“For couples over 50, living together has a lot of appeal and is on the rise. In fact, the number of unmarried couples who are 50+ shot up 75% between 2007 and 2016, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.” One reason for the popularity of living together without marriage is that many in this generation […]

“Talking about illness, death and taxes is not most people’s idea of a good time (except for us estate planners). That being said, there are times in life when it’s time to move updating your estate plan off the ‘to do’ list and on to the ‘done’ list. Here are those times:” Every estate planning […]

“Your will may be the most important document you’ll ever write. The problem is, after many of us draft one, we put it somewhere for safekeeping and don’t look at it again. That can be a big mistake.” Lives change, and laws change. People come and go in our lives, through birth, death, marriage and […]

“A No Contest clause is a paragraph that can be included in a Last Will and Testament or a Trust, which makes it clear that anyone who challenges the validity of the document or the way it distributes or manages the assets of the estate will receive less than what the document would have otherwise […]

“Although most people would not want a court proceeding on death, many people mistakenly think that a will avoids one.” A Will, also known as Last Will and Testament, is a legal document that is used in probate court if a person dies with assets that are in their name alone without a surviving joint […]

“Most of us have heard the quote from Benjamin Franklin, ‘In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.’” No one actually enjoys paying taxes, and few of us really want to think about our own death, but both require advance planning and careful consideration, advises Ohio’s Country Journal in the article “Death and […]

“Earlier this year, the IRS lowered the underpayment penalty threshold from 90% to 80% to help taxpayers who didn’t have enough tax withheld from their paychecks in 2018 or didn’t pay enough in estimated taxes last year.” With the lowering of the underpayment penalty threshold, taxpayers could avoid the penalty this past filing season, if […]

“Particularly if you’re 65 or older, you may have recently been asked by your financial advisor, custodian or brokerage firm, if you would like to add a trusted contact person to your account.” Dramatically increased instances of elder financial abuse are behind a new question asked of seniors by their advisors these days: do you […]

“Roth IRAs are powerful and flexible financial planning tools. They are also complex. As a result, many people aren’t familiar with all aspects of a Roth IRA.” There is a lot that most people don’t know about Roth IRAs, as detailed in the article “9 Surprising Facts About Roth IRAs” from the balance. Some of […]

“The best way to ensure that they know and understand your wishes, is to take a copy of your health care proxy with you to your next check up and talk to your physician about it, then ask them to keep the copy on file.” Everyone needs to have an annual checkup, taking stock of […]