Personal Wealth Manager · CFO

Maria CFO

Trust setup · accounts · passive income · home expenses · legal/tax prep · personal finance organization

Important: Maria CFO is an organization and preparation dashboard, not legal/tax/investment advice. Trusts, deed transfers, beneficiary designations, EIN decisions, and tax treatment should be confirmed with a Maryland estate attorney, CPA, and financial professional.

Current priorities

Connected dashboard plan

Shared Household Ledger

Next architecture: expenses entered in Garrison, bills/receipts from Librarian, and household priorities can flow into Maria CFO automatically for budgeting, cash-flow, taxes, and planning.

New from Garrison

Baltimore County property tax bill captured

Tax year 2026 · Parcel 2200017430 · Bill 000948823 · Gross bill $9,823.33 · Homestead credit applied. Maria should include this in annual cash-flow planning and trust/property records.

Mortgage / Tax Doc

Tower Federal Credit Union 1098 captured

2025 mortgage interest: $14,881.88 · Form 1098 principal: $194,000 · current dashboard tracking balance: $211,000 · origination date Mar 22, 2021. Useful for cash-flow, debt strategy, and tax-document organization.

Foundation first: estate plan + trust decision

Establish the correct estate plan, decide whether a revocable living trust fits, determine house transfer steps, and organize accounts/beneficiaries before making more complex wealth moves.

Pillar 1

🛡 Protection

Trust/will/POA/advance directive
Beneficiary review
Insurance and title alignment

Pillar 2

📈 Growth

Investment plan
Income assets
Home equity strategy

Pillar 3

💧 Liquidity

Emergency fund
HYSA/CD ladder
Avoid being asset-rich/cash-poor

Known debt / decision point

Tower Federal Credit Union HELOC / mortgage line: $211,000 current tracking balance at ~6.25% variable. Evaluate paydown acceleration, fixed-rate conversion, recast/refi possibilities, and liquidity tradeoff.

Trust setup guide

Likely starting point: Revocable Living Trust

Common estate-planning tool for avoiding probate and organizing real estate/investment transfer. While alive, many revocable grantor trusts use the grantor’s SSN rather than a separate EIN. An attorney/CPA should confirm the right setup.

Attorney vs online DIY

DIY/online: cheaper, faster, okay for simple wills/trusts if facts are straightforward.
Attorney: better for Maryland deed transfer, house in trust, beneficiaries, tax questions, blended-family/complex assets, and avoiding mistakes.
My take: prep everything yourself to lower cost, but use a Maryland estate attorney for the final trust/deed plan.

Franklin legal benefit

Check FT benefits first. MetLife Legal Plans or similar may cover simple wills/trusts, saving $1,500–$3,500. If covered, use that as first path.

Putting house in trust — prep steps

Step	Prep
1. Establish trust	Trust name, trustee/successor trustee, beneficiaries, distribution instructions.
2. Deed transfer	Maryland/Baltimore County attorney drafts and records deed into trust.
3. Mortgage	Confirm due-on-sale protection and notify lender in writing if attorney advises.
4. Taxes/recording	Confirm Maryland transfer/recordation exemptions for revocable trust transfer.
5. Insurance/title	Add trust as additional insured; request title endorsement if needed.

Questions for attorney

Do you specialize in Maryland estate planning and Baltimore County deed transfers?
Flat fee or hourly? What is included?
Does the package include pour-over will, financial POA, healthcare directive?
Should my revocable trust use my SSN while living?
Should the house, brokerage, bank accounts, vehicles, or LLC interests go into trust?
How should IRAs/401(k)/life insurance beneficiaries be named?
Will you prepare/record the deed and advise insurance/lender notifications?

Accounts & Schwab

Recommended account map

Account	Purpose	Trust handling
Schwab One Trust Brokerage	Investments/dividends	Open/re-title after trust signed.
Schwab Bank HYSA/checking	Emergency fund / cash flow	May be personal or trust depending plan.
IRA / 401(k)	Retirement	Usually stays individual; beneficiary designations matter.
House	Real estate	Attorney-prepared deed to trust if appropriate.

Schwab trust setup

Call Schwab Trust Services: 1-800-435-4000
Need trust doc/certification, trustee ID, trust name/date
Revocable trust may use SSN; irrevocable usually EIN
Internal journal transfer can move holdings without selling if appropriate

Documents to collect

Current account list
Beneficiary designations
Mortgage/HELOC statement — Tower Federal Credit Union
Home deed/title docs
Insurance policies
Tax returns and CPA contact

Passive income planning

Investment examples below are research/watchlist categories, not recommendations. Fit depends on risk, taxes, time horizon, liquidity, and Franklin Templeton employee rules.

Dividend ETFs

SCHD, VYM, JEPI/JEPQ style income strategies. Track yield, NAV, expense ratio, tax treatment.

Private Credit

BSP / private credit can produce income but has liquidity and credit risk. Confirm employee access and suitability.

Real Estate

VNQ/REITs and Clarion/private real estate options. Balance liquidity vs income/diversification.

Cash / T-bills / CDs

Emergency fund and near-term obligations before long-lockup strategies.

Mortgage paydown

A 6.25% variable rate is a meaningful hurdle rate. Paydown may be attractive vs taxable yield, but preserve liquidity.

Covered calls

Advanced income strategy; requires options approval and risk review.

Legal & tax preparation

Estate planning checklist

Revocable living trust document signed
Pour-over will
Financial power of attorney
Healthcare power of attorney / advance directive
House deed transferred if appropriate
Investment/bank account titling plan
IRA/401(k)/life insurance beneficiary review
Homeowner’s insurance and title insurance updates
Trust EIN decision documented
Annual review calendar

Attorney interview packet

Property address/deed
Asset/account list
Family/beneficiary goals
Executor/trustee choices
Healthcare decision-maker
Questions and desired outcomes

Cost control strategy

Use FT legal benefit first if available
Ask for flat-fee package
Bring organized documents
Decide goals before meeting
Ask what tasks you can do yourself safely

Action plan

Step 1

Check FT legal benefit

Confirm whether estate planning/trust creation is covered.

Step 2

Build document vault

Accounts, deed, mortgage, insurance, beneficiaries, tax docs.

Step 3

Interview 2–3 attorneys

Ask flat-fee trust + deed package questions.

Step 4

Trust/deed plan

Confirm revocable trust, house transfer, EIN/SSN, insurance, title.

Step 5

Account cleanup

Schwab trust account/re-title plan and beneficiary designations.

Step 6

Income strategy

Only after legal/account foundation is clear.

Planning intelligence

Useful links

Maryland lawyer referral IRS EIN online Schwab trust accounts Maryland SDAT Baltimore County Land Records

Maria daily watchlist ideas

Interest-rate/refi/recast opportunities
Trust/account setup tasks waiting on user
Schwab trust services requirements
Maryland estate planning/tax procedural notes
Income ETF yields and NAV trend
Mortgage paydown calculator updates
Large home expenses from Garrison that affect cash planning

Business idea evaluation

This tab is a parking lot for future business/side-income ideas. Maria can evaluate: upfront capital, monthly cash flow, tax complexity, risk, time demand, and whether it conflicts with liquidity/trust goals.

Idea scorecard

Expected ROI
Time required
Risk/liability
Tax treatment
Exit path

Questions

Does this improve cash flow?
Does it add complexity?
Does it need an LLC/EIN?
Who manages it?

Status

No active ideas loaded yet.