Author Archives: Site Administrator
The Family Vacation Home: A Place to Make Memories or Enemies?
A family vacation home—whether it’s a summer house on the beach or a winter skiing bungalow in the mountains—can be just the thing that brings a family together. Unfortunately, it can also be just the thing that tears a family apart when parents pass away and the time comes to decide what to do… Read More »
What Will You Be Doing With This Year’s IRA Withdrawal?
Many of our clients who are 70 ½ or older have chosen in the past to give a certain portion of their required IRA withdrawal to charity each year; doing so has allowed them to take the required withdrawal, keep their taxable income down, and give to a cause they care about all at… Read More »
VA Benefits and Long-Term Care Insurance
Many of our clients find it helpful to use a long-term care insurance policy to help pay for the cost of assisted living facilities or nursing homes. However, if you use your policy after you have begun receiving VA benefits, it is important to remember to notify the VA about the new policy as… Read More »
Beware of Mistakes in Your Old Estate Plan
Do you already have an estate plan? Or perhaps you don’t have an estate plan per se, but over the years you’ve collected all of what you feel are the necessary documents to provide security and protection for your family and your assets after your death? Well, you may want to take a moment… Read More »
Women and Finances: Looking at Money from a Different Angle
We’ve all read the disquieting statistics about girls and math: That they’re less likely to participate in math and science in school, and that they’re less likely to choose one of these as a major in college. Happily, great strides have been made by girls in these subjects in the past few decades; but… Read More »
A Woman’s Work Is Never Done
Do you know who will take care of you when you are unable to take care of yourself? Studies show that most caregivers for aging seniors are likely to be women, and most likely to be your daughter or daughter-in-law. What this means is that unless parents have a plan for their future long… Read More »
What If Mom and Dad Got Married After Dad Was Discharged from the Military?
The VA Aid and Attendance Pension is for veterans and their surviving spouses. Many of our clients do not believe they are eligible for the surviving spouse benefit because they married their husband after his military service had ended. However, the VA has no rule that the spouse had to be married to the… Read More »
2012 Could be the Year You Start Your Own Business
Before we move away from the topic of New Year’s resolutions, there’s one more New Year’s Resolution we’d like to address—that of taking control of your destiny and starting your own business. The desire to move away from corporate America and work for oneself is not at all unusual. Unfortunately, not all who make… Read More »
Don’t Forget the Final (And Crucial) Step to Setting Up Your Trust
Once you’ve worked with your attorney to create the perfect trust to protect your family, you’ll need to re-title any assets you’d like to be protected into to name of your trust. This is called Funding. Funding a trust is not difficult at all, but when you don’t know where to start it can… Read More »
I’ll Only Get $50 Per Month from the VA. Should I Still Apply for the Pension?
Many of our clients become unsettled when they realize that they do not qualify for the maximum amount of the VA Aid and Attendance Pension. These clients often do not wish to go through the lengthy process of applying for the pension when they will not receive a significant amount of money from the… Read More »