Millions of Americans are managing money or property for a loved one who is unable to pay bills or make financial decisions. This can be very overwhelming. But, it’s also a great opportunity to help someone you care about, and protect them from scams and fraud. Handling finances can be…
Give a copy of your wills, trusts and powers of attorney (financial and health care) to anyone named or authorized to act on your behalf, and store the originals at home; otherwise, your children could have trouble getting them at the critical time. The best laid plans of mice and…
Nancy Wagner, a social worker at Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, N.J., encounters this frustration at least once a week: A patient arrives in the emergency room and tells the inquiring staff that yes, she has indeed prepared and signed an advance directive. But, well, she doesn’t have it…
Talking to your adult kids about your finances and how you plan to divvy up your money after your death may be one of the most important conversations you'll ever have. It gives you the chance to tell the kids how you want your estate to be handled. It lets…
Americans are increasingly cobbling together new families out of earlier broken marriages … Effective estate planning for these modern families, made up of past and present marriages, requires a fair amount of finesse and family engagement, to settle disagreements early on and to financially provide for both the current spouse…
Coping with the death of a loved one is difficult enough without the added pressure of creditors calling you to collect on the deceased person’s credit card debt. But can a bank collect a credit card debt owed by your deceased parent or spouse? By and large, we talk about…
As interest rates rise, more children of high-net-worth families are likely to tap into their trust funds to buy a home. Buying a home means chaining yourself to a mortgage and the financial institution holding it. This arrangement is oftentimes considered a necessary evil of adulthood. But then again, when…