The considerations are much different for an older couple with adult children and retirement plans than for a young couple just starting out. Before deciding whether to get married or just live together, you need to look at your estate plan, your Social Security benefits, and your potential long-term care needs, among other things. Whatever you decide to do, you may want to consult a lawyer to make sure your wishes will be carried out. Here are some things to think about: Estate Planning. Getting married can have a big effect on your estate plan. Even if you don't include…
The Tax Relief Act of 2010, passed in December, opens a number of new estate planning opportunities – some of which may be short-lived, since the law expires at the end of 2012. Of course, with the change in the law comes the possibility that your current estate planning may need some updates, both to reflect the new rules and perhaps to take advantage of opportunities that were not previously available to you. In their article The New Rules of Estate Planning, Smart Money focused on a few of the most common issues to consider. Gifting as a Means of…
Most experts recommend The financial consequences of failing to keep your legal and financial documents in order can be significant. As pointed out in a recent Wall Street Journal article, state treasurers currently hold $32.9 billion in unclaimed bank accounts and other assets. Additionally, some of the country’s largest life insurers are under investigation for failing to pay out unclaimed life policies to beneficiaries. Insurers say they are behaving lawfully and under their policy contracts are required to pay a claim only when beneficiaries come forward. Will your family members reap the full benefit of your estate planning efforts, or…
There are a number of decisions to be reached when planning for your estate and not least among them is the choice of executor. A poor choice of an executor, or a disconnection between executor, estate, and beneficiaries can hobble even the best laid of estate plans. Indeed, Reuters offers one unfortunate beneficiary’s troubles in a recent article on the topic and offers some solid suggestions to consider. The beneficiary was Stephanie Stephens, who, in the end, was surprised to find that the estate she received had shrunk by $129,000, something she angrily blames on the executor. Apparently, the estate…
According to recent research from The Center for Retirement Research at Boston College, 70% of baby-boomer households will receive inheritances worth a total of $8.4 Trillion. With an average of $300,000 for most inheriting households, and an average of $1.5 million for the wealthiest inheritors, the better part of a generation is expected to see a nice bump in their assets. The question, then, is what to do about it. Ashlea Ebeling of Forbes recently approached the topic with a number of considerations, from warnings to ideas. Consider Keeping it Separate. The first thing to take stock of is how…
Asset Protection planning is especially prudent for professionals and business owners whose personal assets could be at risk due to the nature of their employment.
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