Retirement Watch Weekly
When You Need Cash: Home Equity or Margin Loan
When a large, unexpected expense crops up, you don’t want to increase the cost by using a less-than-optimum way to raise the needed cash. The most common unplanned retirement expenses are medical treatment, home repairs, taxes and help for family members. Of course, when you don’t have enough cash on hand you could sell an […]
Learn More Tax-Wise Ways to Cash in Taxable Gains of Funds, Stocks
Savvy investors who sell less than the entire position of a stock or mutual fund in a taxable account have some control over the amount of capital gains taxes they pay. The strategies are particularly im- portant to retired investors who often sell a portion of their holdings each year to pay expenses. The capital […]
The Tax-Wise Way to Cash in Taxable Investment Gains
There’s a strategy for recognizing taxable capital gains that produces multiple tax benefits for many people. The recent boom in stock prices and some real estate sectors leaves many people sitting on substantial gains. They’d like to take the gains and reposition their capital before prices decline, without losing a good portion of the appreciation […]
Year-End Strategies for IRA and 401(k) Owners
As 2023 winds down, you need to engage in end-of-the-year IRA manage- ment, plus develop a multi-year strategy for your retirement plans that acknowledges the 2017 tax law will expire after 2025. Here are critical questions about retirement plans you need to review. Should a traditional IRA be repo- sitioned? Individuals with substantial traditional IRAs […]
Introducing the Most Misunderstood Element of Estate Planning: Gift Tax Returns
Gift tax returns could be the most misunderstood, neglected and overlooked part of estate planning. There are many people who know estate planning quite well but draw blanks about gift tax returns. The gift tax return is IRS Form 709. You can download it free from irs.gov. The first mistake people make is not knowing […]
Bob’s Journal for 9/27
We Mark the 25th Anniversary of When an Investment Fund’s Failure Shook the Markets and Changed Federal Reserve Policy We recently marked the 25th anniversary of the failure of the hedge fund Long-Term Capital Management (LTCM). The failure of what was a little-known investment fund shook the world’s capital markets and initiated important policy changes. […]
Bob’s Journal For 9/21
FDIC Identifies Continuing Risks in the Banking System The banking system isn’t making headlines, but it still “continues to face significant downside risks,” according to the chairman of the FDIC, the primary insurer of bank deposits, Martin Gruenberg. There was a banking crisis last spring, when a series of mid-size banks, led by Silicon Valley […]
The Foundations of a Great Estate Plan [Part 2]
Today we’ll pick up where we left off last week, with more tips to help you make the most of your estate plan. The first is a tricky topic, and sometimes highly charged. Should Heirs Get Equal Shares of the Estate? Parents have several different reasons for considering leaving unequal shares of their estates to […]
