Don’t have a medical directive, or don’t remember the last time you reviewed it? That means it’s time. We never know when an emergency or sudden onset illness will strike. The biggest problem with medical directives, is getting people to confront the concept of being incapacitated or near death. Once…
Remember that estate planning is not just for the wealthy, and now that the federal exemption is so high, not just for the billionaires either. Estate planning is also much more than a will. Your estate plan has a lot of work to do for you, both while you are…
To help plan for retirement, it helps to move from asking global questions, like “Can I afford to retire?” to more specific questions, like “What’s my monthly cost of living right now?” Sometimes retirement planning is so overwhelming that people just shrug their shoulders and hope that things work out.…
To make sure that your wishes are carried out, you’ll have to do your homework. Make sure that you cover these most important documents. The last thing you want to do, is leave a bureaucratic mess for your loved ones when you die. Not only will it cause the family…
Life insurance can be useful in paying off debt, covering funeral costs and serving as a useful resource so that estate proceeds or any one person’s savings don’t have to be tapped. Life insurance may be the least sexy part of the transition from one farming generation to another, but…
Saving for college but needing to receive Medicaid is a complicated equation. The answer “It depends” is not much of a comfort when considering how college savings accounts will be treated for Medicaid purposes. However, it is, unfortunately, the most accurate answer. There are several factors that must be considered:…
Here’s one celebrity savvy about estate planning. Actor and producer Brad Pitt has an estate plan that will keep his money away from his ex and benefit his children through a $250 million trust. After reading about so many celebrities who fail to plan for the future, it’s refreshing to…
Your legacy is far richer than your assets and possessions. Planning to pass on a legacy to your family becomes more rewarding, when it includes non-tangibles, like values and treasured family stories. Who wants to think about death, dying and bank accounts? Not too many people do. That’s why so…
If it seems like every time you start to understand Social Security, there’s something else to learn, you’re right. However, this is an important part of your retirement income, so it’s important to understand. The Social Security earnings test is a way that the agency determines the limit of the…
Most of us consider naming a friend or relative with a background in finance or law to be a trustee for our family, but there is an alternative that is important to consider. A corporate trustee will have a very different approach to managing a trust, and depending on your…