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A little knowledge helps you overcome key obstacles when buying new digs during your golden years. Money Talks News' recent article entitled “6 Things You Should Know About Buying a Home in Retirement” explains that older home shoppers typically like smaller, single-story homes for a Home Purchas...

Being married is significant both for a married person's lifetime estate planning and subsequent administration of the estate at death. Important rights and responsibilities exist between married persons. It is very difficult to challenge a marriage once it has occurred, since the capacity needed...

Six years of legal wrangling later, Prince's estate is finally moving forward. Here are five critical mistakes he made that all of us can learn from. When rock superstar Prince died of a fentanyl overdose in 2016, he left behind valuable assets and apparently failed to consult with an Estate Plan...

Without a will, decisions made about your property and assets will be handed over to local courts, which can make an already challenging time even harder for your loved ones. Yahoo News' recent article entitled “If You're Over 50, Don't Leave This Out of Your Will, Expert Says” fills us in on wha...

Money Talks News' recent article entitled “7 Social Security Benefits You May Be Overlooking” says that the Social Security Administration provides payments to spouses, children and those with disabilities, among others. Let's look at this in detail. Spousal benefits via a husband or wife. Spouse...

While the unpredictability of the future makes it difficult to plan ahead, becoming familiar with the options is important. Starting this year, workers in Washington state must pay 58 cents of every $100 they earn into the Washington Cares Fund. That money will help pay their long-term care costs...

Planning for your future should start after you get a job. Therefore, it is advisable to start saving a certain percentage of your salary every month and buying assets whenever you can. That will guarantee that you will have a comfortable life after retirement. If you fail to take the necessary m...

When you begin claiming affects how much money you get from the program, and once you're receiving checks, it's difficult to undo your decision. Getting the timing right on Social Security is important. Deciding when to claim is a decision requiring thoughtful planning and accurate information. A...

No one likes doing taxes, but the task is even more daunting when filing a return for someone who has died. If you are preparing a 1040 federal income tax form or Estate tax form for a spouse or parent, you are grieving while also gathering tax records. If you are the executor for an estate, you ...

As we age, health issues often creep up that threaten to tarnish our golden years. Treating some of these diseases and conditions can be expensive. There are a number of ways to decrease the cost of healthcare in your senior years. Money Talks News' recent “7 Costly Health Problems That Strike Af...

Seeking a guardianship for a loved one is a decision that shouldn't be taken lightly. Here's how the process works. When a person is legally deemed incapable of managing their own affairs and has not named a financial power of attorney to do so, a guardian or conservator may be needed. A family m...

Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim left behind an estate estimated to be worth as much as $75 million to his husband, charities and a dozen other friends, court papers show. Ninety-one-year-old Broadway legend Stephen Sondheim died suddenly at his Roxbury, Ct. home in November, one day after celebr...

For most people, entering the realm of estate planning can feel a bit like traveling as a tourist into another culture. Because the language itself is unfamiliar, asking a question can result in an answer that is equally confusing. Having a working knowledge of the terms including Fiduciary used ...

Of course, just because you have a living trust doesn't mean you are all set. Here are a few of the most common mistakes people make with their living trusts. Yahoo Life's recent article entitled “Why You Should Put Your House in a Living Trust” explains some of the biggest errors people make wit...

Executors can use additional information in administering estates, especially if the executor is unrelated to the decedent. A letter of intent is frequently recommended for parents of disabled children to share information for when the parent dies. However, letters of intent or a letter of instru...

A 14-year-long legal fight among five siblings over a Queens woman's estate has gotten so nasty that it landed two elderly sisters in jail, and now one of them may lose her home. Sisters Jean Mamakos and Irene Savadian — both retired nurses in their 70s — and as Executor have been locked in a bit...

Preparing for an estate sale can be a difficult and emotionally challenging task. At some point in your life, you may be called upon to hold an estate sale after a relative dies or goes into a nursing home. Deciding how to sell or dispose of can be daunting. US News & World Report's recent articl...

State laws generally make it so that once a married couple is divorced, ex-spouses lose all property rights. There are exceptions in estate planning where you could unintentionally leave money such as Pensions to people you no longer intend to, much to the surprise of other heirs. CNBC's recent a...

As a review of terms, a will is a legal document that specifies how a person's estate should be handled only after that person's death. A living will has nothing to do with how your “things” like property, money, jewelry, etc. are to be distributed. Unlike a will, it is, in fact, a document that ...

I've decided I no longer want to leave my estate to my children. They are ungrateful brats. How can I set things up to give my money to charity when I die? What if you want to exclude your children and give your assets to a charity or a college after you pass away? You also don't want your childr...

Non-probate assets are those assets which do not go into an estate when the owner dies. Updating estate plans and reviewing beneficiary designations in insurance policies are both important estate planning tasks, more important than most people think. They're easy to fix while you are alive, but ...

Part of being a responsible homeowner is having a proper estate plan in place. After all, considering the home is generally the largest asset most people own, it's prudent to ensure this asset is passed to the people you wish to leave it to. Just like you protect your finances from debt or use ho...

Despite the various proposals to lower federal transfer tax (estate, gift and GST taxes) exemptions and increase the tax rates, none of them were enacted in 2021. It's possible that some of these proposals may be enacted in 2022, but for now, they are moot. In the meantime, exemptions have increa...

Based on a recent survey by the American Pet Products Association, as of 2020, 70% of households in the U.S. have pets—about 90.5 million households. One of the goals of estate planning is to care for loved ones, particularly those who depend on us for care after we have passed on. Wills, trusts,...

However, if you are retired and no longer generating employment income, you should make sure you weigh the financial implications of any potential move. Since the coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., baby boomers have been speeding up their retirement plans. Many Americans have also been moving to ...