Why Estate Planning. For most of us, we begin our lives with very little in the way of personal assets. The journey of life often begins with the vision of finding the right career, buying our first home, getting married, and having children as we enjoy the experiences that are […]
Estate Planning Basics Let’s begin with the definition of the term estate. The Merriam-Webster defines the term estate as “the aggregate of property or liabilities of all kinds that a person leaves for disposal at his death”. Simply put an estate is everything you own and/or owe. Thus, effective estate […]
Cash or Credit. Will that be cash or credit? It has been a long time since anyone has asked me if I was paying cash or credit. Yesterday’s cash and credit has been replaced with today’s debit or credit. Therefore while today I may be walking around with very few […]
Upside Down. It was the early 1980’s. Ronald Regan was our 40th president of the United States and Americans were experiencing high inflation, interest rates, and unemployment. However by 1983-1984, the misery index was receding due to the improving economy. During this period, I was in my twenties and spent […]
Estate Planning “The Revocable Living Trust”. At the very core of estate planning, is the issue of how to title assets in order to preserve and reduce the cost of transferring assets at the death of the owner. One of the most effective ways to control the transfer of assets […]
Budgeting & Forecasting. Let me start by asking this question. If you don’t know where you are going, then how will you ever get there? In the context of money, budgeting and forecasting is where the rubber meets the road. This is the single most important issue because it deals […]
The Consequences of Debt. Anyone possessing basic critical thinking skills would understand that carrying $15,000 in credit card debt over a working career is just, well, insane. But that appears to be about the average credit card debt in America for 2016, according to several different sources. What the average […]
The Challenge of Expectations. Nothing in life has more potential to create emotional frustration than the erroneous expectation that something will occur in the future. Take the word “perfect”. Has something ever been touted to you as being “perfect”, only later to be extremely disappointed? Personally, I limit the use […]
The Roth IRA. The Roth IRA was established by the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997 and was named for its chief legislative sponsor, Senator William Roth of Delaware. The primary advantage of the Roth IRA is the tax-free accumulation of earnings while the primary disadvantage is the requirement that after-tax […]
The Essential Estate Planning Documents. Most of us walk through life with very little consideration of what legal documents are necessary in the event of our premature death or if we are unable to make decisions for ourselves due to incapacitation or incompetence. There are four primary legal documents […]
