Football Season is Here: Avoid These Fiscal Fumbles
Nothing’s more frustrating to a football fan than watching a terrific play turn into an epic disaster because someone fumbled the ball. Financial fumbles can be just as maddening, especially when you get really close to most people’s end zone: retirement. You know it is fall, when Saturdays are all about college football and Sunday…
Read MoreTalking About Your Estate Plan with Family
Being able to talk with your family about your estate plan is not easy, since the underlying subtext—your own eventual death—is difficult for parents and adult children. However, by having these frank discussions, you eliminate stress and often, promote a greater family bond. People’s skills in saving for retirement, investing and managing finances are important…
Read MoreWould You Be Prepared to Become “Suddenly Single”?
We all know that someday we and our spouses will die, but knowing that and being prepared for what comes when one becomes suddenly single, either because of an unexpected death or divorce, is daunting, particularly for women. Among the top five financial challenges facing women is the death of a spouse or divorce, says…
Read MoreEstate Planning Requires Ongoing Maintenance for Top Performance
Everyone needs an estate plan, regardless of your level of net worth. Think of your estate plan like a car: it needs ongoing service to keep running smoothly One of the key functions of an estate plan is to distribute assets after you die. If you don’t have an estate plan, the state has one…
Read MoreGetting Paid to Take Care of Your Aging Parents
More family members than you’d imagine, do step up to take care of their elderly parents, losing time that would otherwise be devoted to other family members, their careers or self-care. Most go unpaid, but that may be changing. The financial and emotional stress of taking care of elderly parents or sick loved ones can…
Read MoreYou Can Avoid These Common Mistakes in Estate Planning
It’s challenging to be faced with the business of settling an estate, when you are still grieving. That’s why it’s a kindness to put an estate plan in place that spares your family the additional pressure. Lacking an estate plan, families are often reduced to bickering over even the smallest decisions, and are often unprepared…
Read MoreHow Beneficiary Designations Can Doom Your Estate Plan
Dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s makes all the difference when it comes to estate plans. If beneficiary designations are not up-to-date, unintended individuals like ex-wives can end up with surprise gifts! Until all of the detail work has been done, your estate plan is not really complete. That includes funding accounts, retitling assets…
Read MoreWhat’s the Real Story About Estate Taxes and American Farmers?
Taking a look at the data surrounding farms and the estate tax reveals a different picture than what is being presented. During a visit to North Dakota, President Trump said he would eliminate the federal estate tax, saying it is a huge burden on small businesses and family farmers in that state and across the…
Read MoreWhy an Estate Plan is Never a “Set-it-and Forget-it” Document
It feels great to have your estate plan completed—but that does not mean it is something you can file and forget. Life is all about changes, and your estate plan needs to keep pace. Just one good-sized change in your life—marriage, divorce, death—and your estate plan is not just out of date, but could lead…
Read MoreWill a Living Trust Really Work Better Than a Will?
The potential for avoiding the process and costs of probate makes some people feel like living trusts are the answer to their estate planning problems. However, there are certain limitations and costs associated with trusts, which need to be considered before making a decision. “Living trust” seminars have a single focus: that using this type…
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