Retirement

Background In a recent case owners of a closely held business got bad news. It is common to have a closely held business own life insurance on the owners (e.g., shareholders if it is a corporation). When an owner dies the business uses the life insurance proceeds on the owner’s life to buyout the equity

Have you made any mistakes with your money? If so, I have some good news for you: Financial planning is, at its core, an exercise in mistake management, and failure is far from fatal. My friend and colleague, Heather Fortner, the CEO of SignatureFD, a financial advisory firm that manages about $7 billion for roughly

There are two tools available for passing the bulk of your financial legacy. The best choice for one person might not be optimum for another. Either a will or trust can be the foundation of your estate plan. If it’s a trust, it’s usually a revocable living trust. They’re not exclusive. Most estate plans have

Most people (69% of men; 81% of women) experience some sort of unexpected event after they retire, according to a recent survey conducted by Age Wave and Edward Jones. As a result, a very high percentage of retirees (93%) agree that preparation, flexibility, and willingness to adapt are keys to thriving in a potentially long

The world’s current richest person can teach all of us how to prepare our heirs to inherit, though our estates are going to be substantially less valuable than his. Parents frequently worry that their children aren’t prepared to inherit the wealth that likely is coming their way. Whether the inheritance is likely to be a

California’s evolving effort to build a public long-term care insurance program includes an important, and potentially far-reaching, feature: The insurance fund would be allowed to invest some assets in stocks. This would be a dramatic change for both social insurance and long-term care insurance. For example, Social Security is allowed to invest only in Treasury

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that over the next decade the labor market will continue to age, with the greatest growth coming from workers aged 55 and over. Among those aged 65 to 74, 32% expect to still be working in 2030, compared with 27% in 2020 and 19% in 2000. According to a

There could come a time in anyone’s life when you are unable to speak for yourself. It can happen with aging, and the risk of stroke, cognitive impairment, accident or other cause. When a person has appointed someone to act on their behalf for medical decisions, that person must step up and speak up for

Maybe your uncle had a heart attack as soon as he retired. Or your newly-retired friends feel depressed and lost without structure to their day. A cheerful article in Harvard Health News arguing that working longer provides mental stimulation and staves off chronic disease may have led you to believe that retirement killed your uncle

Medicare Advantage PPO (preferred provider organization) plans give members the flexibility to choose physicians, so they have coverage wherever they go within the United States or its territories. Even though non-contracted physicians don’t have to see every member (except in emergencies) and out-of-network services can cost more, PPO plans are a popular option, making up