Retirement Watch Weekly
How to Avoid Unexpected Estate Battles over Personal Items
Few things amaze estate planners more than the property heirs choose to fight over. The worst disputes often seem to occur over items that most outsiders consider trivial. Furniture, personal mementoes, and the like seem to trigger emotional reactions in heirs. Sometimes an heir simply is looking for an excuse to vent a long-held grievance; […]
Estate Planning for Singles (with and without Kids)
A perusal of Estate Planning literature gives the impression that every senior in America is part of a married couple with two or more kids. We know that is not true, and those who do not fit the profile need estate planning guidance at least as much as the stereotypical couple does. Unmarried estate planning […]
The Roth IRA Opportunity
Roth IRAs are one of the best tax-advantaged investment vehicles. Right now they are available to only taxpayers with incomes below certain levels. In a couple of years, all investors will be able to take advantage of this opportunity by converting traditional IRAs into roth iras. Those whose incomes make them ineligible for Roth IRAs […]
How to Beat the Retirement Tax Ambush
The days of tax advantages for retirees are long gone. In the old days, most people could count on being in a lower tax bracket in retirement than during their working years. Now, many people stay in the same tax bracket. For other retirees the marginal tax rate (the rate on the last dollar of […]
When to Change Long-Term Care Insurance Policies
This could be an auspicious time for owners of long-term care insurance policies to consider upgrading or exchanging. While many people have not purchased the policies those who purchased them in the past should take a look at what is available. The biggest gripe of LTC policy owners is premium increases. There are a few […]
How Life Insurance has Turned Into a Valuable Hidden Asset
Most people do not use of all their assets. In fact, many people have assets they unaware of that could be exploited to better achieve their financial and personal goals. In this visit you are going to learn how recent changes have turned life insurance and insurability into very valuable hidden assets for some people. […]
Estate Planning for IRAs
Unique Estate Planning strategies are required for Individual Retirement Arrangements. Many people focus on how to build their IRA balances and how much to withdraw. The treatment of IRAs in estate planning often is overlooked. An estate plan for IRAs should answer these questions: What will be the estate tax and income tax bills? Who […]
How to Take Advantage of the 0% Tax Rate
We are finally here. It is 2008, the year the tax rate drops to 0% for some taxpayers on some types of income. We covered this tax break a couple of times over the last few years. In this visit we review who can take advantage of the 0% tax rate and the different strategies […]
