Your death will have a devastating impact on your family in many ways. If you are the major breadwinner, your loved ones must deal with the loss of your income at a time when they are least able to cope. Understanding the Social Security survivor's benefits rules now...
Advising a young couple to enter into a pre-nuptial or post-nuptial agreement is uncomfortable. Basically, I am asking them to plan for divorce. But the divorce statistics are compelling. More than two million people divorce every year in the United States, with a 52%...
Social Security Retirement Benefits The Basics. An important part of financial and retirement planning is deciding when to start collecting your Social Security retirement benefits. You can start collecting benefits as early as age 62. Full retirement age (FRA) is...
What You Don't Know About Social Security Retirement Benefits Each year, millions of dollars of social security retirement benefits are not claimed. The Social Security rules are so complicated and there are so many (almost 3000), that many people don't know what they...
Recently, I represented the parents of a young woman who had died suddenly, without a Will. After her parents were appointed as Personal Representatives of her estate, they started the search for her assets. She was a successful website designer, doing well...
Many Seniors who live alone need help, not a move to a nursing home. Due to a physical disability, they may be unable to go grocery shopping, run errands, pick up prescriptions, cook, do laundry, shower or take a bath safely, or keep their home clean. With a little...
Reverse Mortgages - Pros and Cons If you believe Fred Thompson and Henry Winkler in the TV ads for reverse mortgages, they are too good to be true. While a reverse mortgage is a good option for some low income seniors who need funds for living expenses, it is not the...
As much as you want. There are no federal or State laws that restrict the amount you can gift to children, grandchildren or anyone else. Many clients have announced to me "I can give $10,000 (or $12,000 or $14,000) to my children". Their accountant told them, or their...
It's a sad fact that more than 500,000 pets are euthanized each year due to their owner's disability or death. The Humane Society of the US estimates that 47% of American households own pets, with a total of 83.3 million dogs and 95.6 cats. How many pet owners have...
