When President Bush was elected in 2000, one of his campaign pledges was to make the estate tax go away. And Congress did, in fact, pass legislation that would abolish the estate tax. Kinda. Sorta. What they passed, the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGGTRA), enacted a series of increases in… Read More »
Blog Posts Page 53
Beware of a “One Size Fits All” Financial Plan
Most Americans have become aware of the benefits of financial planners, and of having a financial plan of their own. And now with the recent Wall Street crisis, public talk about financial plans and goals (and how yours may be weathering the storm) has become a lot more common. With all of this, it may… Read More »
4 Common Estate Planning Mistakes
Estate planning can be a touchy subject. Luckily, more and more people are coming to realize just how crucial it is to plan for their deaths, but even knowing its importance, few people want to spend time thinking about it. We understand why people might shy away from it. After all, estate planning deals with… Read More »
Could YOU Be A Trust Fund Baby?
It used to be that trusts were for the wealthy. Those who had inherited money in trust were often labeled “trust fund babies,” and these were the people who had everything paid for and worried about nothing. This is no longer the case. Trusts are used by the middle class more and more, as a… Read More »
When Planning for the Future, Don’t Forget Your Pets
In our blog we often address how estate planning can help you provide for your children or protect your elderly parents or grandparents, but today let’s talk about another member of the family—Today we would like to address how estate planning can help you take care of your pets. According to this article by Angie… Read More »
…And A Happy New Year!
New Year’s Eve has come again, and it’s time for New Year’s Resolutions. A new year means a fresh start; it is an opportunity to reassess—your life, your work, and your self—and separate the wheat from the chaff; an opportunity to leave the unhelpful things behind with 2008 and bring in new and better habits… Read More »
Taking the Fear Out of Taxes
“In the world nothing can be said to be certain except death and taxes.” –Ben Franklin It’s that time of year again. With only two days left of 2008 it’s time to turn our thoughts to doing our taxes once more; and unless you’re an accountant, there’s probably a certain amount of grumbling and procrastination… Read More »
Some Family Tips For The Season
The holidays mean different things for all of us; time with family, a celebration of religious values, or an opportunity to show appreciation for loved ones with gifts… but for the elderly it can be a time of loneliness and depression. Those of us with busy and frantic holiday schedules may find it hard to… Read More »
Self Employed? Failure to Plan = Disaster
It used to be that people stayed at one company—one job—for their whole lives. Employers were benevolent, and almost part of the family; took care of families, once upon a time, offering health care coverage, life insurance, retirement packages… all this and an annual company picnic to boot! As we all know, the world is… Read More »
11 Days Left—Countdown to 2009
There are only eleven days left in 2008. If you had plans for this year—things you were absolutely going to get done before 2009—you are quickly running out of time to do them. This doesn’t only include your 2008 picks from the 1000 Places to See Before You Die, this includes smaller things, more prosaic… Read More »