Q. I took out a HECM reverse mortgage loan a few years ago and was advised not to include my younger wife on the loan documents so that I could qualify for a bigger loan. When I die, will the bank be able to take over our home to pay the loan and evict my… Read More »
Posts Categorized: Uncategorized
Plan For Your Partner If You Choose Not to Marry
According to the U.S. Census Bureau the number of senior couples choosing to cohabitate instead of marry (or remarry) has risen significantly. There are quite a few reasons why senior couples might choose not to tie the knot: * Tax disincentives * Loss of military and pension benefits * Reduced Social Security Benefits * Keeping medical expenses… Read More »
Giving Your Home To Your Children Can Have Tax Consequences
Clients sometimes ask about the wisdom of giving their home to their children, usually in order to avoid probate and “simplify” things after the parent’s demise. However, this is not usually the best plan and doing so can often result in unintended tax consequences for the recipient child. This is especially so if the parent’s… Read More »
Plan for Eldercare Now Before the Choice Is No Longer Yours
We spend our lives making plans and preparing for future events. From the beginning we plan and work towards education, a career, marriage and a family. We work hard and save, invest and build our assets. We insure to protect our home, automobiles, health and medical needs. Retirement age comes and our plan is finally… Read More »
Benefits for Veterans
In our country we have a tradition of honoring those men and women who served in the military. That tradition extends to offering very valuable benefits to Veterans and their families. Unfortunately, VETS sometimes are not aware of all of those benefits. One of the benefits most often overlooked is something called a Veteran’s Pension. … Read More »
More On Health Care Reform
As promised in our earlier Blog, here’s more information on the recent health care reform legislation signed into law by President Barack Obama on March 23, 2010. Notice, in particular, the provisions for reducing the cost of prescription drugs for seniors by reducing the impact of the “doughnut hole” and the “CLASS Act” which will assist… Read More »
The Importance of Being Earnest
Do you have a will or a trust? Has your will or trust been reviewed or updated in the past 3-5 years? If you answered yes to these questions then you are two steps ahead of 2/3 of the rest of Americans. But the next question is the big one: Does your family or executor… Read More »
Going Beyond Legal Language with an Ethical Will
Estate and Legacy planning documents are often seen as difficult, and boring pieces of paper—which in some ways is exactly what they have to be in order to someday withstand tough legal scrutiny; but unless you’re an attorney who is practiced at reading the sentiment between the lines of dry legal jargon, these documents don’t… Read More »
In This Season of Thanksgiving…
The days are getting shorter, the weather cooler, and the skeletal arms of trees reach for the skies as their colorful apparel rests on the ground. All of these signs point to just one thing… No, not the estate tax repeal (although that does loom close); I’m referring, of course, to the upcoming holiday season—a… Read More »