People are happy to spend hours and often, incomprehensible sums of money planning weddings, but when it comes to financial planning, they are “too busy.” Advance planning helps couples as they make the transition from giddy romantics to a financial and legally-bound partnership dealing with the realities of adult life. Working with trusted advisors, including […]

For farmers, land is far more than an asset to be valued and sold. Land is a legacy to be protected, a resource that generates income and, if land has been passed down from generations, the cornerstone of their family’s heritage. The goals of estate planning for farm owners involves planning for the needs of […]

Adult children worry about their parent’s finances, but whether they are worried for the right reasons is sometimes hard to determine. Are they concerned about a spendthrift parent becoming their responsibility, or that a scam artist will defraud an elderly parent? Seniors who are eager for companionship are perceived as vulnerable. Families worry about the […]

Second and subsequent marriages that occur later in life present challenges when it comes to estate planning. While no longer unusual or unique – nearly 42 million Americans have been married more than once – planning to provide for the surviving spouse, be fair to children from previous marriages and protect surviving spouses and adult […]

Death is truly our final frontier. Most of us like to imagine a story-book ending: lying in our bed at home, surrounded by those we love, with a skilled hospice worker tactfully hovering in the background. Sadly, 70 percent of Americans die in a hospital, nursing home or long term care facility. Why don’t we […]

Naming the right person as the executor of your estate is one of the hardest and most important decisions. Knowing what to do if you’ve been named an executor can feel overwhelming. Being named an executor is an honor – it means that someone trusted your judgment and your ability to handle complex tasks on […]

Unlike people who work for an employer and can set automatic deductions for their IRA accounts, self-employed people need to set up and contribute to retirement accounts. Two of the most frequently used accounts are the Simplified Employee Pension (SEP-IRA) and the Solo 401(k). Contributions to both are tax-deductible, allowing the entrepreneur to obtain tax-deferred […]

Consider your will as one last chance to let your heirs know how much you love them – because you thought enough of them to plan for your eventual demise. Any adult with minor children or assets of any kind needs to have an estate plan. And if you have complicated life – second or […]

When their daughter had a breakdown while attending college, there was nothing that Keisha Sacher’s parents could do when she refused to come home. At age 19, she was an adult. They had no legal control over her. When she finally did return to their home, the family endured a nightmare of her drug addiction, […]

Having an adult child added as an owner of bank account is a fairly common occurrence that allows both elderly parent and child to have access to the account if the parent needs assistance in managing their money. But most people don’t know that by titling an account differently, the account can still be accessible […]