February 2013

The Sequester

by Jen Santini February 28, 2013 Taxes

For months before the end of 2012, the “fiscal cliff” dominated news cycles. Now, we have the sequester. The sequester is a series of automatic spending cuts to the federal budget to reduce spending by [...]

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A Memorialized Profile on Facebook

by Jamie Held February 25, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Grieving through Facebook has been previously discussed on Epilawg (see Jen Santini’s post, Grieving in the Digital Age), but I was again reminded of this topic as the result of a recent Minneapolis Star Tribute [...]

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Guns N’ Trusts

by Kevin Rockwell February 20, 2013 Estate Planning 101

If Congress ultimately expands gun legislation, then it could have a profound impact on an individual’s ability to transfer guns to their beneficiaries. Bequeathing a gun in an estate is very different from passing on [...]

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Backdoor Roth IRAs

by Jonathan Scharlau February 20, 2013 Guest Articles

Although you may earn too much to contribute to a Roth IRA, there is no income restriction to convert a traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. What is a Backdoor Roth IRA? The Backdoor Roth [...]

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Trustee and Custodian: What’s the Difference?

by Stephanie Schweiger February 18, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Trustee A trustee is a fiduciary with a high degree of responsibility.  As a fiduciary, a trustee has legal duties that he or she must perform.  As discussed in Maggie Green’s series of posts, those [...]

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Nat King Cole

by Jen Santini February 15, 2013 Obits

March 17, 1919 – February 15, 1965 Nat King Cole was born Nathaniel Adams Coles in Montgomery, Alabama. He began playing music at an early age and eventually began performing under the name “Nat Cole.” [...]

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The Tolls of Caregiving

by Mike Westling February 12, 2013 Guest Articles

Given the prevalent role families play in providing long-term care, insurance may not always seem necessary. However, as briefly discussed in my last post on the basics of long-term care insurance, the true value of [...]

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Rabbi Trusts: Not Just For Rabbis

by Melissa Gotfredson February 8, 2013 Guest Articles

A rabbi trust is a type of non-qualified deferred compensation plan set up by an employer for the benefit of an employee.  Rabbi trusts get their name from a 1980 IRS private letter ruling that [...]

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Use it or Lose It Long-Term Care Insurance? Not So Anymore

by Bob Cohen February 6, 2013 Guest Articles

Statistics have shown and there is little denying that long-term care will be in most of our futures at some time and to some extent.  It also seems to reason that the premiums/costs to insure [...]

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Much Ado About Nothing?

by Erika Stein Rosenhagen February 4, 2013 Estate Planning 101

Last week, I was lucky enough to see the cliff up close. Not the fiscal cliff that kept us all riveted (or not) for the month of December, but a beautiful snow covered cliff. And [...]

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The Day the Music Died

by Jen Santini February 3, 2013 Obits

J.P. “Big Bopper” Richardson – Oct. 24, 1930 – Feb. 3, 1959 (age 28) Buddy Holly – Sept. 7, 1936 – Feb. 3, 1959 (age 22) Ritchie Valens – May 13, 1941 – Feb. 3, [...]

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