One of my favorite sayings about children is “they move out but never leave.” When my daughter got married and bought a house larger than mine, I thought it was time to give her all her stuff that had been stored in my house. Now, I know you don’t have any of your kids stuff or their precious belongings in your basement (yeah, right) so this may not apply to you.
If you are in the minority of parents who are saving all… Continue reading
Well the George S. that I am referring to is none other than George Steinbrenner who, as we know, passed away on July 13. It is hard to imagine that many people do not know who he was, but just in the event there is uncertainty, he is known for being the principal owner of the New York Yankees. That ownership, along with other business interests, places Mr. Steinbrenner among the elite wealthy in the country. Public estimates of the size of his estate appear to suggest a figure… Continue reading
That was the way that a conversation started with one of my clients a few months ago and it really caught me by surprise. Sure he was calling me to solicit an opinion, but the problem was that he was calling me about a matter within the Social Security program to which I was completely unfamiliar. Now to be right upfront, as I was with the client, the details of the Social Security program is not one of my… Continue reading
When we do estate planning for our clients, there are four basic documents that most folks need: a will, living will, health care proxy, and durable power of attorney. In later blogs I will deal with these individually, but here I would like to define and address the latter: the durable power of attorney.
This document comes into play when a person is unable to either perform legal duties due to physical limitations, or is mentally incapable or unwilling to make decisions for his… Continue reading
The U.S. markets took their higher opening cue from the Asian markets on Monday morning following the Fathers Day weekend announcement by China that it will allow its currency to loosen the de-facto peg against the U.S. dollar. So it appeared that the global markets were quite receptive to the news and I saw a number of articles that seemed to suggest this was a precursor to stabilizing economic growth for those same global markets. Somehow I just don’t quite buy into that yet!
First off this will never… Continue reading
To be sure, if we are thinking in terms of technology with all the new gadgets that we have at our fingertips we have certainly made some quantum leaps. I find it amazing that laptops, for example, far exceed the capabilities of traditional desktop computers of ten years ago. Throwing in wireless capability now I sometimes feel that my laptop is becoming a personal appendage. It is not uncommon to find me sitting at the breakfast table checking on emails or early investment market indications, then putting… Continue reading
At times we will get a call, usually from the spouse or partner of a business owner, asking for a distribution from their personal account to cover business expenses due to the inability of the business owner to work because of various health reasons. The distributions may reduce or deplete the individual personal funds while trying to keep their business afloat.
As a business owner, we sometimes feel invincible: we can do it better that everyone else, faster than everyone else, of course (at least to us) more efficiently… Continue reading
Ok, I am confessing that as a youngster and throughout my adult life I have never been able to handle the steep ascents and descents associated with those amusement and theme park roller coasters. The most adventurous ride you can get me on is a possible Flume ride since getting wet on the way down helps me avoid thinking about the fact that I feel my stomach is somewhere up in my throat! But no way will you get me on one of those… Continue reading
Oftentimes, especially in the current economic climate we are in, we are either forced or choose to change employers during our working years. Better offers, layoffs, lateral moves or early retirement are but a few reasons to change jobs. If you had a 401(k) in your previous job with contributions that were fully vested (meaning that you own the money) you are faced with the decision of what to do with the funds you re leaving behind in the previous employers plan.
When… Continue reading
The typical investor certainly has a real dilemma on their hands these days. The diversity of opinion as to the direction the markets are headed reflects as broad a range as I can ever recall. So let’s say you’re obviously concerned with the economy and the markets and you decide to turn on the typical financial news stations such as CNBC and/or Bloomberg. You are doing that with the expectation that these financial professionals will provide clarity to your investment decisions, right? I would venture to say that at the… Continue reading
