If you’re counting on Social Security to provide you with a secure retirement, think again. Social Security benefits only account for less than half of today’s retirees’ income. Longer life expectancies and the aging of the population will put an increasing burden on the Social Security system, making your own retirement funding more important than ever.
A will provides the peace of mind that comes from planning to pass on the fruits of your life’s labor to your loved ones. Without a will, the probate court will decide how your assets are to be distributed and, if minor children are involved, with whom they will live.
A trust is a legal entity that is central to a three-part agreement in which an individual — the trust’s “grantor” — transfers the legal title to an asset to that trust for the purpose of benefiting one or more beneficiaries. The trust is managed by one or more trustees. Trusts may be revocable or irrevocable and are sometimes included as part of a will.
Have you implemented estate planning strategies to help pass along more of your wealth to your heirs? If not, this article will motivate you to do so.
Although the thought may not be pleasant, you may someday face a sudden health crisis that leaves you unable to make your own medical decisions. Fortunately, there is a legal means, known as an advance directive, to address this potential concern.
August 18th Weekly Market Update Since the dawn of financial markets, investors have been searching for signals of impending declines. Many economic indicators correlate highly with the stock market, which means they are coincident and not leading, and they tend to...
August 11th Weekly Market Update Volume has picked up during the recent downturn. No, we are not talking about trading volumes; we are talking about the volume from your TVs with talking heads warning about an impending stock market downturn. If you turn off the TV...
August 4th Weekly Market Update After hitting another all-time high on July 24, the S&P 500 Index fell for six consecutive trading days, leading to a 2.7% drop for stocks for the week ending August 1, 2014. Losing under 3% in a week seems a minor concern given...
July 28th Weekly Market Update Amid the barrage of nearly constant economic and market data, nothing is more important to assess the health of corporate America than the quarterly check-in that we affectionately call earnings season. As earnings season approaches its...
July 21st Weekly Market Update This past Sunday marked the 45th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, when American astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first to set foot on the moon. If they had stayed there, what would their tax rate have been?...