Have You Reviewed Your Beneficiary Designations Lately?
Maybe it's an insurance policy you took out years ago. Or the retirement plan you set up with your employer the day you started working for the company. Or the IRA you have been scrupulously contributing...
Selling Your Business to the Highest Bidder Is Not Necessarily the Best Option
If you own a business and have not put a succession plan in place, you might be thinking that the best choice, when the time comes to retire, is to simply sell your business outright to the highest bidder....
Choosing a Trustee for Your Special Needs Trust
Choosing the right trustee for any trust is a difficult and extremely important decision. In the case of choosing the right trustee for the trust you have created to protect your loved one with special...
Why You Need Advance Directives
Advance directives give a person of your choosing the authority to make decisions on your behalf about the type of care you want in the event of incapacity or an end of life situation. Your directives...
Five Factors to Consider When Purchasing Long-Term Care Insurance
The United States Department of Health and Human Services estimates that approximately 70 percent of Americans over the age of 65 will need some type of long-term care. Contrary to what many people believe,...
Think Twice Before Deciding to Serve as Trustee
If you have been asked to serve as a trustee, chances are you were initially flattered by the request. After all, it is quite an honor—a parent or other loved one thinks highly enough of you to entrust...
The Benefits—and Risks—of Giving Children Their Inheritances While You Are Alive and Well
According to a Merrill Lynch retirement study, 60 percent of people over the age of 50 would rather give inheritances sooner rather than later. Why? Many say they simply want to be there to enjoy helping...
Planning Tips for Singles
The 2013 United States Census indicated that 54 percent of women over the age of 65 were not married. The figure for men over 65 was 27 percent. There are many reasons for this, of course, including divorce,...
Is It Better to Buy or Rent a Home in Retirement?
Maybe you're looking to relocate to a state you've always dreamed about living in. Or perhaps you just want to downsize to a more manageable property. Whatever the reason, the decision whether to buy or...
The Benefits of an Irrevocable Living Trust
An Irrevocable Living Trust generally cannot be modified or terminated except under certain limited circumstances. It requires the grantor to transfer assets into the trust and give up his or her rights...