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Take Care With IRA Beneficiary Forms
Even though many people think so, retirement accounts are not included in wills. A story in Forbes points out that who gets the money invested in a retirement account such as an IRA depends on who is named on the account’s beneficiary form. Lots of people make mistakes when it comes to retirement accounts. They […]
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DOMA is Unconstitutional, Now What?
When the U.S. Supreme Court handed down their ruling last Wednesday, striking section 3 from the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) as unconstitutional, the Court radically changed the estate planning laws for many same-sex married couples. Not only are marriages of same-sex couples is now recognized as legal under federal law, but they can now […]
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Are Health Care Costs A Part of Your Retirement Plan?
When people do the math to determine what their financial budgetary needs will be they factor in all the usual expenses, as well as change-of-lifestyle expenses (such as a travel budget, for example) but according to this article on CNBC.com, what many people still neglect to factor into their retirement budget is health care expenses. […]
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Do You Know How Much Your 401(k) Is REALLY Costing You?
Do you know how much your 401(k) is costing you? Are you sure? What most people don’t know is that many employees with “free” retirement plans through an employer actually pay a number of hidden fees. According to a recent article in the Huffington Post, “71 percent of plan participants don’t think they pay any […]
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Retirement Planning Goes Back to its Roots
When it comes to retirement planning you can find suggestions, rules and guidelines of just about every shade, but it wasn’t until this article in the U.S. News and World Report that we’ve seen the biblical “7 Deadly Sins” applied to retirement planning. The tone of the article is light and tongue-in-cheek, but the advice […]
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Trade Like A Man, Save Like A Woman
How will you be planning for your retirement? According to CNBC your gender could play a bigger role than you think in your retirement plan. While of course, not everyone will adhere to gross generalizations, studies have interestingly shown that men and women do have a tendency to take a different approach to saving and […]
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It’s Never Too Early to Start Thinking About Retirement
Every parent wants to teach their children fiscal responsibility, but it’s not always easy to impress upon live-for-the-now youngsters the concept of saving for a rainy day. Certainly teaching by example is one tried and true method; another is practice. But can a 15 to 21 year old really practice saving for retirement? Of course […]
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Will You Take Advantage of New Roth Rollover Rules?
January of 2010 has brought with it a lot of change that is keeping financial and estate planners on their toes. In addition to the repeal of the estate tax (discussed in a previous post), we have been presented with new Roth IRA rollover rules that took effect January 1st, and which now allow anybody, […]
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The Uncertain Future of the Estate Tax Law
The question on every estate planning attorney’s mind (and on the minds of our clients) is what will happen to the estate tax next year? There is less than a week left before the estate tax expires, and I have lost hope that our representatives in Washington will actually reach a resolution before the last […]
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Don’t Take That IRA Withdrawal Yet! New Options for Seniors in 2009
During our seminars this year, I’ve reminded the audience that if you are a senior 70 ½ or older who owns an IRA we have good news for you. Last year Congress approved legislation that waives the minimum withdrawal requirement for seniors in 2009. This leaves seniors with more options than usual regarding their IRAs. […]
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