Sep 21
A 529 education savings plan is a plan where you select the recipient (“beneficiary”) and make contributions for that person’s post-high school education. The beneficiary can be a child, grandchild, nephew, niece or just the neighbor’s kid. You make the contributions in any amount you want. You can change the investment strategy or even the […]
Aug 20
This is a question that is asked frequently, and the short answer is, yes, filing bankruptcy will stop foreclosure, at least temporarily. The more important questions are, for how long, and will I be able to keep my house. The answers to those questions are maybe. If you file Chapter 7, the bankruptcy will stop […]
Aug 18
The estate tax is scheduled to disappear in 2010, to be revived in 2011 at 2001 levels, which means a $1 million exemption instead of the 2009 exemption of $3.5 million, along with an increase to 55% tax from the current 45% bracket. However, recent news indicates that it is likely that Congress will extend […]
Aug 11
One of the most weird rules to come out of the 2005 amendments to the Bankruptcy Code is what is known as the 910-day rule. This is a rule for confirmation of a Chapter 13 plan. Essentially it says that if a debtor purchased a motor vehicle and financed it by giving the bank title […]
Jul 15
Traditional wisdom is that you should max out your 401k before contributing to anything else. That depends on whether you believe taxes will go up or down in the future. In a 401k or traditional IRA, the contributions go in tax free (are deducted from your income) but come out and are taxed at whatever […]
Jul 8
Now that Michael Jackson’s funeral is over, speculation is rising over what kind of estate he left and who will get it. Both questions may take years to answer. A figure widely bandied about is that the King of Pop owed upwards of $400 million at the time of his death. Add to that estate […]
Jul 1
In 2005, Congress revamped the Bankruptcy Code, the most significant overhaul in nearly 30 years, since the last big revision in 1979. One of the main purposes was to make filing more difficult. The number of filings dropped dramatically — for two years. By 2007, Americans were filing at a rate nearly twice as great […]
Jun 26
Every estate plan should include a list of critical information that is easily accessible in the event of death or incapacity. This list should have on it a list of bank accounts, safe deposit boxes (and the location of the keys), other financial accounts (stocks and bonds, online accounts, etc.), the location of your estate […]
Jun 17
To many people, estate planning is all about avoiding the estate and inheritance tax. That’s why a lot of people give little thought to estate planning, because, as we’ve discussed, they don’t consider themselves wealthy enough to have to worry about estate taxes. We discussed why estate planning is important even aside from taxes, but […]
Jun 12
Congress, in its wisdom, requires lawyers to tell potential clients that they (the clients) don’t need an attorney to file bankruptcy. That is true; anyone can represent him or herself in any court in the nation. Making that statement, however, doesn’t answer the question SHOULD you do it yourself. Bankruptcy is a very technical area […]
