Your Estate Plan Decides or the State Decides
By planning in advance, you have the say as to who receives which assets. The people you care about are more apt to receive your property.
Blended Family Calls For Protecting Children and New Spouse
According to a study by the Pew Research Center, remarriages are on the rise. Four out of 10 marriages are now remarriages. Half of previously married seniors have remarried again.
What Should I Look for in a Trustee?
Do not put off finalizing and signing your estate planning documents, just because you have reached an impasse on who to name as trustee.
Are You Spending Your Children’s Inheritance?
A key financial question for retirees, is what to do with their hard-earned retirement savings. For example, some investors may find it more fulfilling to provide a college fund for grandchildren, rather than purchase a second home for themselves. The opposite can also be true, and that's okay.
Forgot to Update Your Beneficiary Designations? Your Ex Will be Delighted
You may be surprised at how easy it is to make an expensive mistake with your beneficiary designations.
How Do Family Relationships Mess Up Estate Planning?
Families should plan early and communicate their wishes to their estate planners, as well as update their legal documents to reflect those wishes.
Why Should I Check My Retirement Account Beneficiaries?
Have you checked your beneficiary designation for your retirement account recently? If not, you may find that your designated beneficiary is not who or what you think it should be, especially if you have divorced, remarried or had children, since your retirement plan account was established.
How Do I Plan for a Blended Family?
After a period of divorce or widowhood, you, your newly beloved and your respective children are about to become a ‘blended family.’ You and you partner will be creating a new family dynamic, which will hopefully be rewarding, but can be fraught with challenges, if little attention is paid to the consequences of the relationships.
How Can I Goof Up My Estate Plan?
Even a small mistake can create huge problems during the settlement process, and in many cases, these errors are impossible for anyone to correct.
Who Pays What Taxes on an Inherited IRA?
I'm the executor of my mother's estate. She has an IRA where the beneficiary is her estate. When I withdraw this IRA into her estate account, how will this money be taxed?