“The Descendants” is entertaining on many levels, and it rightly deserves its Best Picture nomination.
Posts Tagged: Kauai
Respite care can be a life saver
If you are a caretaker for someone else, please be sure to take care of yourselff, too.
The Five Documents Almost Everybody Needs
Here are some thoughts about 5 documents that you should have in place just in case you lose your mind or leave your body.
Joint bank accounts can be a bad idea
Think twice before you put somebody else’s name on on your bank accounts. Using trusts or powers of attorney can give you the flexibility you want without exposing your assets to unnecessary risk.
Are You Looking for a Retirement Career?
From The Wall Street Journal Online (June 19, 2011): For retirees calling it quits from the 9-to-5 world, it might be worth considering another career move: landlord.
Don’t fall prey to the 2011 “Dirty Dozen” tax scams
There is a big difference between tax avoidance (which is legit) and tax evasion (which is not). Although it can be frustrating at times, we are nevertheless called upon to render unto Caesar what belongs to Caesar. If you don’t like what you have to render, take it out in the voting booth, not on your tax returns.
Doing Well and Doing Good with Charitable Remainder Trusts
By creating a Charitable Remainder Trust (CRT) and selling assets low basis assets through it, a donor can reap dramatically increased income, get a nice income tax deduction, and benefit a favorite charity. Not a bad way to recover from an IRS-induced April 15 headache.
From Businessweek (April 26, 2011) “Growing Ranks of Non-Traditional Couples Face Uncertainty, Expensive Rules”
Taxes, estate planning, and other financial issues can be extremely complex for both gay and straight unmarried couples. The good news is that there are some helpful solutions to the issues.
From The New York Times (April 19, 2011) “Guidelines Allow Earlier Definition of Alzheimer’s”
For the first time in 27 years, the definition of Alzheimer’s disease is being recast in new medical guidelines that reflect fast-mounting evidence that it begins ravaging the brain years before the symptoms of dementia.
From The Associated Press (April 7, 2011) “Social Security Stopped Mailing Earning Statements”
Those yearly statements that Social Security mails out — here’s what you’d get if you retired at 62, at 66, at 70 — will soon stop arriving in your mailbox. It’s part of an effort to save money and steer more people to the agency’s website, which is worth checking out.