Legacy Blueprint: Plan It Forward

How can you enjoy the retirement you’ve earned while protecting your family’s financial future?

Mike Bascom welcomes Hamilton Brandenburg, founder of Brandenburg Financial Services, to explore how retirement income, tax planning, and estate planning work together. Hamilton discusses Roth conversions, Social Security decisions, and the often-overlooked challenge of transitioning from saving to spending. He also explains why a meaningful legacy includes the memories you create today—and why finding purpose deserves a place in your retirement plan.

Key Takeaways:
Review your financial accounts, beneficiary designations, and estate documents regularly to keep them aligned with your wishes.
Coordinate retirement withdrawals and tax planning to account for potential effects on health insurance costs and family wealth.
Evaluate Roth conversions based on your projected tax brackets, retirement needs, and legacy goals.
Consider your spouse’s financial security and your desired lifestyle when deciding when to claim Social Security.
Balance future inheritances with meaningful experiences today, and plan how you’ll find purpose beyond work.

Connect with Hamilton Brandenburg:
https://brandenburgfs.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/hamilton-brandenburg-9a361b12b/

Connect with Mike Bascom:
https://bascomlaw.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebascom/

If you stepped away from your business for 90 days, would it continue to thrive—or would everything fall apart?

In this episode of Legacy Blueprint: Plan It Forward, Mike Bascom welcomes Andrew Mirolli, CEPA®, to explore how business owners can protect what they’ve built and prepare for a successful ownership transition. Andrew explains why naming a successor isn’t enough, how estate planning and business succession planning should work together, and what it takes to create value that lasts beyond the founder. They also discuss preserving family relationships, transferring client trust, and finding a meaningful purpose after leaving the business.

Key Takeaways:
A succession plan requires a tested successor, clear responsibilities, and established client relationships—not simply a name or a handshake.
Building systems, documenting processes, and delegating decisions help your business maintain its value without relying entirely on you.
Coordinating your estate plan with your succession plan helps clarify ownership, leadership, and how your family will benefit from the business.
Starting early gives you time to transfer trust and create more options for selling, retiring, or reducing your involvement.
Planning a purposeful life after the business can help you approach retirement with direction and avoid feeling disconnected from your identity.

Connect with Andrew Mirolli:
https://buyaum.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewmirolli/
https://www.youtube.com/@buyAUM

Connect with Mike Bascom:
https://bascomlaw.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebascom/

How can you turn a lifetime of saving into a retirement that supports your goals, protects your family, and creates a lasting legacy?

Mike Bascom welcomes Rebecca Irey, founder and CEO of Blue Skye Financial, to discuss why financial independence requires more than building a nest egg. Rebecca shares her approach to planning for retirement income, managing taxes, navigating Social Security and Medicare, and preparing for the financial changes that follow the loss of a spouse. Together, they explore how personalized planning and a coordinated team of advisors can help families and business owners make informed decisions about their future.

Key Takeaways:
Financial independence means having the freedom and resources to make choices that reflect your personal goals.
Proactive tax planning helps you understand how today’s financial decisions can affect your retirement income.
Social Security decisions should account for both spouses and the financial needs of the surviving partner.
Business owners should make saving for their own future part of their business planning.
Your financial advisor, estate planning attorney, and tax professionals should work together to support your family’s goals.

Connect with Rebecca Irey:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/blueskyebusiness/
https://blueskyefinancial.com/

Connect with Mike Bascom:
https://bascomlaw.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebascom/

How can smart mortgage strategies and real estate ownership help you build wealth and create a stronger financial legacy?

In this episode of Legacy Blueprint: Plan It Forward, Mike Bascom sits down with Tom Hutchens, President of Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, to explore the role real estate and strategic financing can play in long-term wealth building. Tom explains how non-QM mortgages can create opportunities for self-employed borrowers, entrepreneurs, retirees, and real estate investors who may not fit traditional lending guidelines. They also discuss using leverage to grow a real estate portfolio, why today's interest rate shouldn't necessarily dictate a long-term buying decision, the growing use of HELOCs, and why your mortgage strategy should work alongside your broader financial and estate plan.

Key Takeaways:

Homeownership can be a powerful component of long-term wealth building, regardless of short-term changes in rates and market conditions.
Non-QM mortgages can provide alternative financing options for self-employed borrowers and business owners whose tax returns may not fully reflect their ability to repay a loan.
Strategic use of mortgage leverage can allow real estate investors to access equity and expand their property portfolios rather than tying up all their available capital.
Interest rates are only one factor in a real estate decision, and borrowers should also consider affordability, location, long-term goals, and potential future refinancing opportunities.
Mortgage decisions should be considered alongside financial and estate planning because real estate financing can affect both the wealth you build and the assets you ultimately leave behind.

Connect with Tom Hutchens
https://angeloakms.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/tomhutchens/

Connect with Mike Bascom:
https://bascomlaw.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebascom/

How can you ensure that the wealth you’ve built passes on more than just money to the next generation?

Building a meaningful legacy requires thinking beyond dollars and assets. In this episode, Mike Bascom sits down with Patrick Renn, founder and president of Renn Wealth Management Group and author of Finding Your Money’s Greater Purpose: How to Make Your Legacy Count, to explore how thoughtful financial, estate, and charitable planning can help families put their wealth to work with purpose. Patrick shares lessons from more than 50 years in financial planning, including strategies for charitable giving, business succession, family communication, life insurance, and preparing younger generations to become responsible stewards of wealth. At the heart of the conversation is a simple but powerful idea: families should strive to pass along their values along with their valuables.
Key Takeaways:

True wealth is about more than accumulating assets; it is also about creating an impact that reflects your values.
Families can strengthen their legacy by intentionally passing their values along with their valuables.
Strategic charitable giving can support meaningful causes while becoming part of a broader financial and estate plan.
Business owners should establish continuity and succession plans before an unexpected event forces others to make those decisions for them.
Open family conversations about money, philanthropy, stewardship, and inheritance can better prepare younger generations to manage the legacy they will eventually receive.

Connect with Patrick Renn
https://x.com/RennWealthMgmt
https://www.rennwealth.com/

Connect with Mike Bascom:
https://bascomlaw.com/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikebascom/