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Hispanic Heritage Month runs through October 15. Only 14% of Hispanic Americans have a will (Caring.com, 2025), and FAM is fully available in Spanish.
Welcome back. Each month we share what’s new at Forward, update you on new FAM features, introduce the Advisors and Businesses joining the Forward Neighborhood, and pass along the estate-planning news worth knowing.
From the CEO
On the blog: Multiple Ways We Can Gift to the Next Generation. Our CEO, Bryan Walley, walks you through ways to give family members more than the $19,000 per person you can give each year without any IRS paperwork, from paying a grandchild's tuition or medical bills directly to putting several years of gifts into a 529 college savings plan at once. Read Bryan’s post →
Missed our September webinar? Bryan joined Trust Properties USA for The State of Your Estate: Life Changes. Your Estate Plan Should Too. Watch the recording →
Estate Planning Awareness Week is October 19-25
14%of American adults have talked through inheritance in detail with their family. More than a third (36%) have never discussed it at all.Catalyst Advisory, Family Wealth in America survey, November 2025
Most of us want to leave something behind. Talking about it is the hard part.
Estate Planning Awareness Week starts next week. A small step this week goes a long way. Try one:
- See who gets what. The new My Estate page shows how your estate is set to be divided.
- Upload one document you've been putting off, like a deed or insurance policy. FAM adds the home or policy to your list of assets, with the document attached.
- Add your attorney, CPA or advisor under Professionals, so your family knows who to call.
- No will yet? Find an estate-planning attorney in the Neighborhood.
Pick up where you left off in FAM →
What’s New in FAM (Family Asset Manager)
FAM is now even easier to navigate, and its forms are even easier to complete.
- Your estate at a glance. Reports and your estate distribution are now together in one place, on the new My Estate page.
- Family and professionals, side by side. The people in your family and the attorneys, CPAs and advisors who help them are now listed separately.
- Add assets by uploading a document. Upload a deed, statement or policy, and FAM adds the asset it describes to your list, with the document attached.
- Simpler sharing controls. Choosing which family members can see each asset or document now has its own full page, so it's much easier to do on a phone.
- Your work is protected. We've added warnings about unsaved changes, so you won't lose anything if you click away from a form.
New in the Forward Neighborhood
The Neighborhood is where Forward members find vetted Advisors and Businesses. In September we welcomed five new Businesses and one new Advisor:
NEW BUSINESSES
Counting Every Blessing™
- Financial Planning & Wealth
Sunset
- Estate Settlement
ENDevo
- Transition & End-of-Life Planning
Averyn Care
- Care Coordination and Navigation
TRC Financial
- Insurance
NEW ADVISOR
Shawn Poiley
- M&A Business Advisors · Business Succession
NEIGHBORHOOD SPOTLIGHT
Finology Software · Student Loan Planning
Know your number before the next student loan bill.
Federal student loan rules changed this year: SAVE ended, the new Repayment Assistance Plan (RAP) started July 1, and two older plans close by 2028. Our Neighbor Finology Software helps families find the right plan under the new rules.
For families and borrowers (free). See all your federal student loans in one place and compare the plans you qualify for. You can also ask questions in everyday language through Claude or ChatGPT; your first 5 questions are free. Start at the Borrower Hub →
For financial advisors. Try Finology free for 7 days: compare every repayment plan side by side and give clients a report with your firm's name on it. Start the advisor trial →
Thinking about refinancing? Moving federal loans to a private lender gives up federal repayment plans and Public Service Loan Forgiveness, so compare your federal options first.
Finology Software provides planning tools and estimates. It is not a loan servicer and is not affiliated with the U.S. Department of Education. Applying for federal repayment plans is always free at StudentAid.gov.
Meet Finology in the Neighborhood →
Trust & Security
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Americans 60 and older reported $7.75 billion in fraud losses to the FBI in 2025, up 59% from the year before. Be wary of unexpected emails or texts asking you to click a link or send money, turn on two-step sign-in (a code sent to your phone when you log in), and keep sensitive logins in FAM's Secrets Vault, not in your email.
Industry & Legal Update
- Maryland allows transfer-on-death deeds as of October 1, so a home can pass to a named beneficiary without going through probate, the court process for settling an estate.
- California's power of attorney form adds digital assets on January 1, 2027 (AB 2199), so your agent can access email and online accounts.
- California is speeding up transfer-on-death securities. Starting January 1, 2027, SB 1288 requires brokerages to try to notify beneficiaries within 60 days and to pay out within 60 days of receiving all the required paperwork.
Before December 31: make this year's $19,000-per-person gifts and take any required retirement-account withdrawals. Medicare Open Enrollment runs October 15 to December 7.
📢 Follow the LIVE Coalition for ongoing legal updates and ways to get involved.
This is general information, not legal advice. Laws vary by state and change often, so consult a qualified attorney for your situation.
Get Involved
- Refer a friend or family member so everyone gets a plan.
- Questions? Write us at stewards@forwardinheritance.com.