Losing a spouse through death or divorce can be emotionally devastating and is often a difficult time to make important life decisions. Yet it’s this very time that attention needs to be paid to important financial matters such as retirement assets, budgeting on a single income, appropriate insurance, or reviewing Social Security benefits. Should you become […] READ MORE
If you have a will, have you looked at in the past couple of years and updated if necessary? That’s important, but don’t assume that it’s enough to ensure that all your wishes are carried out in the event of your demise. It isn’t. What about the beneficiary designations on your qualified retirement accounts, individual […] READ MORE
You’ve worked a lifetime for what you have. You did everything right; funded your retirement plan, paid off your home early, amassed enough savings to cover future expenses and even planned to leave a financial legacy to your loved ones. Too bad your ex-spouse—and his or her kids—will inherit it all… Estate-planning mistakes are both […] READ MORE
Using a payable-on-death or transfer-on-death account is the simplest way to keep assets out of probate. With either a transfer-on-death or a payable-on-death account, you are in control. The assets in the account pass directly to your named beneficiary and bypass probate, the court proceedings that validate your will after your death and transfers property […] READ MORE
The first wave of baby-boomers turns 65 this year, and that means millions of new retirees will begin to switch from accumulating a nest egg to drawing income from it. If you’re a boomer, it’s time to start thinking about how you’ll convert decades of savings into a lifetime stream of income, which accounts to tap first and […] READ MORE
While these two teams never met on the playing field, their two iconic owners faced very different fates in the game of life. George Steinbrenner, who died recently at the age of 80, certainly came out ahead of Joe Robbie, the former owner of the Miami Dolphins who died in 1990. A victory for his […] READ MORE