whether it suits you depends on your circumstances, and I’ll tell you honestly if it doesn’t.

• Medicare premiums

  What you pay for Medicare is based on your tax return from two years earlier. I keep that in view when planning, so a decision made this year doesn’t raise your premiums later on.

• Charitable giving

  If you support a church or a cause that matters to you, there’s a way to give directly from a retirement account that isn’t taxed and that counts toward your RMD. I’m happy to set it up for you.

• Your personal return, federal and state, and more than one state if needed
• The final joint return, and the first return filed on your own afterwards
• A trust’s return (Form 1041), including a living trust that became irrevocable when your spouse died
• An estate’s return, covering income earned after the date of death
• Your business’s return, if you have one, together with the entity filings that accompany it
• Quarterly estimated payments, prepared and sent through the year so that nothing is owed unexpectedly

All of it by the same person who did the planning, with your whole picture already in front of me.