While most parents have the best intentions when it comes to teaching their children about handling finances wisely, sometimes the lessons don’t take. In addition to concerns about spendthrift behavior, some children experience problems with substance abuse or have...
Helping You Protect Your Loved Ones And Your Legacy
Year: 2014
Financial Self-Protection Tips for the Newly Single
Whether you have a lost a spouse or partner through divorce or death, being thrust into singlehood can be an emotionally and financially jarring experience. To get yourself back on firm footing, at least financially, follow these five steps: Finalize financial...
Robin Williams: A Lesson in Deeds, Not Words + One Error in Planning
This isn’t the most current information you can get from me today, but it may be the best reminder you can receive. So, I thought, since I haven’t written about Mr. Williams situation before now, it’d be a good time to do that. One of the most eloquent responses to...
Social Security Survivors Benefits
An earlier issue of The ElderCounselor addressed social security benefits generally and when to apply. In this issue, we will address the critical yet often-misunderstood topic of Social Security survivor benefits. This e-newsletter is based in part upon an article by...
How to Prepare Your Heirs to Receive, Protect and Grow Their Inheritance
When we think of vast family wealth, most of us know the name Cornelius Vanderbilt, the railroad and shipping scion of one of the richest families in America in the 19th century. When he died in 1877, he left a fortune of $100 million — more than the U.S. Treasury...
What’s changed in Your Life?
Estate planning is not a “set it and forget it” kind of thing. Your life changes, your assets change, the laws change — and if your plan doesn’t change, your family gets caught holding the bag. The people you love most end up bearing the brunt of your failure to act....
The Wealth Creation Trust: A Gift That Keeps On Giving
The perfect gift for your child or grandchild on the occasion of their birth, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Sweet 16 or Quinceañera cannot be found in any store. Instead, the hopes and wishes you have for your child (or grandchild’s) future can best be expressed with a gift of...
Vacations Are the Perfect Time for Families to Talk About Estate Planning
If you are like most Americans, you will probably be spending at least some of your vacation time this summer with older family members. While there are few perfect times to talk with parents about their estate plan, the relaxed times you spend together on vacation...
Why DIY Estate Planning is a Bad Idea For the People You Love
America is a nation of do-it-yourselfers, but building a deck and creating a legally valid estate plan are two entirely different things – and a less-than-perfect deck won’t devastate your family’s financial future or the relationships among the people you care about...
Law and Disorder: The Jerry Orbach Estate Battle
Jerry Orbach, who starred as Detective Lennie Briscoe in the popular “Law and Order” television series, died a decade ago, but a battle is brewing over his Chase bank account, according to a recent story in the New York Post. The Chase bank account in dispute belongs...
