News
The Spousal Lifetime Access Trust: A Nearly Perfect Tool?
A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) is an irrevocable trust where one spouse (the donor spouse) gifts assets to the other spouse (the beneficiary spouse) in a trust. The trust authorizes the trustee to make distributions to the beneficiary spouse … Continued
How to Choose a Guardian for Your Child
Appointing a guardian for your children might seem morbid. If you’re a healthy person who doesn’t work a dangerous job, it may also strike you as unnecessary, since your decision usually only matters if you die or become disabled before … Continued
Tax Breaks for the Elderly
Getting older has its perks, including tax breaks. Your income threshold for filing a tax return at all is higher, you get a bigger standard deduction, and you can defer or avoid taxes on more money. Below are the details of … Continued
4 Questions to Ask the HOA Before You Buy a Home
So you’ve found your dream home in your dream neighborhood, but there’s just one thing…there’s an HOA. Before you sign on the dotted line and purchase a home with an HOA, there a few questions you should ask to ensure … Continued
How To Pick an Executor
There is a key aspect of creating an estate plan that you should not gloss over: choosing whom to carry out the wishes outlined in your will, making important decisions on your behalf. Select someone who’s trustworthy, organized and able … Continued
Estate Planning With Big Age Gaps
Are you in an age-gap relationship? Studies show an age gap among spouses in five percent of first marriages and 20% of second marriages. Estate and financial planning for spouses with significant age differences requires a special focus on making both … Continued
All About Prenups
A prenuptial contract (“prenup”) lists all the property owned by two people who are about to marry, specifying what each person’s property rights will be after marriage. These days, you don’t have to be wealthy or famous to turn to … Continued
How To Find a Retirement Community
Retirement communities allow you to live independently and receive care as you need it. There are a great number of active older adults living in retirement communities. Some are there to avoid the isolation that can come with aging and … Continued
When To Use a QTIP Trust
A qualified terminable interest property, or QTIP, trust provides for a surviving spouse while allowing you to maintain control over how your trust’s assets are distributed once that spouse dies. Income, and sometimes principal, that are generated from the trust … Continued
What Is an Active Adult Community?
When you think about life after retirement, what do you picture? Perhaps you’d like nothing better than to stay in the same home you’ve had for years, but maybe you’re thinking about a change. Many seniors prefer small, low-maintenance homes. … Continued
How to Pass Down a Family Business
Expecting to inherit and run your family’s business exactly like Mom and Dad did? Each new generation of leadership has different skills and interests. Business contexts shift. Maybe you should step back and consider the CEO’s job description, the governance … Continued
Should You Go with a Medicare Broker?
How can you be sure that an insurance salesman is being honest with you? Talk to a broker instead of a corporate representative. Because Medicare brokers work for many different insurance companies, they can try to find the right fit … Continued
The Basics of a Will
Everyday events are unpredictable. A catastrophic health condition or injury can leave anyone incapacitated. A will can speak for you when you cannot speak for yourself. Most Americans agree that creating a will is a critical part of having a … Continued
Is Seed Investing Still a Possibility?
As economic fallout from the pandemic stifles small businesses, venture capital firms that were in the fundraising stage have slowed their commitment-making. It remains uncertain how long the disease and its economic impact will linger. For opportunistic investors, falling valuations … Continued
All About Power of Attorney (POA)
A power of attorney (POA) is a legal document giving one person, called the agent or attorney-in-fact, the power to act for another person, called the principal. POAs often are considered when planning for long-term care. You could be appointed … Continued
Watch the Fees in Your Retirement Savings
How are fees impacting your retirement savings? Even though they might be just 1% today, with the law of compounding, those fees can have a sizable effect, amounting to almost 30% of your final portfolio. If you are like most … Continued
Trusts are Not Just for the Wealthy
Trusts are not reserved just for the wealthy — they are for a variety of people and can solve many estate-planning problems. To begin with, plenty of people have estates worth a couple of million without realizing it. When you … Continued
Should You Incorporate?
Why incorporate? There is a slew of reasons, including asset protection and tax benefits. Let’s look at each more closely: It’s easier to raise capital. Incorporating your business will make it easier to raise money because it adds a sense … Continued
How Divorce Affects Your Estate Plan
While your divorce is ongoing, make sure to meet your legal obligations to your spouse while exercising as much control over your assets as possible. Financial law is full of provisions designed to protect your property if anything happens to … Continued
Preventing a Will Contest
When you write a will, you have control over how your assets will be distributed after your death. However, if someone in your family disputes your will, a probate court judge could end up deciding who gets your property. Emotions … Continued
The Importance of Beneficiary Designations
“Carol Page” got a call from the bank — an IRA from her deceased father was found and paperwork needed to be signed. But before the money was made available, a snag was discovered — her mother was named as … Continued
529 Plans: Know the Full Story
The coronavirus upended the lives of many college students who had to return home to learn remotely in order to try to slow the spread of the virus. At the same time, many students and their parents lost jobs or … Continued
5 Things You Should Think Twice About Before Buying
This is the moment you have been waiting for. All the paperwork is complete, you have the keys, and you are finally in your new home. Or maybe you’ve been saving your pennies, and you’re excited about fixing up your … Continued
The Advantages of an ABLE Account and Saver’s Credit
Achieving a Better Life Experience Act, ABLE, accounts help people with disabilities and their families save and pay for disability-related expenses. They allow states to create tax-advantaged savings programs for eligible people with disabilities, and distributions are tax free if … Continued
What to Do When Someone Dies
Settling the affairs of a deceased family member is not a one-person task. Here is a checklist to help you.
We Support...
Moser Foundation 2021 Press Release
The pandemic has given all of us challenges over the past year and nonprofit organizations are no exception. Arts, education and literacy nonprofits have needed to find creative ways to continue providing programs and services to their clients, patrons and … Continued
Lindsay Foundation Supports Basic Needs Fund, Addiction Services
We are proud of our clients! Good People doing Good Work. The Brian & Marilyn Lindsay Foundation made a grant that matters to Wheeler Clinic. Read the full story here.
Guest Posts
5 Steps to Create a Home Inventory Checklist (By Scott Humphrey, Travelers for Insurance Associates, 74 Vine St., New Britain, CT 06052)
After a fire, burglary or another event in which you lost possessions from your home, it may be difficult to remember the details of every one of the belongings that you have accumulated over the years. In this situation, having … Continued
