Grandma Ruth’s Legacy
Most people think a legacy is what money or property they will leave someone when they die. But your legacy can be so much more. My grandma Ruth was a wise woman who lived through several wars, outlived two husbands, read thousands of books, ate chocolate every day, and died peacefully at the age of […]
Probate in Arizona: Everything You Need to Know
A lot of angst seems to surround the word “probate,” due mainly to general unfamiliarity with its meaning. Simply put, probate is the legal process that takes place upon a person’s death, much of which is avoided if the decedent took proper steps during his or her estate planning. This process involves: Proving the validity […]
Attorneys Get Paid per Word! And Other Untruths…
Why is my trust so long? As an estate planning attorney who provides comprehensive, solution-oriented planning documents to clients, I get this question almost every week. I have to chuckle, knowing that in the olden days attorneys did get paid per word of each document they created. But not anymore. Most estate planning attorneys work […]
Are you a Procrastinator? (If so, read this later!)
A USA Today poll found that the #1 reason people had not yet created a will was procrastination. Procrastination is prioritizing less urgent tasks in preference to more urgent ones, or doing more pleasurable things in place of less pleasurable things even though the latter may be more important. I often tell clients, “It you […]
Should You Tell Your Kids How Much You Are Worth?
Should your children know how much money you make or how much you are worth? View image | gettyimages.com An article in the New York Times says, yes, sort of. It says you can begin to initiate them into your financial world as early as age 5 or 6. Build it slowly, and give them […]
Women Have Different Money Needs
Women are different from men in lots of ways. One is in their financial planning needs. http://gty.im/175179565 An article in Forbes outlines the reasons: women live longer than men, earn less, save less and have different insurance needs. They also are less likely to be prepared for retirement, the story says. To be specific, women […]
Tips To Aid Adult Children
Lots of retirees are interested in assisting their adult children financially these days. The children, now in their 30s, 40s or 50s, may have lost a job, gotten a divorce or have their own children ready to go to college. http://gty.im/159955126 But the parents themselves may find themselves in a precarious position – they don’t […]
An Estate Planning Bucket List
Have a bucket list? Want to jump out of a plane? See the Pyramids? http://gty.im/185550597 An article on investopedia.com has a list of things to do before you die, but they all have to do with estate planning. The story lists 16 things. We will list 5. Make an inventory of your possessions. Anything worth […]
Celebrity Estate Planning Mistakes Teach Lessons
Even though they usually have the money to get the best advice, celebrities often make mistakes with their estate plans. An article in Forbes suggests a few lessons recent celebrity deaths can teach us about estate planning. 1) Think about who you name to manage your trust. Robin Williams had created irrevocable trusts to provide […]
Inheriting A Windfall
Say you received a nice inheritance. Do you just go out and start spending willy-nilly? Best not to, according to a story posted on dailyfinance.com. Figuring out how to handle a sudden windfall is an issue many boomers are now facing and doing it the right way is important. The first thing you should do, […]