For years, our role as Elder Law Attorneys was fairly straightforward. We would counsel our clients and help them with the appropriate legal documents. This might include Powers of Attorney for Finances and Healthcare, and perhaps a Last Will and Testament, and in some instances a Revocable or Irrevocable Trust. Once clients had the appropriate documents in place, then we advised them to let us know if their situation changed and one of them needed additional care. In that event, we would show them the best ways to pay for that care. With the recent economic difficulties and the aging…
Trade groups representing businesses, Wall Street firms, and other financial professionals joined forces to file a legal challenge against a new rule from the Obama administration that would restrict the advice brokers and advisers can offer to retirement savers. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the Financial Services Roundtable, the Securities Industry, and Financial Markets Association, and other business groups in a federal court in Dallas. The groups are attempting to block a rule announced by the Labor Department in April that created a higher standard for the investment advice offered to retirement savers. The…
The FHA may need as much as a $1 billion rescue package before the end of the year to bolster its reserves despite efforts to shore up its finances with higher mortgage insurance premiums. FHA Commissioner Carol Galante said her agency, which insures some 40 million home mortgages, is struggling with more than $5 billion in losses on reverse mortgages that allow people over 62 to borrow against their home equity and use the money for living expenses. Galante said the FHA played a crucial role in bringing the housing market back from the brink of collapse, but at a…
A year-end checklist always gives you a number of ways to take control of your finances—and possibly save on your taxes. Here are a few to consider—just make sure you do them by December 31, 2012, as discussed by Charles Schwab & Co. 1 Prepare for new tax reporting changes. Review legislation related to cost basis reporting that could affect your taxes. 2 Convert to a Roth IRA. Compared to a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA can give you control over your income taxes when you start taking withdrawals from your retirement account(s). 3 Turn losses into…
Americans over 60 lost at least $2.9 billion in 2010 to financial exploitation, a MetLife study. This 12% rise over two years is leading the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to begin looking into the types of scams affecting older consumers, states the LA Times. Federal regulators launched an investigation into the financial abuse of the elderly, citing a new report that advisors, planners, family members and others were ripping off seniors more than ever. The rise in abusive tactics led the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to begin looking into the types of scams affecting older Americans and coming up with…
[Qualified Charitable Deductions] can be used to satisfy the RMD requirement for the IRA owner. This means that the IRA owner who doesn’t need his or her RMD for income can direct the distribution to the charity of his or her choice. If you would rather be a “voluntary philanthropist” versus an “involuntary philanthropist,” then you need to take action regarding the Qualified Charitable Deduction (QCD). In short, it’s a very powerful tool for both charity and reducing the tax liabilities associated with IRAs. However, on December 31, 2011, will we see it disappear? Jim Blankenship at Forbes has recently…
Whether you’re a parent or a grandparent, one of the hallmark ways of preparing for the upcoming generation is the college savings 529 plan. There’s a bit of bittersweet news there nowadays: overall funds are down, but the alternatives even lower. According to a recent Wall Street Journal article, and Morningstar research, investments in 529 plans fell an average of 9.5% in the third quarter and are now down 5.9% this year through Sept. 30. This marks the worst setback since the market crash in early 2009. Of course, thanks to market volatility and several rounds of bad news from…
These tips may come in handy, given that far too few parents are saving the money they used to spend on their offspring in their retirement accounts. A recent study by Boston College's Center for Retirement Research found per-person spending on non-durable consumables — vacations, apparel, restaurants and food purchases, etc. — actually rises sharply after the kids leave home. In lieu of taking the money you use to spend on your kids and using it toward your retirement, most people are not changing their household spending and, in fact, are increasing their per-capita spending. In 2001, households with children…
Are you still reeling? August was a tumultuous money month (to say the least), but at least we can breathe a sigh of relief that it’s over. Hopefully the upcoming months will bode better. The S+P downgrade and the following correction, as well as several other market drops, hit and hurt a lot of people. Of course, if your Roth IRA was hit then you’ve also got a bit more work to do to protect yourself. As a recent SmartMoney article details, you can still un-do a Roth IRA rollover from 2010, at least until October 17, that is. Many…
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