Many people I meet with ask me if they’ll still need life insurance after they retire. Their children are grown and have good jobs. They have put together a reasonably solid income plan with Social Security, pensions and annuities supplemented by investments and retirement accounts. Their surviving spouse will have plenty of money if they
The estate planning market was originally conceived to handle the distribution of assets (mainly real estate) among the descendants of deceased rich people. There were two objectives to this exercise. Firstly, estate planning helped structure the distribution of wealth among the deceased’s spouse, children and other friends and relatives. The second objective was tax planning.
Many people believe that having an estate plan simply means drafting a will or a trust. However, there is much more to include in your estate planning to make certain all of your assets are transferred seamlessly to your heirs upon your death. A successful estate plan also includes provisions allowing your family members to access or
In his recent New York Times article: “The Student Debt Problem Is Worse Than We Imagined,” author and senior director for post-secondary education at the Center for American Progress, Ben Miller stated that one of America’s best investments in socioeconomic mobility — college — has become a debt trap for far too many. While I
If estate planning were just cold, hard numbers, it wouldn’t be one of the financial tasks that people avoid the most. Not only does creating an estate plan force you to confront your own mortality, but it also forces you to decide who gets your assets, whether all heirs should be treated equally and who
Having the money talk is important to relationships, whether with your children, your parents, your spouse or anyone else dear to you. Is Junior maxing out his credit cards? Is your aging dad not keeping track of his bills? It’s in no one’s interest to let the problem roll on, unsolved. Diane Bourdo, president of