Q. My parents are divorced and my mother is ill. I don’t talk to my dad, and my mom has never been great with money. I don’t think they’ve updated their estate documents, and I don’t want to stress out my mom. Is there a way to find out without asking either of them? — Troubled
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For clients with LTC insurance, please make sure you (or your accountant) include the premium with other unreimbursed medical expenses to determine how much you can deduct. LTC insurance is expensive (especially newer policies) and having the ability to deduct some or all of the premium is important to bring the cost down. See the following link for details.
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Q. My grandmother died without a will. She had two children and seven grandchildren. One of her children — my mother — is deceased. How would her assets be split? — Wondering
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You probably won't just find $1 million lying around, but I have some investment ideas if you do! More likely, you'll find just a few extra dollars like I did yesterday. There was a $25 check from my insurance company in the mail - a refund of an overpayment from almost 2 years ago. Even this small amount made me smile since it covered my share of yesterday's lunch with 4 friends! Click on the following link to read a nice short article on a few areas where you may also find some missing or forgotten money.
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If millennials and their Generation X counterparts don’t have enough investable assets, why would they hire a financial advisor. That's typical thinking in the investment management and financial planning industry. In fact, this was basically the statement made by another advisor when interviewed by Financial Advisor magazine. Is it true? Alan Moore and Michael Kitces, launched the XY Planning Network in 2014 to battle against this thinking. Click on the following link to read their take on this issue. I particularly liked reading about their personal histories.
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I am one of the original 30 members of the XY Planning Network. We had a feeling the concept was good, but had no idea how successful XYPN would become! At our first ever annual conference, which was the most fun I've ever had this type of event, it was announced the group had quadrupled in size! Every advisor I met at the conference was super excited to be offering fee-only financial planning services and to be accepting younger clients, which is contagious (in a good way!). I had the privilege of being spotlighted by XYPN a few months ago and here is the link.
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Here are some great tips on how Millennials can find an advisor. But WAIT... these tips are really good for everyone looking for an advisor! Maybe Millennials aren't that different when it comes to their money - they still want to maximize their money and hire someone qualified to help them. Some advisors are pompous jerks or talk to you like a child. Others are just robots (literally!). Give me a call if you want to "connect" with an advisor that can help with all of your financial planning concerns.
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AS YOU PREPARE to send your college students back to school, buying stuff for their dorm room is probably high on your list. But you might be forgetting about an important protection: making sure your kids' belongings are covered by your homeowners insurance policy. (Inside Jersey)
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Everyone knows the standard summer safety tips: Only swim where there’s a lifeguard, apply sunscreen liberally, drink plenty of liquids. But there’s one item your financial advisor would probably like to add to that list: Beware of the sudden, seemingly unstoppable urge to buy a second home in the place where you just spent two idyllic weeks of vacation. As one financial website puts it: The summer is “a time to relax, kick back and make dumb financial decisions.” Buying that home may not be such a dumb decision after all, but it needs to be one that’s made with your head and not your heart – and only after consulting financial, legal and real estate experts. (Investopedia)
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The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy issued an Investor Alert Wednesday warning investors not to “trust someone with your investment money just because he or she claims to have impressive credentials or experience, or manages to create a ‘buzz of success.’” (ThinkAdvisor)
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Getting cash out of your home through a reverse mortgage is costly, even with the Federal Housing Administration's new reduced-fee Home Equity Conversion Mortgage, or HECM, Saver plan. For some retirees, the solution is turning to a family member instead of a financial institution. (Bankrate)
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Even if you don’t have many assets, you might think you don’t need a will or other end-of-life documents. But such documents can make taking care of you in your final days easier, along with making the lives of the loved ones you leave behind less stressful and problematic. Here are four end-of-life documents worth having, and worth letting your family know about long before you reach old age. (Termlifeinsurance.com)
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When you leave a job, you pack up your stuff on your way out, but what about your 401k plan? Many people just leave it where it is and then forget about it. Is this best choice? Here's a good unbiased overview of your options from the National Association of Retirement Plan Participants. Teaser - I generally recommend rolling all former employer's 401k plans into a single IRA. Not only does this keep the number of accounts to a minimum, but it gives you virtually unlimited investment choices without trading restrictions. Importantly, after rolling over your 401k to an IRA, you can consider having your portfolio professionally managed by a privately owned registered Investment Advisory firm (such as The Investment Connection), legally obligated to accept fiduciary duty and place your interests before shareholders or any other party – without conflicts.
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