“Iowa Senator Charles Grassley is among those in Congress calling for a crackdown on elder abuse crimes in the country.” The witnesses of loved ones affected by elder abuse incidents testified at a recent Senate Finance Committee hearing in Washington. Those witnesses included Pat Blank, longtime Iowa Public Radio host,…
Life insurance is the bedrock of many people’s financial plan. There are more nuances to life insurance, than just buying a policy and paying premiums. It’s not the most fascinating topic, unless you’re in the business, but understanding the basics about life insurance can have big implications for you and…
There was a time when most people had three sources of income in retirement. One was their savings, the second was Social Security and the third was their pension from work. Today, very few workers enjoy the security of a pension, and retirement income is dependent on each person’s ability…
You may know that there are tax traps when IRA withdrawals or rollovers are done incorrectly. However, did you know that an investment portfolio could contain a tax trap that could ruin your IRA status? The most frequently occurring IRA tax trap comes from tax bills through the Unrelated Business…
You’ve heard the expression “trust fund babies.” However, trusts are not just for the wealthy. They have a number of uses in estate planning and can be helpful at any asset level. The reality of our own mortality keeps some of us up at night. For others, it’s a disturbing…
These may be common mistakes, but they are too important to dismiss and delay. Every year, local television news crews show up at local post offices to see the lines of folks waiting to get their tax returns postmarked on April 15—even when so many of us are using online…
People think of estate plans as one-off documents, but they should think of them more like cars. Estate plans need maintenance, oil changes, tune-ups and if there’s an accident, repairs. As life progresses, you’ll go through a number of stages, from being a teen to an adult, getting married, retiring,…
The period before retirement is a time when people dream about what the future might hold. They also worry, because who hasn’t heard the stories about retirees who return to work because they retired too early? It’s no surprise then that little more than half of Americans surveyed by the…
Virginia is taking steps to protect seniors and other vulnerable individuals against financial exploitation, by giving financial institutions more resources to prevent this growing crime. With bipartisan support, the state House and Senate of Virginia have passed versions of State Bill 1490, which encourages financial institutions to have more leeway…
Early adult life is simple. You may or may not have children, a car, a lease on an apartment. However, by the time you reach your 50s and 60s, you likely have some decent assets, like retirement accounts, investments, real estate and maybe even a few collectible cars. You’ll want…