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 $1.2 trillion over the next ten years. The sequester will take effect on Friday, March 1st, unless the White House […]
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 article by Katie Humphrey, Facebook is Changing the Way We Grieve. Ms. Humphrey reminds us that, “[d]eath doesn’t kill a […]
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 other personal property. Because a gun is a regulated piece of personal property at both the federal and state levels, […]
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 IRA is an indirect way to contribute to a Roth IRA when your income is too high to contribute directly […]
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 duties include loyalty, impartiality, and recordkeeping. A trustee must act out of loyalty to the beneficiaries and not to further […]
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.” He added “King” from a nickname he ultimately acquired from performing regularly at a jazz club. Nat King Cole recorded […]
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 long-term care insurance involves protecting the wellbeing of loved ones. Even though spouses and adult children are often willing to […]
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 approved the use of these trusts. In that case, a congregation wanted to set up a trust for the benefit […]
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 against this almost inevitable risk are far less than the cost of paying these fees out of pocket. We can […]
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 it got me thinking: was the fiscal cliff all much ado about nothing?
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, 1959 (age 17) On February 3, 1959, a plane traveling from Mason City, IA to Fargo, ND crashed in the […]