There are certain questions of life we all want answered. What happens when you die? Does my life have meaning? How long should I keep tax records? Personally, my answer about keeping tax records is biased because I’m a safety man. I would wear a belt AND suspenders—just in case. But the length of [...]
It’s a fact of life. Americans are consistently living longer than ever before. It used to be that someone living to 90 was a rarity. Today, it’s commonplace. And the longer we live, the higher the probability we’ll need care. Much of that care may be provided by family members. According to the National [...]
Tax Time—it’s one of those phrases that strikes fear in the hearts of even the strongest among us. It can send one spouse scurrying for cover while the other gathers and organizes tax documents. And vile words not heard during the rest of the year have been known to escape from the lips of people [...]
Someone trusts you so much that they name you to settle their estate when they’re gone. You’re honored they have that much confidence in you, but you don’t think much about what’s involved. Among the long list of items you have to deal with is settling the deceased’s tax bill. You may have to [...]
It’s called the survivor trap or widow’s penalty. It’s a financial monster that eats away retirement income after one spouse dies, often leaving the surviving spouse with no hope of the retirement they expected. Here are some of the pitfalls of the Survivor Trap. Loss of Social Security One of the first things to [...]
Wait a minute! I thought giving gifts was a great estate planning tool. Conventional wisdom has always said that gifts reduce the size of an estate and therefore, the amount of estate taxes that may be due. Well, surprise! There is a tiny section of the U.S. tax code that says otherwise and it’s [...]
The federal government has been sending Social Security checks to retirees for more than 88 years. You’d think that after almost a century of the Social Security program, Americans would have a good grasp of how it works. Over the decades, past research has shown that Americans are painfully ignorant about Social Security. Two recent [...]
A lot of work goes into creating an estate plan. It can be a lengthy, time-consuming process. You want to make sure everything is in place so your wishes are carried out. But sometimes, you’re so focused on the big stuff that you miss what seem to be minor issues. And just like one bolt [...]
That headline may not be shocking to you. Government agencies are not known for having the most outstanding customer service. It brings up reminders of that old phrase, “Hey, it’s good enough for government work.” Social Security’s “Just good enough for government work” service has been recognized by the Social Security Administration itself. SSA’s [...]
It started with a COVID shot. We knew my uncle John (not his real name) was getting one and that reactions to the shot could range from nothing at all to severe side effects. So, we called to see if the vaccine was affecting him. When he answered the phone, he was extremely confused. [...]
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