Category: Trusts
If you are expecting an outright inheritance, you may need to think again. Expecting a sizeable inheritance? A recent Forbes article, titled “Why You May Not Get An Inheritance (And What To Do About It)“, provides some sound advice and thoughts to ponder. Good (and recent) financial decisions. Parents like to see a pattern of […]
To grasp the importance of planning for the distribution of your worldly goods, consider all the things that influence what happens to them. An Estate Plan is a form of defense for your estate. But you also need to defend that plan against future influences. A recent Kiplinger’s Personal Finance article, titled “Forces That Affect […]
Warning: Don’t let your pets crack your nest egg. “The topic of pet expense is rarely discussed,” says Richard Rosso, a senior financial adviser with Clarity Financial LLC, a Houston-based financial-planning firm. “But it shouldn’t be ignored.” Retirement planning largely involves how to budget living expenses. Just make sure you have accounted for those furry […]
While a family member or friend may be willing to care for your cat or dog or cockatoo, that’s a commitment not to be taken lightly. Aside from the cost of maintaining a pet, there is daily care, and for any number of reasons you may not have someone you can depend on to take […]
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 […]
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 […]
