Author Archive

For the vast majority of Americans in retirement, the income provided by Social Security will comprise the largest and most stable base of income derived from any single source. With this in mind, the Stanford Center on Longevity* recently published an essay about the most important retirement decisions to be made in retirement. Actuary and [...]

In new rulemaking by the Securities & Exchange Commission (SEC), regulations that have protected investing consumers for eight decades have been dumbed-down. Tamar Frankel, professor of law emerita, Boston University Law School, considers the new rule to be a “historic, giant step backwards in securities regulation. It turns principles of advice in the client’s best [...]

In honor of Mission's 25th Anniversary year, Bill Nordbrock, contributor to the Arizona Daily Star spoke with Carmen Bermúdez, Mission's Chairman and CEO, to get her insights into the things that have made Mission Management & Trust a successful, enduring enterprise. His first article from the interview, published in July of 2019, talks about the [...]

Mission employees spread the holiday cheer by volunteering to decorate a tree at a local independent and assisted living community. Pictured (l to r) are Cynthia Wahlin, Susan Ernsky and Leah Geistfeld. Thanks to Mountain View Retirement Village for letting us celebrate the holidays with residents!

Mission’s Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer, Rhonda Perez (pictured 5th from the right), is also the Treasurer for local non-profit organization, Friends of the Pima County Public Library ("Friends").  A volunteer with Friends for the past four years, Rhonda is proud to be one of 225 volunteers that help process and sell used and discarded [...]

Celebrating Mission’s 25th Anniversary, Carmen Bermúdez talks to Bill Nordbrock, contributor to the Arizona Daily Star about setting high expectations and having the courage and tenacity to achieve her dreams. In this first of Bill's two articles about his conversation with Carmen, they discuss how she attributes Mission’s success to her commitment, an outstanding team, [...]

We unfortunately keep seeing examples of public figures not getting an estate plan in place.  Aretha Franklin is the most recent example, even though family circumstances, such as a special needs son and accumulated assets, suggested it was critical to complete the planning.  Now all her business will be public and her family will have [...]

Being responsible for someone else’s affairs under powers of attorney is a lot of work.  If you are being asked to serve as agent under power of attorney, ask yourself these three questions:   Are you able to drop everything, perhaps for weeks or months, and make crisis medical decisions? Do you have the emotional [...]

Parents with a child with special needs have additional considerations in their estate planning.  Who steps in to care for the adult daughter or son with special needs when the parents are gone?  This article highlights important factors in that decision.  Mission can be part of the solution by serving as the corporate trustee for [...]

True Story:  Neighbors found a man in his 70’s who has dementia wandering the neighborhood with his shotgun.  The family and neighbors were fortunate that nothing had happened, but it is a clear call to action.  Will you wait until it is too late to take action to keep your family members and friends safe? [...]