Careful thought and planning is needed before naming beneficiaries to your accounts. Like choosing an executor for your estate, the choices of beneficiaries can have far-reaching consequences. Many of your financial assets allow you to name beneficiaries, including life insurance…
There are many ways to reduce estate taxes for those rarefied few who would otherwise have to pay them, a number of these strategies work best while you are still alive to see their results. If the prospect of paying…
Mighty oaks grow from little acorns, and a 529 you start for your someday-grandchild will also grow mighty with the benefit of decades. It sounds a little extreme, but when you think about the power of compounding returns, starting a…
The Durable Power of Attorney is an important document to have. However, you and your agent need to be aware of some potential pitfalls with its use. The essential function of a Durable Power of Attorney (DPOA) is to legally…
Elder orphans, a term used to describe seniors who don’t have children or a family support system, are growing in number. To protect themselves, they need to plan more than other seniors. With a health care system already straining at…
IRAs can help make tax savings a part of your overall retirement planning strategy. There are great tax savings to be had with IRAs. They should be a part of everyone’s retirement savings plan. While you can go with a…
Once your estate plan is in place, there are several issues you don’t have to worry about. That is a good enough reason to move forward with your estate plan. Death and dying are nowhere near as fun to think…
The first time that many people are introduced to the world of estate planning, is when a parent or grandparent passes away. This life event changes their perspective on its importance. Every family has its own “personality,” and finding an…
Accidents and traumatic health events happen to people every day, even to the healthiest among us. For some, a health crisis is a short term problem, but for many others, entire lives are changed. Without an estate plan, which includes…
There are pros and cons to the use of a life estate deed when it comes to the family home. Life estate deeds can be used to transfer real property to heirs and maintain the right to use or live…