While no one wants to think about their spouse passing away, a simple guide to what needs to be done immediately following a death can be helpful in reducing some of the confusion and uncertainty a life partner often experiences following a devastating loss. As this article points out, there are important financial decisions to be made to prepare the surviving spouse for their future, including sorting through all pertinent legal and financial documents. Your team of trusted advisors can play an important role during this difficult time, helping to facilitate prudent decisions, and shouldering some of the responsibility your spouse shared while they were alive.

Because money is often a touchy subject, families who’ve accumulated wealth and built enterprises likely don’t spend enough time considering how to discuss money with their children. To further complicate the situation, older and younger generations often have different questions and concerns about their own financial futures. This disparity—and the challenge of clear communication between generations and each side seeing the other’s concerns, needs, and perspectives—often causes issues during the transition of a family business.

This article discusses when and how to have these conversations, recommending planning a series of conversations, each with a different focus, in an environment where all parties feel comfortable sharing their perceptions and questions.

To improve America’s poor Infrastructure score, the current administration’s proposed infrastructure bill has garnered support. It recommends committing and investing over $2 trillion to improve the country’s infrastructure—like roadways, bridges, and public transportation—through the next eight years. Some experts suggest investors would also benefit from investing in the infrastructure. First, the plan will expand well beyond the initial infrastructure components to include other elements like potable water, education, broadband, and communication networks. Second, infrastructure asset owners/operators have offered reasonable yields some investors may like, considering 10-year U.S. Treasury bonds currently generate a paltry 2%. Learn more by reading the article.

The US loses about 6 billion gallons of treated water a day—enough to fill more than 9,000 swimming pools. And somewhere nationwide, a water main break occurs every two minutes—that’s 770 breaks per day. The country’s infrastructure—from aviation and bridges to broadband and energy to hazardous waste and levees and more—needs serious attention. The American Society of Civil Engineers’ Report Card for America’s Infrastructure, published every four years, details the condition of America’s infrastructure based on physical conditions of each category, and required investments for improvement. Let’s take a look at just one state, Massachusetts: of its 5,233 bridges, 9% were deemed structurally deficient just two years ago; the state will accrue $12.2 billion in drinking water infrastructure needs over the next 20 years, and the average motorist pays about $640 extra per year due to the effects of driving on bad roads, 25% of which are in need of repair.  Read the report to learn more.