While many wines get better with age, the same cannot be said for some irrevocable trusts.
Read More »Advance Directives/Living Wills are a Critical Component of Estate Planning
March 31, 2012 marked the seventh anniversary of the death of Terri Schiavo, the 41-year-old who succumbed after her feeding tube was removed as part of a very public legal battle between her husband and parents.
Read More »Life Insurance: How Much and What Kind?
Life insurance can be an affordable way to provide for our children, spouse, a sibling, aging parents and others if we should die while they are depending on us. Life insurance proceeds can provide extra income to help pay ongoing household bills and child care; pay off a mortgage, credit cards and other debt; pay […]
Read More »VA Benefits For Long-Term Care of Veterans and Their Surviving Spouses
Many wartime veterans and their surviving spouses are currently receiving long-term care or will need some type of long-term care in the near future. The Veterans Administration has funds that are available to help pay for this care, yet many families are not even aware that these benefits exist.
Read More »The Truth About Personal Risk Management, Part 2: Using Trusts in Estate Planning
Paying insurance premiums to protect against potential losses frees us mentally to enjoy driving a car, leave our house empty while on vacation and receive medical treatment for an injury or illness. In the same way, the use of trusts acts like insurance and can shift anxiety to comfort, turmoil to peace, and complexity to […]
Read More »The Truth About Personal Risk Management, Part 1: Insurance
Personal risk management is being aware of the risks in your home and in your life, and then planning how to handle those risks. Insurance plays a big part in managing risk. Most people don’t like paying insurance premiums, but when something happens and the insurance pays for a covered expense, they are relieved they […]
Read More »Are You Wasting Money? Part Three: Taxes, Insurance, Not Bidding and/or Negotiating
So far in this series on wasting money, we have looked at how people may overpay for housing, interest, transportation, food, clothing and entertainment. In this last part, we will look at a few more areas in which we may pay more than necessary–taxes, insurance, not obtaining bids for services, and not negotiating for large […]
Read More »Understanding Losses: Property
Property insurance provides protection against most risks to property, such as fire, theft and some weather damage. However, if property has appreciated and there isn’t sufficient insurance for replacement value, any losses must be paid out of pocket. To protect your wealth from these kinds of losses, it is important to determine replacement values so […]
Read More »Understanding Losses: Liability Exposure
We live in a litigious society. Lawsuits abound, whether deserved or not. If you own property or stock that was purchased at a low price and has had high appreciation, it is at risk to litigation and creditors–even if you are not in a high-risk profession. Others may be in a private business such as […]
Read More »Aligning Insurance Products within a Planning Structure
We use a variety of insurance products to manage risk in different areas of our lives in order to protect our wealth from losses that can come from property damage, businesses we own, disability, retirement and death. Instead of considering these products as separate items, make them part of an integrated, overall risk management plan.
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