Asking the Wrong Question About When to Retire
Deciding when you should retire should be guided by a number of factors, including when you can afford to retire and if you have a plan of what to do with the rest of your life. In an ideal world,…
Estate 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…
Are You Prepared for Health Care Costs During Retirement?
People think that Medicare covers all of their health care after they retire. However, there are many gaps and you’ll need to get the timing right on what insurance products to buy and when to buy them. Medicare does not…
Avoid These Four Retirement Snafus
Miss these four factors and even the best retirement plan will fall apart fast. Spare yourself and your loved ones the high costs and stress that take many people by surprise. If you don’t plan for these big four elements…
You 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,…
How 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 the surprise gifts! Until all the detail work has…
Why 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…
Will 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…
How Estate Planning and Business Exit Planning Work Together
Sometimes it’s easier to wrap your head around the idea of selling a business, when you see how the exit plan for a business must, by necessity, be a part of estate planning. This often helps owners more fully understand…
Can You Use a Trust to Fund Higher Education?
This approach isn’t for everyone, but if your assets are large enough that you may be facing estate tax issues, a trust may reduce your potential future estate tax, while funding the costs of college education. The 529 college savings…