Julianne Charlesworth
Facts
Juli Charlesworth has been a CPA since 1992 and started her own firm in Wanatah at that time. Prior to that, she worked in a Michigan City CPA firm and had also been an internal auditor with USX. She has been involved with several family businesses her entire life. Thus, she not only has tax and accounting knowledge, but practical business experience as well. Juli joined Avantax Investment Servicesâ„ in 2005 after obtaining the Series 6 - Investment Company and Variable Contracts Products Representative, FINRA Series 63 - Uniform Securities Agent State Law licenses. In 2006, she added a Life and Health Insurance license to be able to offer clients Life, Long Term Care and Disability Insurance as well as Variable and Fixed Annuities. In February 2018, an opportunity quickly arose to acquire an accounting practice in Valparaiso and so the Porter County adventure began. In 2021, Juli obtained FINRA Series 65.
Family
Juli and Ray met while both studying accounting at Purdue University in West Lafayette and were married three years after. Ray manages the family businesses and is chief handyman around the accounting offices. The Charlesworths have two children. Both Riley’s and Justene's bios can be read below.
Fun
Juli’s favorite pastime is watching and enjoying her family’s many activities. She enjoys boating, traveling, jet skiing, bicycling and all things lake Michigan with Ray, the kids and friends. She volunteers at her church, in the greater Wanatah community and at her children’s schools when they attended. She has been a 4-H leader, church council member and coach.
Justene Charlesworth
Facts
Justene has been involved with several family businesses her entire life. Thus, joining Charlesworth Financial Services after completing her undergrad in 2021 from the University of St. Francis in Accounting with a finance minor, is a perfect fit. She received her MBA from USF in 2022. She returned to USF for the 2022-23 basketball season and gained a certificate in Data Analytics. She was a member of the Accounting Club, Student Business Association, and Dean's List. While in Joliet her sophomore thru senior years, she interned with two accounting firms. Justene joined Avantax Investment Servicesâ„ in 2022 after obtaining the Series 7 - General Securities Representative Exam and Series 66 - the NASAA Uniform Combined State Law Exam licenses. She is currently studying to take the Certified Public Accountant (CPA) exams.
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Family
Justene enjoys spending time with her boyfriend, Boston Tucker. He is a Pipefitter in Local 597. In addition to the family mentioned elsewhere on this page, she adds her feline family, Nala and Simba.
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Fun
Justene enjoys wakeboarding, traveling, jet skiing, bicycling, working out and most things outdoors with friends. She volunteers at her church and is a member of the Board of the Cheryl Lyn Welter Family Foundation for underprivileged children. She was a 10 year 4-H member. She played five years of collegiate basketball for the USF Fighting Saints and was a three year starter.
Mary Wherrett
Facts
Mary Wherrett received her accounting degree from Manchester College in 1988. She has more than 30 years of experience in payroll and bookkeeping for both public and private accounting and has worked locally her entire career. Mary, a long-time friend of Juli, was employed by the firm that Juli purchased in 2018 and she transitioned with her as they merged the two practices. She looks forward to greeting each of you by phone or at the front desk.
Family
Mary and her husband, Tom, were high school sweethearts and have been married for over 30 years. Tom is a RN and has been working in the emergency department at Methodist Hospitals for over 35 years. Together they have three adult children. Tyler has a degree in Energy Technology and works for a local electrical company. Kyle has a degree in Mechanical Engineering Technology and works for a local engineering firm. Dana has a business degree from Indiana University South Bend and works in the office for local trucking company.
Fun
Mary and Tom love going on camping and boating trips with their family and friends. Camping weekends at Indiana state parks usually include all the kids and many friends. Mary also enjoys oil painting landscapes with Bob Ross, crocheting, gardening and spending lots of time in the pool during warm weather. Mary has spent most of her life helping out the local Lions Club and spending time supporting her kids while participating in sports and school activities when they were younger.
Riley Charlesworth
Facts
Riley Charlesworth’s occupations change by the season. After he graduated from Purdue University with a bachelor’s degree in Agri-Business Management in 2016, he began preparing tax returns at Charlesworth Financial Services. His work with the firm is limited to tax season. During the summer, he can be found at farmers’ markets as an entrepreneur selling sweet corn. In season, How Sweet It Is can be purchased daily at the Valparaiso office as well as at the J-MARt BP in Wanatah. Riley farms during planting and harvest seasons. Throughout the year, he operates Riley Charlesworth Grain Hauling and delivers fuel for his family’s oil distributorship, Triple J-Mar Petroleum.
Fun
Riley’s favorite season is hunting season, followed closely by snowmobiling season. He enjoys basketball, the outdoors and tinkering with projects. Riley enjoys visiting with friends, clients, customers and fellow farmers at elevators in the fall and other local establishments during the year.
Casey Haggerty
Facts
Catherine “Casey” Haggerty graduated from Indiana University with a Bachelors in Business majoring in Accounting. She compliments our team well with both experience in small businesses and over 12 years in tax. She will be greeting you at the front desk as Mary has moved to a back office. Originally from Valparaiso, she has lived in Colorado where she worked 5 years for a CPA in the Denver area.
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Family
She and her husband, Jeff, have two kids and two fur kids. Their son is a senior at Chesterton HS and their daughter is a senior at Gulf Coast University in Naples, FL.
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Fun
Casey enjoys spending her free time enjoying the outdoors and all the great things the Region has to offer. She also loves to go out to eat, spend times with friends, and lounging by the pool in her free time.
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Please note that not all the investments and services mentioned are available in every state.
The Avantax family of companies exclusively provide investment products and services thought it representatives. Although Avantax Wealth Management does not provide tax or legal advise, or supervise tax, accounting or legal services. Avantax representatives may offer these services thought their independent outside business.
This information is not intended as specific tax or legal advice. Please consult our firm and your legal professional for specific information regarding your individual situation.