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…
A healthy life where you retain all your faculties and enjoy yourself, is definitely preferred to decades of dementia. We don’t get to choose, but we can plan. As Baby Boomers continue to change the face of aging, and so many embrace the idea of genetic testing, many are confronted…
The roles are reversed when parents age. You can’t count on them to take the lead in having discussions about money, health, aging and other concerns that come in the later years. When you were a kid, your parents were in charge. Now your parents are older, and you must…
“The man who took care of Robert Indiana in the last years of his life, told a probate court hearing Wednesday that he was paid roughly $250,000 a year to tend to the aging artist, whose estate and legacy are now the subject of acrimony and lawsuits.” Under questioning by…
Most people who work for a living dream of retirement. However, for many workers, the idea of retirement comes with its own worries. Will there be enough money? Will I be healthy enough to enjoy it? Money and health are the two biggest worries about retirement. There are other unknowns:…