Category: Estate Planning
The legal and estate planning industries don’t like to discuss the fact that millions of wills, trusts and other end-of-life documents go missing each year resulting in months—and sometimes years—of unnecessary stress when a family member passes away. Yes, unfortunately if you haven’t properly planned ahead of time, your estate could end up in the […]
Instead of flat out asking them to tell you about their personal information, it can work better to talk about emergency preparedness instead. When a natural disaster strikes, it can prompt many “what if” conversations. What if that were to happen to us? What if that were to happen to our family? These events be […]
Enlisting the help of a qualified wealth management professional to determine which type of IRA will best support a person’s retirement goals. So you want an IRA, but you aren’t sure if you need a traditional one or a Roth. How do you decide? Let’s explore the Roth IRA a bit further to help your […]
Disinheritance is a profound element of an estate plan. It can be triggered by a single, specific event, or result from the lifelong flaws of a relationship. For example, a parent may decide to remove one child as a residuary beneficiary under his or her will because of a heated dispute and subsequent estrangement. Making […]
Should you be happy or suspicious of dad’s new girlfriend Goldie? If Goldie is in similar circumstances—divorced or widowed, with her own assets—you might be thrilled. But if she’s much younger and your family and friends have never heard of her before, it could be hard to tell if you’re dealing with a paramour or […]
When you blog about personal finance for people over 50, every so often you need to write a scold post. This is one of those times. Please stop taking an ostrich approach to estate planning. A recent survey from Rocket Lawyer shows that 51% of Americans age 55 to 64 don’t have a will. And the […]
A better alternative for the secret paramour or child is the Totten trust. Millions of bank accounts are actually Totten trusts, which are simply a form of pay-on-death account. Traditional trusts are a great tool for transferring assets to one’s heirs. But for those who find themselves in precarious situations regarding paramours or secret children, […]
A federal rule requires insurance providers to cover children signed up within 30 days of birth retroactively to day one. Some plans may provide more flexibility. Expecting a baby? At most, you have nine months to do your homework. Don’t forget to review the chapter on insurance! The Wall Street Journal urges couples to take […]
We get it: Nobody wants to contemplate his or her own mortality. Estate planning is going to hurt, at least a little bit—right? The notion of planning for one’s death is not exactly a walk in the park. But CNN says that is doesn’t have to hurt. In a recent online CNN Money article, “10 […]
Advocates of prepaid tuition plans call them “peace of mind programs” and say they still offer that comfort … But some programs have run into trouble after investments lost money in the market downturn in 2008-09 and tuition rose faster than expected. Spring graduations are right around the corner! For all of the 2014 grads, […]
