How to Protect Loved Ones from Being Disinherited
If your beneficiary designations are out of date and you die without updating those designations, your assets could go the wrong people–a former spouse, for example–no matter what your will says.
If your beneficiary designations are out of date and you die without updating those designations, your assets could go the wrong people–a former spouse, for example–no matter what your will says.
2022 has been a tough year for many seniors, but the outlook for 2023 shows some potential ‘silver linings.’
Unless you spend your winters in Aspen and your summers in the Hamptons, you probably don’t have to worry about paying federal estate taxes on an inheritance. In 2021, the federal estate tax doesn’t kick in, unless an estate exceeds $11.7 million. The Biden administration has proposed lowering the exemption, but even that proposal wouldn’t affect estates valued at less than about $6 million.
The rise in the stock market over the past several years, teamed with the passage of the SECURE Act two years ago and the scheduled 50% reduction in the size of the federal estate tax exemption four years from now, has resulted in a renewed interest in estate planning for IRA and 401k accounts owned by married couples.
Investing for retirement is one of the most important steps you can take toward building a secure financial future for you and your family. The sooner you can start, the better. Contributing to a retirement account can help you work toward your goals and may provide tax advantages to boost your progress.
Building and living off a nest egg is tough. However, you can make the situation even more difficult if you run afoul of some key laws governing retirement accounts.
If you really want to help your heirs out, these are some of the best assets to leave them.
Some retirees may be surprised to learn that a portion of their Social Security benefits could be subject to federal income taxes.
My father recently passed away and we discovered he had a large credit card debt on a card in his name. My mother wasn’t aware of it. All assets are in both of their names. Is my mother liable for the credit card debt?
Most financial experts would agree that it is rarely, if ever, a good idea to take an early withdrawal from a traditional IRA or Roth IRA. This is due in part to the high cost of penalties that can hit an account holder for an early withdrawal (not to mention losing out on years of potential earnings).