April 15th is still a few weeks away; and while many people who expected refund checks have already received them, there are still quite a number of people who have not filed their returns yet and will be entitled to a refund. This means that scam artists are still...
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Month: March 2015
Estate Planning Dictionary: What is a will?
This weeks word from the estate planning dictionary is will. What is a will? Do I need one? And what happens with them? Wills are one of the oldest estate planning tools going back to the time of the ancient Greeks. Originally meant for men without children, a will is...
How even frugal spenders can end up in bankruptcy
It is easy to think that bankruptcy is only for people with terrible spending habits or people who want to do everything they can to cheat creditors. It is especially easy to think this given how the economy has improved and more people are back to work, which...
Estate Planning Cautionary Tales: Waiting Until it’s too Late
Well, yet another client of mine had a death in his family. We talked about the importance of estate planning but never got around to it. Unfortunately, they are another example to go into my book of cautionary tales. A few years ago, I donated a simple will to a...
The Role of Insurance in Estate Planning
Insurance is the forgotten side of estate planning. So many focus on the investment side of estate planning and financial planning that they ignore the huge role that insurance can and should play. From my chair, I believe that both life and long term care insurance...
Can bankruptcy be used to eliminate tax debt?
While many people are preparing their taxes in anticipation of receiving a refund, there are some who are toiling in debt who are genuinely concerned about how they are going to pay their federal or state income tax bills. Chances are that these questions come up...
Estate Planning Dictionary: What is a “living trust”?
Estate planning is full of terms that most people have vaguely heard of but don’t know what they mean. Knowing what terminology means is important to being an informed person and an informed client. When I was going through my classes to be a high school basketball...