I have had the opportunity to serve as trustee for a fair number of clients. Some of them, those that have substantial assets, often arrange for our services long before anyone has passed away. In these cases, we may (often) be involved in the construction of the trust and the goals of the trust when the principal has passed.
Tag Archives: death
Dead as a doorknob?
The last few blogs we discussed planning for the end of our lives. Because we never have a clue when that may come. (Here’s the first post on the series– and here’s the last. Five in total.)
We covered death. Now, it’s time for taxes.
You know the tax law has changed. And, for many of you, that means that itemizing is no longer an option. (If you are married, the threshold of deductions needed to itemize went from $ 12K to $ 24K- and you are limited to $ 10K for the TOTAL of your property taxes and state/local income taxes. Of course, you could do as I have done for many a client- filed separately for the first time in decades. Where the threshold is $ 12K- and you still have that 10K max for property/state/local taxes….)
Continue reading We covered death. Now, it’s time for taxes.
Last Moments
This is the fifth part of our series that started last Monday. On death, dying, and preparing for those days.
When I get older, losing my hair…
When we reach a certain age, we wonder to whom and how we will give our possessions. But, the “Last Will and Testament” should not be our first focus. We really need a complete plan.
Living Trust
We’re following up on Friday’s post (the third in this group of four posts), where we began discussing this vehicle. A well-defined revocable living trust covers three phases of the Settlor’s life: his or her productive lifetime, possible incapacitation, and what happens after his or her death.
Weekend Warriors
I’ve written how exercise is critical for our physical and mental health- including controlling obesity. And, that it seems walking 6 miles a week is a pretty functional way to achieve the desired long term results. Most of the research is based upon exercising several days a week (5 days, every other day, etc.)
NSAID Safety?
A dozen years ago, Vioxx was given the axe. This pain medicine, developed by Merck, was considered to be a menace. Because the risk of heart attacks were much higher than expected.
Operator, Operator…
So, you all do know that this year the number of traffic accidents and fatalities has increased- for the first time in a long time. (35,200- a 7.7% increase over 2014- despite the fact that cars are getting safer.) It shouldn’t come as a surprise, because with the precipitous drop in the price of gas, we are driving more. And, as any cogent being realizes as they traverse this great land, too many folks should not have a driver’s license (maybe they don’t- but are behind the wheel anyway). At the very least, many (most?) should be barred from getting behind the wheels of the ridiculous large vehicles they own, since they can’t handle them properly at all.
Still?
More than 3 decades ago, bowel surgery was the scourge of medicine. Folks undergoing such procedures were pretty much assured they would develop complications due to infection. Those infection rates were well upwards of 90%! The death rate was pretty high, too. Of course, not operating on these folks guaranteed the patients almost certain death.