The emotional toll of leaving an enterprise that you own is underestimated, said Harry Armon, a serial entrepreneur and president of the estate planning firm ARCAP Partners in Jericho. Does the thought of passing on your business give you the blues? One financial planner quoted in a recent Newsday article, titled “Panel Focuses On Boomer […]

The legal and estate planning industries don’t like to discuss the fact that millions of wills, trusts and other end-of-life documents go missing each year resulting in months—and sometimes years—of unnecessary stress when a family member passes away. Yes, unfortunately if you haven’t properly planned ahead of time, your estate could end up in the […]

Instead of flat out asking them to tell you about their personal information, it can work better to talk about emergency preparedness instead. When a natural disaster strikes, it can prompt many “what if” conversations. What if that were to happen to us? What if that were to happen to our family? These events be […]

Elder planning deals with protecting assets while you’re still alive and perhaps unable to make good decisions. Having someone who is suffering from Alzheimer’s and unable to make decisions is like a living death, for all parties. Much of our planning is done for the unknown. We don’t know what lies ahead, so having a […]

Rooney helped draw attention to the hidden and underreported crimes associated with elder abuse through his unique role as a high-profile and victim of abuse while still retaining a clear ability to testify and completely comprehend his affairs. With a career of more than 300 films, Mickey Rooney’s biggest role may have been when he […]

Enlisting the help of a qualified wealth management professional to determine which type of IRA will best support a person’s retirement goals. So you want an IRA, but you aren’t sure if you need a traditional one or a Roth. How do you decide? Let’s explore the Roth IRA a bit further to help your […]

Disinheritance is a profound element of an estate plan. It can be triggered by a single, specific event, or result from the lifelong flaws of a relationship. For example, a parent may decide to remove one child as a residuary beneficiary under his or her will because of a heated dispute and subsequent estrangement. Making […]

Should you be happy or suspicious of dad’s new girlfriend Goldie? If Goldie is in similar circumstances—divorced or widowed, with her own assets—you might be thrilled. But if she’s much younger and your family and friends have never heard of her before, it could be hard to tell if you’re dealing with a paramour or […]

When you blog about personal finance for people over 50, every so often you need to write a scold post. This is one of those times. Please stop taking an ostrich approach to estate planning. A recent survey from Rocket Lawyer shows that 51% of Americans age 55 to 64 don’t have a will. And the […]

A better alternative for the secret paramour or child is the Totten trust. Millions of bank accounts are actually Totten trusts, which are simply a form of pay-on-death account. Traditional trusts are a great tool for transferring assets to one’s heirs. But for those who find themselves in precarious situations regarding paramours or secret children, […]