Retirement Watch Weekly
Estate Planning Shrewd Gift-Giving Strategies
Regular people have been left out of most Estate Planning discussions this year. Estate planners and financial media are pounding the table for people to give away a lot of money by Dec. 31 because of the scheduled end of the $5.12 million estate and gift tax exemption on Jan. 1, 2013. If the expiration […]
Estate Planning to Ensure Gifts are Tax Free
Many people who make Estate Planning gifts are giving away assets that don’t have obvious market prices. Because the gift tax is based on the value of an asset, these people have to be careful. When the donor places a value on an asset and makes the maximum tax-free gift, the IRS later can step […]
Managing, Planning for Retirement Medical Costs
Paying for medical care is the greatest fear of retirees and pre-retirees. Curiously, most of them aren’t doing much about it. The same surveys that report Americans are concerned about retirement medical expenses also report that only about 12% take account of medical costs in their retirement planning. More than half admit to knowing very […]
Safe Ways to Combine Trusts and IRAs
Trusts can make an inherited IRA last longer. They can control how an IRA is invested after you’re gone and when distributions are made to beneficiaries. Unfortunately, the tax law throws some obstacles in your way. Standard trusts and IRAs don’t mix. To reap the benefits of combining an IRA with a trust, you and […]
Wrapping Up the Year’s Finances
The last few months of the year are a good time to devote to cleaning up your finances. You need to adjust for things that happened this year and plan for things you want to happen or that could happen in 2013. Don’t try to take these actions at once. Spread them over a few […]
The Next Financial and Stock Market Crisis
The U.S. seems to have stabilized its financial crisis. Thanks to substantial Fed stimulus, the economy is settled into a low growth, low inflation path. Europe, after a lot of fits and starts, just might have stumbled on policies that will prevent a meltdown and duplicate the U.S. environment. Some investors believe that means we […]
The Ray Dalio Transcript
A few weeks back Ray Dalio, head of hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, sat for an extensive interview of Maria Bartiromo sponsored by the Council on Foreign Relations. Only the hour-plus long video was available at first. Now, the CFR posted a transcript of the interview. It’s well worth your time to read it and review […]
Tips for Signing into a Nursing Home
When someone begins residence at a nursing home, a lot of documents need to be signed by the resident or someone acting on his or her behalf. More and more often, one of those documents is an arbitration or mediation agreement. In effect, the resident is signing away the right to take any disputes to […]
