Many people assume that it will be easy to live inexpensively during their twilight years. You may have already crossed everything off of your bucket list at that point in terms of costly travel and adventure. Medicare will be there to handle health care expenses, and you may expect to own your own home and vehicles outright. As a result you may anticipate limited expenses. In truth, adopting the above perspective is a trap of sorts. What about long-term care? Medicare … [Read more...] about Combine These Figures to See a Profound Picture
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Studies Reveal Trend Toward Reduced Inheritances
There is an interesting trend that researchers are finding regarding the inheritances that members of the baby boomer generation will be receiving. These are the people who were born between 1946 in 1964, and they are incrementally reaching their mid-60s, which is of course the approximate age of retirement for most individuals. Merrill Lynch surveyed a sampling of individuals who are in possession of at least $250,000 of investment assets over a period of time. In 2009, 54% of … [Read more...] about Studies Reveal Trend Toward Reduced Inheritances
Have You Heard of All of These Wills?
In the field of estate planning most people are aware of the existence of wills and trusts. What they may not be cognizant of is the fact that there are a number of different types of wills and trusts. We will look at some of the more commonly utilized trusts in a different post, but let's take a glance at four different types of wills. Living Will: An Advance Directive for Health Care Since there is such a thing as a living trust there can be some confusion about the purpose of a … [Read more...] about Have You Heard of All of These Wills?
Tax Relief Act Positively Impacts Some Farm Families
The movie Secretariat is entertaining for horse racing fans and casual observers alike, but it is also instructive from an estate planning perspective. If you saw the movie you know that the family that owned and bred Secretariat was faced with the prospect of selling their farm just to pay the estate tax when family patriarch Christopher Chenery passed away. There are those who say that the estate tax is something that only rich people have to think about. In fact, there are many … [Read more...] about Tax Relief Act Positively Impacts Some Farm Families
Consider a Charitable Lead Trust
There are various different ways to incorporate charitable giving into a comprehensive estate plan. While giving is its own reward on a particular level, without question many people are more or less compelled to give to charity because of the tax advantages. One of the devices that can be utilized to great advantage, especially during our current era when interest rates are low, is a charitable lead trust. We will endeavor to provide a very simple, surface explanation here but we … [Read more...] about Consider a Charitable Lead Trust
The Value of Post-Marital Agreements
Premarital agreements can be very useful from an estate planning perspective. This is particularly true for people who are entering into second or third marriages after having children from previous marriages. If you simply allow all assets that you bring into the marriage to become community resources you are doing nothing to protect the interests of your children. There are no guarantees with regard to what your spouse would choose to do with the assets if you were to die … [Read more...] about The Value of Post-Marital Agreements
April Indianapolis Estate Planning Seminars
Our firm is very proactive about community outreach and education. When you understand why estate planning is important you invariably feel compelled to take action for the benefit of those that you love. One way that we make solid information available is through our website and right here on this blog. A great resource that you may want to explore is our library of informative free estate planning reports. We offer a number of reports on many different specific topics, and they … [Read more...] about April Indianapolis Estate Planning Seminars
How Long Will You Continue Working?
People are working longer than they did a couple of decades ago according to research that has been compiled by the Sloan Center on Aging & Work at Boston College. While you may want to work even if you don't have to, it is certainly a good idea to make this choice on your own. You don't want to be forced to work when you are in your late 60's, 70's, and perhaps beyond out of financial need. And even those who would like to be working may not be capable of doing so at some point in … [Read more...] about How Long Will You Continue Working?
Youthful Wisdom Yields Long-Term Results
Some retirement planning experts have suggested that people should begin thinking about retirement when they are still in college. It is certainly true that you can never start saving too soon. The quality we know as "wisdom" is often thought of as being the exclusive domain of those who have a considerable amount of life experience. This may be true to some extent, but sometimes young people can make wise decisions as well. When you do the math you have a considerable amount of time to … [Read more...] about Youthful Wisdom Yields Long-Term Results
A Single Reason to Plan Ahead for Possible Incapacity
In truth, incapacity can strike anyone at any time. One of the most widely publicized examples of this was the case of Terri Schiavo. She was in her 20's when she fell into a vegetative state due to full cardiac arrest. The above having been stated, incapacity is obviously something that is more likely to strike people who reach an advanced age. Though there are many different causes of incapacitation, the mere existence of Alzheimer's disease alone is enough to make … [Read more...] about A Single Reason to Plan Ahead for Possible Incapacity
