Defining your Goals Are you thinking about re-evaluating your financial habits for the New Year? You’re not alone. New Year’s resolutions after all are a fancy, delicate way of saying you need to start making changes in your life. The changes can vary from eating habits to spending habits, but they all have one […] 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
Once again a celebrity has died, leaving an estate in chaos. Clearly good intentions but poorly planned and with no follow through. As unfortunate as this might be, there are lessons to be learned and mistakes not to be repeated. Most recently, the Oscar-winning actor Philip Seymour Hoffman became deceased, leaving an estate reportedly worth […] 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
Nothing like a little foresight to protect yourself! Even a mutually agreed upon divorce can turn ugly when the issue of money arises. When the process of litigation can run up the legal fees quickly, financial pain for both of you is not far off. Preparing Well: While a peaceable divorce can be a simple division of […] READ MORE