-
A Realistic Look at the Future
How are you feeling about your retirement these days? According to Chuck Jaffe’s article in MarketWatch most people’s answer to that question is not so good. According to Jaffe, Americans are losing confidence in the market’s ability to support their retirement (with good reason), and the most common reaction to this lack of confidence is […]
Read more
-
Help for Growing Old Gracefully and Peacefully
There is a saying that goes something along the lines of “the only thing worse than getting old is the alternative,” which is said to express pretty well the dismay, betrayal, confusion and sometimes horror that go along with the aging process. Americans are living longer than ever—which really means that there are more opportunities […]
Read more
-
Time to Re-emphasize the Basics
With all the worrying you’ve been doing about the economy, the stock market, and shrinking investments, have you given any thought to how your existing estate plan may be affected by all of this? The New York Times has. And what they’ve found is hopeful. Although estates may be smaller, there’s now more room for […]
Read more
-
Beware of the Debt Collector
As if dealing with the emotional pain after the death of a loved was isn’t enough, bereaved relatives now have one more thing to be aware of after a family member has passed away; incorrigible debt collectors looking for someone—anyone!—to pay off the debts of the deceased, even if you have no obligation to do […]
Read more
-
Obama’s Tax Proposals Bring Mixed Reactions
Change in Washington D.C. means change will eventually trickle down to all of us, especially when that change has to do with taxes. In preparation for that change, Dean Zerbe of Forbes.com has provided us with a review of President Obama’s tax proposals. According to Zerbe, Obama’s proposals contain (as Clint Eastwood would say) the […]
Read more
-
Sibling Rivalry Goes Too Far
My son goes to college in Arizona. A disturbing precedent is being set there, where a group of siblings are having a court battle over their mother’s estate… while she’s still alive! Family members fighting over inheritance is a sad situation, but not unusual. In fact, it probably happens more often than you may think; […]
Read more
-
Lincoln and Estate Planning
We just celebrated Presidents’ Day this week. Unfortunately when President Abraham Lincoln passed away on April 15, 1865 he left his family at the mercy of the state laws of inheritance and succession—because he died without a will. It is hard to imagine how Lincoln could have neglected this; after all, he was a statesman […]
Read more
-
The Financial Diet
Towards the beginning of the year most people make resolutions having to do with diet or finances—or both. But what if you combined the two and put yourself on a financial diet? This is exactly what Ron Lieber is suggesting in his February 6 article in the New York Times. As Lieber points out, because […]
Read more
-
Senior Issues on the Silver Screen
It’s that time again, and the news sources are all aglow with coverage… no, not the inauguration—the Oscars! This isn’t something we’d normally talk about on an estate planning blog, but one of the top contenders this year is ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ (receiving 13 nominations in all); a movie about a man […]
Read more
-
Caring For Your Parents; Presidential In-Laws Throughout History
After our recent posts about President-elect Obama and his plan to keep the estate tax, we thought it might be nice to follow up with a lighter story about the office of the President. When Barack Obama takes office on Tuesday and moves his family into the White House, his mother-in-law Marian Robinson will be […]
Read more
