Taken all together, these steps might seem overwhelming. But if you do one task each day, you can really change your financial life by year-end.
Is it too late in the year to get your finances ironed out?
Fortunately, a recent article from kjrh.com, titled “7 financial steps to take before New Year's Eve,” will help.
Yes, nobody relishes thinking about the day when they will no longer be around. But with a little effort and foresight, you can give your family the ultimate gift: a piece of mind. Here's a quick checklist of estate planning essentials.
Not really ready for an estate planning talk around the fire this holiday season? It's definitely not a pleasant conversation when considering the end of one's life. Yet, if you could give your family the gift of "peace of mind", would you? Probably so. What does this gift look like?
The Street’s recent article, “The best holiday gift for your family: estate planning,” gives us a quick checklist of estate planning essentials:
"There are no 'do-overs' after you agree to a settlement," says Vickie Adams, a certified financial planner and certified divorce finance analyst in San Pedro, Calif. "After 50, you'll have fewer years to recoup from financial errors, so it's essential to get this right." Here are a few tips for protecting your finances during a later-in-life divorce.
Unfortunately, divorce is possible at any age. But there are differences in financial tactics depending on your stage of life, particularly for divorce after age 50. A recent article in USA Today, titled "Protect finances in later-in-life divorce," provides some tips for protecting your finances during a later-in-life divorce.
Use a third party mediator. Although some couples can sort things out on their own, many others use an impartial third party to help with the process. The original article says that couples heading into a divorce who choose to litigate should give their attorneys permission to contact their accountant, estate planning attorney, and financial adviser.
Have a plan; either you decide or someone else does.
Year-end is a great time to evaluate your estate planning goals! This timely topic was the theme of a recent article in the Pittsburgh Post Gazette titled "Holiday season is the best time to update your estate planning."
Here are some questions you ought to ask yourself as 2015 draws near:
Leave it to Beaver? Or do you prefer to leave your estate to someone else? Today’s families are a lot different than Ward and June Cleaver. There are more families today with non-traditional situations than ever before. This makes financial and estate planning all the more important.
If your family looks nothing like the family of Ward and June Cleaver, you are not alone. Families today are very different compared to the days of Leave It to Beaver. Our so-called modern families leave much to consider when it comes to financial and estate planning.
A recent article in The Patriot Ledger, titled "Estate planning for non-traditional relationships," takes a practical look at a common personal, financial and legal challenge.
Managing an estate can be complicated and overwhelming, but libraries can often be sources of hidden value, and thus should not be ignored. There's always a chance that tucked away in that library are a few rare first editions or hard-to-find antique items. But if you're facing hundreds of volumes and you have little experience with books, where do you start?
Libraries and rare books may not be your idea of a good inheritance, but they can actually be hidden treasures if you do your research. A recent JD Supraarticle, titled “California Estate Planning: What to Do if You Inherit a Library,” warns against failing to value books that are left as part of an estate.
You never know if the library has tucked away an inscribed first edition of “For Whom the Bell Tolls” by Ernest Hemingway. That’s going for $8,500 on Ebay right now. Or maybe a signed J.D. Salinger “The Catcher in The Rye.” Asking price for this is only $55,000 these days. These rare first editions or hard-to-find antique items are out there. If you are left with the responsibility of sorting through a collection containing hundreds of volumes, and you have little experience with books, where do you start?
“Regardless of how much wealth you have,” says Gregory Popera, a private wealth adviser with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, “having some type of estate plan and financial power of attorney are sort of the financial building blocks to make sure your assets go where you want them to go.”
Making sure your heirs are taken care of once you pass is an important goal of estate planning. And you don't have to be among the wealthy to create financial stability for your loved ones.
The Washington Post recently discussed practical strategies for financial security in an article titled "How to pass money on to your children."
Once someone dies there is much work to be done. These are a few suggestions to help you get administratively organized for death.
To make death easier for all involved, it’s critical to plan some of the issues related to death far in advance with some contemplation to make everything go as smoothly as possible when a loved one passes away.
When a loved one dies you have to remember IRS deadlines, Social Security Administration requirements, compliance with state laws, and dealing with other grieving family members. There’s also the chance you might have some relatives who feel entitled to more or different assets.
Where there’s a will, there’s a way—and sometimes an ugly family feud. Families are consumed with grief when a loved one dies, but unfortunately certain legal and organizational tasks that arise can’t be ignored or put off for long. But you can ease the burden on your loved ones by making some simple preparations in addition to a will.
Sometimes your family may need more detail than what is normally included in a will. To get in front of hard feelings and potential conflicts over your personal possessions, think about adding a letter of instruction to your will. This is an informal document you can draft which isn’t legally binding, but can be a helpful guide for your family.
A recent article in The Wall Street Journal, titled “When a Will is Not Enough,” suggests that you organize your letter into three sections: funeral arrangements, financial and personal affairs, and distribution of personal effects.
By putting ownership in trust and designating a knowledgeable person to oversee an individual’s firearms, the chance of such issues arising is minimized. Plus, paperwork requirements for transferring guns are streamlined and the trust prevents information about a valuable collection that might be of interest to thieves from being made public during the probate process.
A recent ABA Journal article, titled “Got valuable firearms? A gun trust can be a helpful estate-planning tool,” explains the benefits of a gun trust.
The thinking behind this strategy? By putting gun ownership in trust and naming a knowledgeable person to look after your firearms, the chance of trouble and issues coming into play upon your incapacity or death is minimal.
Houston Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney Blog