Financial Trend Blog

Recently I shared the heart-wrenching story of a young soldier who had to deal with the unexpected death of his mother. She didn’t have her affairs in order and now her son has the extremely difficult task of recreating her financial details from scratch. Here are some simple steps you can take to ensure that your loved ones aren’t left in a lurch.

First thing you need to do is create a ‘survivor file’ which will contain all of your important financial and personal information. Secondly, you need to tell someone you trust where to find it should the need arise. Maybe you’ve put your will or living trust in a safety deposit box. Perhaps you have a filing cabinet containing your pertinent financial information. Your computer might hold the bulk of your money details.

The simplest way to see that your wealth and personal belongings are distributed according to your wishes is to prepare a will. A will is an important document and the law is strict about all its details. This is because the Testator is no longer alive to declare his wishes while implementing a will.

Usually wills can be prepared by individuals over the age of 18 who are of sound mind and judgment. The will must name an executor, or else the state will appoint someone else as the probate proceedings start. A parent must name a guardian for minor children to avoid state intervention. The testator must also carefully choose his beneficiaries, clearly indicating their names in the will.

Q. Jeff, I want to ask your opinion regarding Health Savings Accounts. On April 1st, the company I work for is changing our current Blue Cross health insurance to Guardian Insurance set up as a HRA. I am single and currently have a $500 deductible. Under the HRA, the deductible will be $2,000.

Currently, the premium is split 50/50 between employer and employee. I pay $205.00 per month. Under the HRA it will still be split 50/50, but the employer is going to fund each employee’s Personal Medical Fund up to $900. As I understand it, my responsibility will be $1,100 of deductible before any insurance coverage kicks in. We have not been given any rates for the HRA insurance, but I imagine it will be lower than the monthly $205.00.

A will is a legal document that is written to guarantee that the money and belongings of the testator are left to people or organizations desired by him. Without a will, the estate can be subject to many problems. Relatives may also dispute over property, leading to lengthy court proceedings.

In the eyes of law, a will or testament is a document by which a person or the testator regulates the rights of others over his property or family after death. In a strict sense, a will is a general term, while testament applies only to dispositions of personal property. A will is also used as the instrument in a trust.

Last week I explained in theory how you can legally avoid paying taxes on gifts and inheritances. Avoiding taxes on gifts and inheritances is based on cost-basis. To help you apply this to your situation I want to share some real-life examples of how my clients use these principles to legally avoid paying taxes on gifts and inheritances.

A will or testament is a document that enables a testator to regulate the rights of others over his property or family, after his death. Basically, a testament applies to the value of personal property. Generally, people rely on attorneys to draft their wills and they are known to charge phenomenal fees. Internet provides a suitable opportunity to make inexpensive last will and testament.

In US, there are legal agencies known to prepare wills, in almost all the states. They also provide their services online and guarantee honest, upfront costs. The cost involved to prepare the last will and testament is collected for the legal procedures. There are low cost forms of will and testament available online. It saves the trouble and expense of spending exorbitant sums and personally accessing them.

Nobody likes to pay taxes. If done incorrectly, though, the way you inherit an asset can result in you needlessly paying tens of thousands of dollars in taxes. Knowing some simple rules will reduce your tax bill and allow you to keep more of what you inherit. And it will also keep you from creating tax headaches for loved ones to whom you wish to gift assets.