Writing on What Endures
Palmer Wealth Group™ and its founder write on the questions that shape whether a family’s wealth endures — tax decisions with permanent consequences, transitions that define a family’s arc, and the strategies that connect what a family holds to what a family becomes.
Transferable Enterprise Value for Dallas-Fort Worth Business Owners
Palmer Wealth Group™August 28, 2026The structural work that determines what a buyer will actually pay, and why that runway is measured in years, not months. An unsolicited indication of interest lands on a Fort Worth owner’s desk for a company generating roughly $22...
When to Sell a Business Early: The 2026 Founder’s Dilemma
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEOAugust 19, 2026The 2026 exit conversation has quietly shifted from maximizing proceeds to de-risking against an unforecastable future.The Question Founders Are Actually Asking in 2026 I have grown accustomed to a...
Pre-Sale Charitable Planning for Dallas-Fort Worth Business Owners
Palmer Wealth Group™August 13, 2026Why the charitable planning window closes long before the sale does. A Fort Worth business owner sits in her attorney’s office on a Tuesday afternoon, signing a non-binding letter of intent for the sale of a company she has spent...
Key Employee Retention Plans: A Fort Worth Owner’s Guide
Palmer Wealth Group™August 5, 2026How closely-held business owners can retain critical non-family talent without opening the cap table. Every closely-held business owner we work with can name the two or three people whose departure would seriously wound the company. A...
Financial Planning for Texas Surviving Spouses: The First Year
Palmer Wealth Group™June 30, 2026What every Texas surviving spouse should know about portability elections, community property, Social Security survivor benefits, and the first-year decisions that cannot be undone. Two weeks after the funeral, the kitchen counter in a...
How to Run a Family Wealth Meeting: A First-Timer’s Guide
Palmer Wealth Group™June 24, 2026A practical guide for affluent families on planning and leading a first family wealth meeting that builds communication, prepares heirs, and turns estate documents into shared purpose. What a Family Council Is, and What It Isn’t A...
Alternative Investments and What the $5M Threshold Unlocks
Palmer Wealth Group™June 18, 2026What every $5 to $30 million family should know about accessing institutional-grade alternative investments.A Fort Worth business owner crosses the $5 million investment threshold and assumes very little changes. His financial advisor...
High Achiever Paradox: Close the Personal Wealth Gap
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEOJune 11, 2026What behavioral research reveals about the gap between professional excellence and personal financial discipline.A few months ago, I sat across from a founder managing a business valued above $20...
Financial Planning After Selling a Business: The First 12 Months
Palmer Wealth Group™June 9, 2026A practical framework for taxes, investment deployment, and estate planning in the twelve months after the close.The wire reaches a Fort Worth business owner’s account on a Tuesday morning. He spent two years optimizing the financials,...
Own-Occupation Disability Insurance for Texas Business Owners
Palmer Wealth Group™May 26, 2026Why group long-term disability insurance falls short for high-income business owners — and how own-occupation and BOE coverage work together to close the gap.Consider a scenario that plays out regularly in planning conversations with...
Spousal Lifetime Access Trust Texas: The $30M OBBBA Opportunity
Palmer Wealth Group™May 21, 2026How Texas couples with $5–15 million in assets should think about spousal lifetime access trusts now that the estate tax exemption is permanently elevated — and why the planning window remains open.When the One Big Beautiful Bill Act...
The Business Liability Coverage Gaps Texas Executives Miss
Palmer Wealth Group™May 13, 2026How ERISA fiduciary liability, D&O insurance, key-person risk, and unfunded buy-sell gaps expose mid-market executives to institutional-level risk their standard commercial coverage cannot addressA Fort Worth business owner had...
Your Corporate Cash Investment Strategy: What Texas Business Owners Get Wrong
Palmer Wealth Group™May 6, 2026A tiered institutional framework for C-corporations, S-corporations, and LLCs — with entity-specific tax analysis for DFW business owners managing significant corporate reserves.At a Fort Worth business acquisition review, the acquiring...
Executive NQDC: The 409A Decisions You Can’t Undo
Palmer Wealth Group™April 30, 2026What Dallas/Fort Worth executives need to know about §409A rules, NQDC plan structure, and the employer concentration risk hiding in plain sight.The call came in late March. A senior executive at a publicly traded Dallas-Fort Worth...
Backdoor Roth IRA and the Pro Rata Rule: Why You Owe More Tax
Palmer Wealth Group™April 20, 2026Understanding the IRA aggregation rule — and how to execute a backdoor Roth conversion without triggering an unexpected tax liability.The call came in April. A client had done everything right the previous January: made a...
When to Hire a CEO as Founder – Or Become One Instead
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEOApril 16, 2026On the identity reckoning every founder confronts when the firm outgrows its founding architect.There is a moment, quiet and almost administrative in character, when you realize the firm has grown...
Step-Up Basis vs. Gifting Assets: The Transfer Decision
Palmer Wealth Group™2 April 2026How families with appreciated assets can evaluate the hold, gift, or transfer decision under current tax law and the OBBBA framework.Imagine a commercial property your family purchased in 1987 for $400,000. Today it is worth $3.2...
Why Your Practice Exit Won’t Qualify for the New QSBS Tax Exclusion – And What to Do Instead
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC26 February 2026The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, dramatically expanded the Section 1202 Qualified Small Business Stock benefit—raising the capital gains exclusion cap to $15 million, shortening holding periods,...
The Crypto Question: Investment, Speculation, or Something Else Entirely?
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC25 February 2026How sub-ultra-high-net-worth families can apply traditional investment strategies to evaluate cryptocurrency’s role (or absence) in a well-constructed portfolio.At a certain level of wealth, the cryptocurrency conversation...
Building Institutions that Outlast their Founders
What Washington, Jefferson, and Madison Can Teach Today’s Leaders A President’s Day ReflectionLuke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO13 February 2026The Question That Started It All Presidents’ Day invites reflection upon the extraordinary individuals...
The Governance Gap That Causes 90% of Family Wealth Plans to Fail by the Third Generation
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC29 January 2026You’ve spent decades building wealth. Your estate plan is current. Your trusts are funded. Your tax strategy is optimized. Yet statistically, there’s a 70% chance your children will deplete that wealth, and a 90% chance your...
2026 Roth Catch-Up Rules for High Earners
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC27 January 2026Roth Catch-Up Rules for High Earners If you are 50 or older and earned more than $150,000 last year, the way you make catch-up contributions to your retirement account has fundamentally changed. Effective January 1, 2026, Roth...
Why High-Earning Households Should Treat Social Security as a Two-Million Dollar Decision
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC20 January 2026Social Security strategies for high-net-worth individuals rarely receive the attention they deserve. Many affluent families dismiss Social Security as a modest supplement to their retirement income, yet the numbers tell a...
Why Your Entity Structures May Leave You Dangerously Underinsured
Palmer Wealth Group™, LLC19 January 2026Does umbrella insurance cover LLC-owned property? The answer is more complicated than most affluent families realize, and the gap between assumption and reality can prove extraordinarily expensive. If you’ve worked with estate...
The Countdown to Control: Preparing Your Family When Custodial Accounts Reach Termination
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO8 January 2026When your minor child reaches the age of termination for their custodial account (18, 21, or 25, depending on your state), they gain complete, unrestricted control over every dollar in that account....
The $5-30 Million Gap: Why Sub-Ultra High-Net-Worth Clients are Underserved
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO7 January 2026Understanding the unique challenges facing families whose wealth has outgrown traditional advisory services but doesn’t meet the threshold for traditional family offices.If your investable assets...
Preparing Your Development Calendar for the 2026 Tax Shift: What Every Nonprofit Needs to Know
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO6 January 2026Understanding how tax changes affect nonprofit fundraising has never been more urgent. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law on July 4, 2025, introduces the most significant changes to the...
How Much Can You Safely Withdraw in Retirement?
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO2 January 2026The question weighs on nearly every affluent investor approaching retirement: how much can I safely withdraw in retirement without depleting my retirement savings? For individuals and families with...
Beyond the 401(k): How Physicians Can Maximize Retirement Savings in 2026
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO31 December 2025The Short Answer: Physicians who ask, “How can I save more for retirement than my 401(k) allows?” should consider a cash balance plan, a Defined Benefit Plan structure that permits annual...
Charitable Giving Tax Optimization: Reduce Tax Liabilities While Achieving Your Philanthropic Goals
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO13 December 2025Quick Summary: The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which took effect January 1, 2026, introduced significant changes to charitable deduction rules, including a new 0.5% AGI floor and reduced...
Loneliness at the Top: What I’ve Observed About Sustainable Leadership
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO12 December 2025In my role leading a wealth management practice, I occupy a somewhat unusual vantage point. I sit across the table from business owners, CEOs, and managing partners during some of their most...
401(k) Plan Costs, Design Options, and Tax Benefits: A Strategic Guide
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO3 December 2025Retirement benefits have emerged as a decisive factor in the competition for talent. For business owners, a well-designed 401(k) can simultaneously attract employees, reduce taxes, and build...
Protecting Your Assets from Nursing Home Costs: A Complete Guide
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO8 September 2025Imagine discovering that your loved one needs full-time care, and suddenly you’re facing nursing home costs exceeding $108,000 annually¹. This scenario hits thousands of American families each...
Why Your Estate Plan Might Not Protect Your Legacy (And How to Fix It)
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO7 September 2025Understanding the Hidden Connection Between Estate Planning and Long-Term Care Costs Picture this: You’ve spent decades building wealth, saved diligently, and created what you thought was a solid...
Should We Be Worried About Our Investments Because of Political Uncertainty?
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO8 September 2025A Guide to Navigating Market Volatility During Uncertain Times The headlines are hard to ignore. Policy changes, trade tensions, and regulatory shifts dominate the news cycle, leaving many...
The Virtual Family Office Revolution: Transforming Wealth Management for Today’s Complex Fortunes
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO14 August 2025In an era of unprecedented economic complexity and market interconnectedness, families with investable assets between $5-$30 million face a distinct challenge in wealth management. While their...
Small Business Acquisition: A Strategic Investment Framework for 2025
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO13 August 2025Strategic Overview: Market Dynamics in Business Acquisition The convergence of market factors creates complex but potentially rewarding opportunities in today’s small business acquisition landscape....
The Cornerstone of Financial Success: How Strategic Planning Transforms Lives
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO8 August 2025In today’s complex economic landscape, financial planning has evolved from a luxury service for the ultra-wealthy to an essential cornerstone of long-term stability and success for individuals across...
Housing Market Analysis: Strategic Barriers Reshaping First-Time Home Buyer Wealth Building
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO25 July 2025Market Analysis: First-time homebuyers now represent just 24% of all residential purchases—the lowest share since data collection began—signaling a fundamental shift in wealth-building pathways that...
Church Retirement Plans 403(b), SIMPLE IRA and 401(k) Guide
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO22 April 2025Executive Analysis: Optimizing Plan Selection Religious institutions face unique considerations when establishing retirement benefits. The optimal framework balances administrative capacity,...
The Strategic Real Estate Allocation: Beyond the 20% Rule
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO14 July 2025For decades, financial advisors have suggested a simple rule: limit real estate to 20% of investment portfolios. This outdated guidance fails to capture the sophisticated strategies available to...
The Power of Collective Expertise: Real-World Case Studies in Wealth Management
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO7 July 2025In today’s intricate financial landscape, sophisticated wealth management requires more than individual expertise; it demands an orchestrated approach drawing upon diverse specializations and deep...
The Executive’s Guide to Concentrated Stock Positions: Balancing Growth, Risk, and Philanthropic Impact
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO20 June 2025For successful executives and entrepreneurs, concentrated stock positions often represent both their greatest source of wealth and their most significant financial challenge. At Palmer Wealth Group™,...
The Entrepreneur’s Blind Spot: When Business Success Overshadows Personal Wealth Planning
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO4 June 2025The entrepreneurial drive that builds successful businesses often creates an unintended consequence: the neglect of personal wealth management. While entrepreneurs excel at growing their companies,...
Finding Your Rhythm: Reflections on Work and Renewal
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO20 May 2025As the CEO of Palmer Wealth Group, I’ve had the privilege of observing what truly drives sustainable success across many fields and industries. In today’s world where digital connectivity never ceases...
Modern Wealth Transfer: Bridging the Gap Between Legacy and Innovation
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO21 May 2025The landscape of wealth transfer is undergoing a profound transformation. Traditional estate planning, while foundational, increasingly falls short of addressing the complexities faced by today’s...
Building Your Personal Board: Pioneering the Modern Family Office Model
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO17 May 2025The wealth management landscape is undergoing a fundamental transformation, driven by increasing complexity in global markets, evolving regulatory frameworks, and the changing nature of wealth...
Maximizing Business Exit Value: Strategies for Successful Transition Planning
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO13 May 2025In today’s dynamic business environment, successful entrepreneurs often discover that executing a business exit is significantly more complex than building the enterprise itself. Research from the Exit...
Beyond the Family Trust: Modern Strategies for Legacy Preservation in the Digital Age
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO9 May 2025The landscape of wealth preservation has evolved dramatically in recent years, driven by technological advancement, changing family dynamics, and an increasingly complex financial environment. While...
Beyond the Balance Sheet: Building an Enduring Family Legacy
Luke A. Palmer, CFP®, AAMS®, CRPS®, AWMA®, Owner and CEO29 April 2025In the sophisticated landscape of wealth management, quantitative metrics and financial performance tell only part of the story. At Palmer Wealth Group™, our extensive experience working with...