Retirement

When planning your retirement, it is important to remember that money, more than any other factor, will dictate most of your retirement decisions. Your level of financial preparedness for your retirement years will determine when you retire, what type of lifestyle you and your family will enjoy during retirement, and what might be left as a legacy to your heirs.

Estate Planning

A Charitable Remainder Trust normally is used as a strategy for converting highly appreciated assets into income producing assets, without income tax liability. The Charitable Remainder Trust is an irrevocable trust with both charitable and non-charitable beneficiaries.

Tax

The federal government imposes a substantial tax on gifts of money or property above certain levels. Without such a tax someone with a sizable estate could give away a large portion of their property before death and escape death taxes altogether. For this reason, the gift tax acts more or less as a backstop to the estate tax. And yet, few people actually pay a gift tax during their lifetime. A gift program can substantially reduce overall transfer taxes; however, it requires good planning and a commitment to proceed with the gifts.

Finances

The best financial decisions are made with the benefit of time, thoughtful consideration and trusted professional advice. As tax time once again approaches, there are many things you can do to give you the flexibility to make the best long term financial decisions and prepare to minimize expenses, taxes and the headache of organizing your finances at the last minute.

Retirement

Most qualified retirement plans offer significant tax benefits for those willing to follow a few IRS specified rules. The government wants to make these plans (401(k)s, Keoghs, SEPs and traditional IRAs) available for specific needs, and has established tax law to help eliminate potential abuses of these tax advantaged investment alternatives.

Finances

Once you have decided to try to sell your home, the next big decision you will face is whether you want to sell it yourself of go through a real estate broker. The broker usually charges 5% to 7% of the selling price for her services. However, realtors know the local market, can help you determine a reasonable selling price, and save you a lot of the hassle involved if you sell it yourself.

Retirement

In years past, it was often realistic for retirees to base the majority of their retirement income on Social Security benefits and traditional employer sponsored pension benefits.

Unfortunately, Social Security retirement benefits have gradually been reduced in real terms, and the age one needs to attain in order to qualify for retirement benefits has been increasing steadily. iven current retirement trends, these retirement benefits will continue to be more and more difficult for the government to fund.

Insurance


If you purchased your home paying less than 20% down, chances are you had to purchase “mortgage insurance” in order to qualify for your loan. A mortgage insurance policy protects the bank in the event they are forced to repossess your house and sell it at a loss. As with most other types of insurance, you pay a monthly premium on top of your monthly mortgage payment for this policy. A mortgage insurance policy provides the means for purchasing a house you may otherwise be unable to afford, due to a limited down payment.

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