Retirement Watch Weekly
Estate Planning Strategies to Give and Protect Wealth
Many people know why making gifts is part of most estate plans. Yet, they hesitate to make the gifts, because they see potential pitfalls. They fear that the gifts might be spent unwisely or wasted. The donee could squander the assets on gambling, substance abuse, or other activities. Or the wealth could be well-managed for […]
How to Help the Post Boomer Generations
Inflation, the rising cost of education, reduced investment returns, soaring real estate prices, and terrorism all concern America’s wealthy. But nothing concerns them more than how those and other factors create great obstacles for their children and grandchildren. A recent survey of America’s wealthy done for U.S. Trust revealed that, like most other Americans, the […]
The Overlooked Retirement Time Bomb
My file of articles about retiree medical expenses is filling rapidly with unpleasant headlines. One sample sums up the group: “How Safe Are Your Retiree Health Benefits?” Numerous surveys and my own experience lead to one conclusion: Most retirees and pre-retirees greatly underestimate how much medical expenses will be during retirement and are mistaken about […]
IRA Estate Tax Discounts – An Update
Your heirs will enjoy only the after-tax value of your IRAs and other retirement accounts. Can this difference be reflected in the estate tax value of the accounts? An IRA is included in the owner’s estate. If the estate is valuable enough, it is subject to the estate tax. After heirs inherit an IRA, the […]
Should Retirees Pay Off Their Mortgage?
Not long ago a key part of every retirement plan was paying off the mortgage. I’m told that a popular ritual was the mortgage-burning party, though I have never been to one. Now, it seems that fewer retirees consider paying down the mortgage to be important. To the contrary, maintaining a substantial mortgage frequently is […]
3 Key Gift-Giving Strategies to Consider [And Exceptions]
For most people, gift-giving season has come and gone. But for shrewd estate planners, the time to give is just beginning. Family gift giving is part of most estate plans. Gifts primarily are made to minimize estate and gift taxes by removing property from an estate. Estate and gift taxes are based on the value […]
How to Put Investments in the Right Places?
With today’s tricky tax law, the account in which you hold an asset can be as important as which assets you own. Unfortunately, too little attention is paid to the issue of which accounts should hold which investments. Most of us have more than one type of investment account: 401(k)s, traditional IRAs, Roth IRAs, taxable […]
Charitable Deduction Rules
Large charitable gifts require extra detail on your tax return. When a contribution of property is between $500 and $5,000, details must be provided about the gifts on Section A of Form 8283. When the value exceeds $5,000, a qualified appraisal must be included. Complete details about the reporting requirements are in IRS Publication 561 […]
