Free Alton Event to Cover Estate Planning Mistakes, Taxes and Asset Protection

Our Daily Show! Stephens Planning: Are You Ready for the Future?

ALTON - Community members can learn more about estate planning and taxes at a free educational dinner.

At 6 p.m. on Thursday, Aug. 13, 2026, Stephens Planning will host the dinner at The Wedge in Alton. Curtis Stephens, in collaboration with Elizabeth Heller of Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., will go over estate planning mistakes, the effects of estate taxes, strategies to protect your assets, and more.

“In a world where we have so much information at our fingertips and a lot of it is conflicting, where you can have a licensed fiduciary and an estate attorney with more than 30 years of experience in the same room being held accountable to the room and no one has to go double-check anything, that’s real-time answers. That’s a unique situation that we have found brings a lot of value to the community,” Stephens said. “We’re excited to do these.”

Stephens explained that a lot of people know where they want their assets to go after their death, but they might not have the legal documents in place to make it official. Similarly, it’s “a no-brainer” to set up a power of attorney, but many people don’t think about this until it’s too late.

“Unfortunately, a lot of that stuff families don’t realize until it hits them and they’re in it. By then, it’s too late to make a plan or do anything about it,” he said. “Just taking a look at where you’re at, what you’re doing, double-checking that your documents are actually doing what you want them to do, that your accounts and things are titled appropriately — it can make a world of difference for you and your family.”

The event on Aug. 13 will answer basic questions about estate planning and taxes. There will be prizes, and participation is encouraged. The goal is to get people thinking about their estates and what they need to do to ensure everything is lined up the way they want it to be.

There’s no obligation to work with Stephens Planning or Goldenberg Heller & Antognoli, P.C., after the seminar, but Stephens hopes to remain available to anyone who wants to come in and go over their finances with him. As a fiduciary, he believes estate planning is an important part of financial planning, and he wants to help his clients maintain their assets.

“Essentially, I look at the first three things,” he explained. “Are you going to lose half of your money the way it’s invested? Is it invested in a tax-efficient way? And is it going to go where you want it to go? Those are probably the first three things I look at, because those have lifetime implications.”

Stephens Planning is an independent business. Stephens explained that this means they answer to their clients, not a corporation. It’s important to him to show his clients how much he cares. He tries to go above and beyond for the families he works with.

“I always think of my clients as the captain, and I’m the deckhand. It’s my job to execute,” he said. “If you treat people like family, you always act in their best interest no matter what. So advice that we give or anything that we do at Stephens Planning is always putting the client and the family first. That’s truly, in my opinion, what a fiduciary is. It’s someone who’s passionate about what they do, serving in a capacity that is always in the best interests of others.”

This mindset is why Stephens organizes these free seminars for the community. He wants to help people learn how to organize their money and their estates so they and their families are taken care of. He hopes to welcome many people out to the Aug. 13 event at The Wedge.

For more information about the Estate Planning and Taxes Educational Dinner, including how to register, click here. To learn more about Stephens Planning or to set up a one-on-one appointment, visit their official website.

This featured article is sponsored by Stephens Planning. To get your business or organization featured on www.RiverBender.com, contact us at sales@riverbender.com.

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