My Comments: Last week I attended a luncheon where the formal program was a panel of professionals discussing trusts. The focus was on trustee responsibilities, the fact we’re living longer, trustees and/or beneficiaries are increasingly likely to become mentally challenged, children are having to wait longer and longer to receive their beneficial interest, and other …
Continue reading How to Choose Your Trustee or Executor of Your Will
My Comments: The older you get, the more you accept that the end happens to all of us. I encourage you to make a serious effort to make sure whatever you leave behind flows freely downstream to the right place or people. This summary will help you avoid serious mistakes made by others that result …
Continue reading 12 Assets To Avoid Leaving to Your Heirs When You Die
My Comments: First, 35 mistakes is more than anyone is likely to make. Second, despite by having been a professional financial planner for almost 50 years, I can tell you that despite my presumed skills, I made some serious mistakes along the way. Third, there’s a lot here to absorb, but I hope you make …
Continue reading 35 Retirement Planning Mistakes You’re Wasting Money On
My Comments: This post is for those of you trying to deal with matters that sooner or later will happen in your life that need thinking about. As a professional in financial services for many years, I can tell you tales about people who paid money to establish a living trust and then ignored the …
Continue reading Is a Living Trust Really the Best Way to Pass an Inheritance to Your Family?
My Comments: I’ve dealt with inherited IRA accounts many times over the years. However, every time I encounter another example, the rules have changed for the worse. Yes, the IRS is under pressure to generate more revenue for the country, and this is one way to make it happen. Right now, I have a family …
My Comments: This article is directed toward younger folks who have elderly family members. It's very relevant for those whose life span is getting shorter. If you have someone like that in your life, you can help them and yourself if you read this carefully. To me it’s difficult to appreciate that a majority of …
My Comments: This topic is very relevant for me. Statistically my wife will survive me by ten years. If life plays out that way, she may need help from Medicaid. If our home is in a family trust and I’m gone from the scene, it will be easier for our children as trustees to look …
Continue reading Does Putting Your Home in a Trust Protect It From Medicaid?
My Comments: A family member is thankfully near the end of a 12–15-month process to successfully complete an inheritance. The person who died had some assets in a revocable trust but many were not. The effort to complete what is often a long probate process has been complicated by an IRA owned by the deceased …
Continue reading Four Reasons Retirees Need a (Revocable) Trust
My Comments: Over the years I’ve had many opportunities to help people plan how they want their money to both serve them during retirement and where it should go, or be used when or if, they become goofy and ultimately die. This is a little long, but a good read for any of you wondering …
Continue reading Revocable trust vs. will: A guide to estate planning
My Comments: I've spent almost 50 years working with clients as a financial planner. For many, the revocable trust is often a critical ingredient to make life easier for the people involved. The typical problem was few had more than a limited understanding of what I was talking about. My goal was to encourage them …
Continue reading Revocable trust vs. will: A guide to estate planning
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