You finally created your estate plan. Sitting down and hashing out all the details was a lot of work, but now that your estate plan is set, you can rest easy knowing you and your family will be taken care of if something should happen.
However, your work is not done yet. While a large part of the work of estate planning is in creating it, you still need to update your plan periodically in order for it to be the most effective.
You have recently started your own business, or you are preparing to start one. You feel excited but nervous for this new chapter in your life. In addition to handling the many day-to-day aspects of establishing a business, you also spend a lot of time worrying about the challenges that your new business may face.
Business ownership is not for the faint of heart. The majority of small businesses will eventually go under, unless the owner is proactive in anticipating the numerous problems that plague small businesses. In this post, we will go over a few of these obstacles and address what you can do to prevent or manage them.
Over the last few years, the world of banking has had its fair share of controversies. Allegations against the Wells Fargo & Company continue to surface. Red flags went up when some clients started to notice unanticipated fees, credit and debit cards and lines of credit. Investigations uncovered that employees were creating fraudulent savings and checking accounts on behalf of the bank.
As a young individual, you know there are plenty of areas in your life that require immediate attention. Maybe you still have some student debt to pay off, or you are looking to upgrade from an apartment to a house. Based on how you have seen your family or society work, you might have a certain set of expectations on when to place your financials at different points in your life.
However, there are some aspects in life that require long term planning. While there has been more attention placed around saving for retirement, that is not the only part of life that can benefit from early planning. You can also start estate planning as early as your 20s, however most Americans do not practice it. Over half of the country does not have a will or trust in place, and there are only 22 percent in the 18 to 36 demographic that do. The major question asked by millennials is what do they have to benefit from early estate planning.
You have a bright idea, plenty of enthusiasm and you make a great team. Why not go into business with your better half?
Going into business with your spouse or partner can be tricky. Before setting up shop, you and your future business partner should have a frank discussion about your new venture. Here are a few things you should keep in mind:
Wills and estate planning are often regarded as things to get done in your retirement years. Many people procrastinate on starting a will because they think they don't have enough assets, or that it’s too early.
Some even consider it bad luck to start a will too soon.
Social media sites such as LinkedIn and Ladders have changed the landscape for salespeople and jobseekers alike. Salespeople can reach and develop a larger customer base with less effort, and job seekers can connect with decision-makers in unprecedented ways. But with so much more exposure, salespeople who leave an employer may have to be particularly careful about comments made on social media, especially if the employee is subject to a non-solicitation agreement.
A 2017 ruling by a federal district court in Minnesota exemplifies this notion. The court granted a preliminary injunction preventing a former employee of Mobile Mini, Inc. from soliciting customers through LinkedIn.
Blended families have become the new norm as the baby boomer generation leads the nation with record high numbers of divorce and remarriage. The modern family dynamic often includes remarried parents, creating a blended family with their children and step children. When considering estate planning options, the question of who will inherit is significant and requires a thoughtful answer.
When deciding how to divide a lifetime of assets, a person will often want to provide for the surviving spouse while leaving a portion of the assets to their children and possibly step children. With multiple people in line to inherit, clear and current beneficiary designations are essential.
Often, people die with a variety of financial obligations that need to be sorted out and addressed to settle their affairs. The executor of the estate normally pays any outstanding bills with a deceased person’s available assets.
Regardless of whether you have been named as an executor of someone’s estate or are just wondering what your responsibilities are when a family member dies, the prospect of potentially being on the hook for debts is likely to make you uneasy. Here are some questions and answers about various scenarios regarding outstanding credit obligations after death.
Writing a will is a wonderful thing to do. It will save your heirs a ton of heartache and the confusion of having the state decide who gets what.
But apart from the satisfaction of doing a nice thing for your family, it doesn’t do that much for you. What three steps can you take that will benefit the person you are most responsible for – yourself?
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