Retirement Watch Weekly
How Much To Spend Safely in Retirement
The greatest fear of most retirees is outliving their money. A fair amount of research has been devoted to developing spending rules retirees can follow to avoid doing that. This month I want to show you a new way to determine how much to spend safely. Most retirement plans begin with an estimate of both […]
How to Fix Broken Estate Planning Strategies involving Family Limited Partnerships and Trusts
The usefulness of many estate planning vehicles lasts less than a generation. A host of estate planning strategies can slash taxes and help preserve family wealth. These include charitable trusts, family limited partnerships, and irrevocable family trusts. Events don’t always unfold as planned, and over time changes would be helpful. Unfortunately, most good estate planning […]
Estate Planning: Are Family Limited Partnerships in Danger?
Has the IRS nailed the coffin shut on family limited partnerships? The IRS has been challenging FLPs in courts for years, until recently with little success. Two recent court decisions, however, disallowed some FLPs and caused at least a few advisors to caution taxpayers against setting up new FLPs at least until the rules are […]
Decisions to Make Under Your New Medicare
Prescription drug benefits and other changes are coming to Medicare. Let’s take a look some details, the timetable, and the actions you should consider over the next few years. Keep in mind that the prescription drug provisions are voluntary. You don’t have to leave your current benefit structure unless you want to or the provider […]
How Safety-First Investing Builds More Wealth
Value and caution pay richer rewards than do growth and excitement. Market action of the last few years contains some great examples of this lesson. The bear market began in March 2000 and bottomed in October 2002. The market indexes have had a strong run since the bottom, with the Nasdaq returning over 50% and […]
Managed vs. Core Portfolios
Periodically it is fun and instructive to compare our Core Portfolios and Managed Portfolios. Longtime readers know I recommend dividing a portfolio into two portions. The Core Portfolio is long-term, buy-and-hold, diversified, and balanced. It keeps us disciplined. The Core Portfolio won’t let our emotions take us in and out of the markets at the […]
Estate Planning Nuts and Bolts
Every estate is different. Even your next door neighbor or colleague at work is going to have some issues that are different from yours. Yet, there are key principles and strategies that apply to almost every estate plan. There also are common Estate Planning mistakes you should avoid. Since this is the time of year […]
Family Gift Giving Essentials
Family gift giving is an important part of many estate plans. Make it an even better tool by maximizing the power of your gifts. Make New Year gifts. Most people wait until year end to make gifts. It is better to give at the start of the year. Gift taxes are based on a property’s […]
