We regularly get calls from the family of a deceased who left nothing but debts. The spouse or kids believe that they are responsible for the debts of their deceased loved one. They begin to get hounded by the bill …
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Social Security Benefit Strategies Banned
You have probably heard about the changes coming to Social Security May 1, 2016. There seems to be some misconceptions and misrepresentations about these coming changes. Whenever there are changes like this, there always seems to be some unscrupulous financial …
Taxation of Tax-Advantaged Accounts
My daughter Elizabeth recently graduated from college and in a couple of weeks will begin her first “real” non-temporary job. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth will be able to sign up to participate in an employer retirement …
Spring Cleaning for Your Records
It’s springtime. It is that time of year to start cleaning out the closets, the garage and the shed, all of which over the winter had become a repository for all that stuff that you just didn’t have the time …
Understanding Step Up Basis
In President Obama’s State of the Union address last week, he spoke of closing tax loopholes used by the wealthy. One of those “loopholes” that is in Obama’s gun sights is what the White House has dubbed the “trust fund …
Death and Taxes
You have probably heard the quote from Benjamin Franklin, who in 1789 wrote: “in this world, nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes.” Franklin was actually paraphrasing Daniel Defoe from his 1726 book The Political History …
Saving for College
You want your children or grandchildren to be successful. You want them to be self sufficient. You want them to have a good start in life and you think college is one way to do it. But college is expensive. …
Planning with Family LLCs
You have probably heard about family limited liability companies (“LLCs”), but you may not know the reasons for which you would use them. A family LLC is an estate planning tool to transfer and/or hold assets for succeeding generations. Before …
Roth IRAs
It’s not too late to make IRA contributions for 2013. If you make a qualifying IRA contribution before April 15, 2014, you can elect to report it on your 2013 or 2014 individual income tax return. You can contribute up …
Seven Most Common Trust Mistakes
We haven’t discussed mistakes and misconceptions that many people have regarding trusts in a while. You may have a revocable living trust in your estate plan. Living trusts are very powerful planning tools that you can use for all kinds …