The hardest part of widowhood is dealing with the series of firsts that proceeds with your spouse’s passing. There is the first month after, the first birthday, the first anniversary. 

Add in the first time doing taxes without your spouse on top of all of that can be daunting. Organizing your taxes is critical to giving you a sense of control.

So, where and how do you start the tax planning process? 

In this episode, Todd Bessey meets with Kelly Swisher, CPA and senior manager of accounting and tax services at Eder, Casella & Company. She provides tips and tricks that can help widows make good decisions when it comes to tax planning.

Kelly discusses: 

• Best practices for widows dealing with taxes for the first time without their spouse 
  
• How long children can be claimed as dependents on your tax return
  
• What a spousal rollover is
  
• What step-up in basis means 
  
• And More!
  

Connect with Todd Bessey: 

• CreidimWealth.com 
  
• LinkedIn: Todd Bessey 
  
• Phone: 224-600-5988 
  
• Email: Todd@CreidimWealth.com 
  
• LinkedIn: Creidim Wealth Partners 
  
• Facebook: Creidim Wealth Partners  
  

Connect with Kelly Swisher:

• Eder Casella
  
• LinkedIn: Kelly Swisher
  
• Phone Number: 815-331-8120
  
• Email: kswisher@edercasella.com
  
• LinkedIn: Eder, Casella & Co.
  
• Twitter: Eder, Casella & Co
  

About our Guest:

My parents were great examples to me and my three sisters,” says CPA Kelly Swisher. “They showed us that hard work and generosity matters. They taught us how to be motivated, told us we should follow our dreams, and also encouraged us to enjoy life.”

Those lessons eventually led Swisher from Rockford, Illinois, where she grew up and attended high school, to college, where she earned a Bachelors of Science in Accounting from Northern Illinois University in 2006 and a Masters of Accounting Science from the school a year later. She joined Eder, Casella & Co. in 2008, and is a manager working on tax returns, and monthly and quarterly accounting, while also offering QuickBooks assistance to business clients. “One of my strengths is I can easily adapt and work in many different accounting software platforms,” she says.

Swisher, who is a member of the Illinois CPA Society and the Barrington Breakfast Rotary, enjoys the problem-solving nature of client relationships. “I enjoy helping clients who have accounting problems, a situation where I can come in to fix issues,” the married mother of three says. “It is also great to help clients with their accounting efficiencies — anything to help the client save time and money. Accounting is like a puzzle you have to figure out, with many moving pieces, and it feels great when the puzzle is solved.”