ESTATE PLANNING

By Diane Forrest

This is a subject many people don't want to talk about.  When my husband was alive he constantly wanted to discuss getting life insurance.  I didn't want to discuss it, feeling that if he knew it was there he would give up the will to live. Death was always on his mind, he would have dreams about it talk to his friend who worked at a funeral home, asked him endless questions and even wanted to observe how they got someone ready for burial. When we would be out he would invite people to his funeral, which I said was just wrong.

I on the other hand figured if I didn't discuss it, or changed the subject, that he wouldn't ever die and we would live happily ever after.  That didn't happen, as you know there are 2 certainties in life, death and taxes.  When my husband passed away it was completely unexpected.  My husband had been paralyzed by an accident at work, however he had no other medical problems, no high blood pressure, no diabetes, no heart problems or breathing problems.  He just couldn't move from his waist down.  He had been bedridden for 3 years and had developed sepsis and possible pneumonia.  There were no warning signs; he just couldn't wake up one morning.  The doctors and nurses did all they could to save him, but it was just his time to go.  His death not only left me in shock, but in financial distress too.  Not only did I lose my husband, I also lost my job the same day.  As a nurse, I was being paid by his insurance company to take care of him.  It was a real struggle to make it through that first year.  Trying to live without him, and paying the bills too.

I was also involved with his worker's comp case, which made things even more stressful.  Because of this active case, an estate had to be opened.  His worker's comp case finally settled in January of this year, however the estate battle is still ongoing, over 2 and a half years after his death.  I am now in a battle with his sons from previous marriage and it has been devastating.  It has caused me stress, anxiety and medical problems such as hypertension and depression.

This could have all been avoided had we planned properly for such an event.  No matter what you leave behind when you leave this world, someone will be there to fight over it.  Whether its family members, designated charities, lawyers, or the government.  

Some of the lessons I have learned are:

Don't assume.  Each state is different and the laws are not the same.  If you think that when you die everything goes to your spouse automatically, you could be wrong.

Have a signed will (a copy doesn't count).  You must have the original in a safe place.

If you cosign for any property, when one dies, the cosigner is still responsible for the debt.

Some necessary steps to take:

Make a will!!!  If you are single, married, have children or siblings.  Make clear instructions where you want your belongings to go.

Buy life insurance.  This is necessary if you want to protect your children or spouse from financial burden, and also to cover the expenses of your burial or disposition of your remains.

Talk to a lawyer and/or financial planner if your estate is large or complicated.

Don't wait!  You can't predict the end of your life well unless you take matters in your own hands.  My husband was only 52 when he passed away.  My brother was 23 when he was killed in an accident.  You need to prepare for those you leave behind.  Never assume that your family will not fight over what you have to leave.  Death affects people differently.  I would have never imagined I would be in a court dispute with my stepsons, but here I am.

My father was talking to his neighbor the other day, a man who is almost 49 years old.  He is married, has stepchildren, and grandchildren, siblings and in-laws.  My father asked him if he had a will.  He didn't.  He explained to him all the trouble I was going through and what his family was capable of doing, and encouraged him to talk to his brother-in-law, who is an attorney, and have a will drawn up as soon as possible to protect his wife and the property and possessions they own.

If you haven't made final arrangements for yourself...now is the best time to start your planning.  Don't wait until it’s too late!!!  Share with us some of your estate battles in the comment section below.

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It is Financial Wellness Month - 2013

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By Terry Orr

Financial Wellness is a wonderful concept and if one can participate all the better.  Fact is that many folks simply cannot! They are living day to day - often wondering where their next meal will come from. I am not talking about those individuals who chose not to work.

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I am writing about those who volunteered to protect our way of live, our freedom and others - making terrible sacrifices - all too often the ultimate by giving their lives to a government that has turned their backs on these people!

I am writing about those hard working individuals who have lost their jobs through mismanagement, government bungling, and outsourcing to other countries.

I am writing about the millions of honest, hardworking people who lost their entire life savings at the hands of greedy financial individuals and the government gross neglect. to my knowledge, not one government person has yet been held accountable for their actions.

 I am writing about the corruption in our elected officials over the past one hundred years.  Stealing money from Social Security and other places - failing to repay those it – and now wanting to refer to it as an entitlement - even though millions of hard working people have been contributing to throughout their entire lives as a benefit. Must be part of that New Congressional Math they have been talking about.  Financial wellness was lost to our citizenry through the greed and corruption of elected officials.

I am writing about the lack of true leadership, integrity, honesty, and doing the right thing!

January is Financial Wellness Month. Few if any of us planned to live in these financial hard times, our budgets stretched and often broke - force to decide between a new pair of shoes or a hot meal for the family.

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January is the start of a new year - perhaps a time of hope, a fresh start, for a better tomorrow.

Financial Planning

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By Terry Orr

Of all the important skill sets to have – this is one that I yet to master – one that should have been mastered long before completing high school – and should be required for all kids going to school.  We all need to understand the importance of financial planning – for our immediate, mid and long-term.

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“If you can, you will quickly find that the greatest rate of return you will earn is on your own personal spending. Being a smart shopper is the first step to getting rich.” - Mark Cuban

Ric Edelman
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Ric Edelman is the chairman and CEO of Edelman Financial Services, LLC -  the author of several personal finance books and the host of a syndicated weekly personal finance talk radio show called The Ric Edelman Show.  Ric is extremely popular here in the nation’s capital and most medium to large companies sponsor him to help their employees financial planning.  A very good friend of mine has read all of his books and took to heart the advice Ric provided – would have been helpful if I had followed in my friends footsteps.  The first book of Ric’s I read was “The New Rules of Money” - 88 Strategies for Financial Success Today; and the next two I plan on getting are – “The Lies About Money” and “Rescue Your Money”.

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“Only buy something that you’d be perfectly happy to hold if the market shut down for ten years.” - Warren Buffett

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A very good friend of mine told me - that early in his Air Force career, he got some excellent advice on financial management.  With each promotion and or pay raise – put half of that into your long term savings; but half of the remaining into your short term savings and the remainder for you. Now that is pretty simple and straight forward and makes a lot of sense.

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“Experience taught me a few things.  One is to listen to your gut, no matter how good something sounds on paper.  The second is that you’re generally better off sticking with what you know.  And the third is that sometimes your best investments are the ones you don’t make.”  Donald Trump

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One of our daughter’s parents came up with a smart financial plan for their children by establishing CDs and savings accounts for things like – their education; autos and insurance; and the like.  So when they were ready to purchase their car, then withdrew the funds from their CD and made monthly car payments into the auto CD.

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Long before laptop, tablets, smartphones were everywhere – many of us used the back of a napkin to do our planning.  This process helped us understand the concept and identify key factors which were later typed and distributed.

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So here is my advice - do your research, gather your ideas, sketch out rough plan on what you are hoping to achieve.  Then find yourself a good professional financial adviser.  Develop your plan, begin executing it and make sure you review and update you plan frequently and the situation warrants. Good luck.

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References and Links:

http://www.ricedelman.com/

http://financialplan.about.com/

http://www.fpanet.org/

"The mint makes it first, it is up to you to make it last." - Evan Esar