Search results for estate planning
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Posted
Aug 31 2009, 11:22 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
TMZ, the news source for all things Michael Jackson, expressed amazement that MJ had terrible FICO scores.
"Here's a shocker -- Michael Jackson had an abysmally low credit score," said a story at the Web site. In 2007, TMZ says it has learned, Jackson's scores from the three major credit bureaus were 592, 524 and 575, averaging out to just under 564.
It's really no surprise, considering his well-documented ultra-extravagant spending and financial woes, including the fact that Neverland Ranch nearly slid into foreclosure. But there's a lesson for everyday people in the specifics that caused the King of Pop to have poor scores.
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Posted
Aug 26 2009, 09:35 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This guest post comes from "vh" at Funny about Money.
If you were killed or incapacitated in a car accident, if you had a stroke or heart attack that put you out of commission, would the people who had to take over your affairs know where to start?
Would they know where your bank accounts are? What insurance you have? Where your paycheck is deposited? What bills have to be paid? And if you have minor children, will friends, relatives, or the authorities know where you want the kids to stay?
If the answer to any or all of those questions is either "no" or "I dunno," now is as good a time as any to start writing down the answers.
I'm in the process of compiling a complete record of all the things my son will need to know if anything happens to me. It's a pretty big job, one that will take several days to complete. The product will be two three-ring binders, one to keep at his house and one to keep at mine.
Here's what's going into it:
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Posted
Aug 25 2009, 09:46 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Even death can't take a holiday from the great recession. Consider:
- More people are selling family burial plots to cover living expenses (unlike the Beverly Hills woman who auctioned off a crypt above that of Marilyn Monroe -- see below).
- More people are dying broke and are cremated or buried at potter's field -- because their families are too strapped to help out. "This problem used to be unique to just indigents who either had no family or were living on the street or homeless," P. Michael Murphy, the county coroner in Las Vegas, told Time. "We are now seeing folks expressing this concern who are recently unemployed or their house is in foreclosure ...."
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Posted
Aug 07 2009, 05:58 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog The Dough Roller.
The memorial for Michael Jackson cost the city of Los Angeles $1.4 million, according to The Associated Press. While most of us won't be remembered at the Staples Center in front of 11,000 people, funerals are expensive.
According to the Federal Trade Commission, a traditional funeral costs about $6,000, and many funerals run well over $10,000. Costs include the casket, embalming, the service, cemetery site, and grave liner. In short, death is big business in the United States.
And to make matters worse, most of us plan a funeral while dealing with the emotional trauma of the death of a loved one. We find ourselves making important financial decisions in the midst of an emotional crisis with very little time to consider our options. Our sadness for the loss of a loved one, moreover, sometimes expresses itself in high cost funeral decisions.
With a little effort, however, we can plan a respectful memorial without breaking the bank. What follows are a number of tips, resources and links to help you plan a low-cost funeral.
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Posted
Mar 18 2009, 02:57 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Another blogger has joined the tiny chorus of personal-finance writers outraged about what The New York Times calls the "newest frontier" in debt collecting -- going after debts of the dead.
Why the outrage? These bill collectors are asking surviving family members to pay when they're often under no legal obligation to do so.
"Is this the height of tackiness or what?" said Andrea of Fools and Sages in a post called "From dead to worse."
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Posted
Mar 04 2009, 03:18 PM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
Here's a new trend we can do without: Having trouble collecting bad debts from the living, bill-collection agencies are increasingly going after the debt of those who no longer share our space.
It appears to be working, says a story in The New York Times. Relatives of the deceased are scraping together payments -- when they are under no obligation to pay.
The story says: "The law varies from state to state, but generally survivors are not required to pay a dead relative's bills from their own assets. In theory, however, collection agencies could go after any property inherited from the deceased."
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Posted
Dec 04 2008, 06:38 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Nora Dunn at partner blog Wise Bread. My, how life changes when you close one chapter of your life and open a new one. Severing a conjoined life and combined finances as a result of divorce is painful through and through. The jump to a single-income lifestyle paves the way to feeling a cash crunch, and if children are involved it is even more pronounced. Even if the breakup is liberating, there is still some mopping up to do after the storm. Here are seven things you can do to set your new life up on the right foot.
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Posted
Dec 02 2008, 06:30 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Filed under: banking, credit, Bargaineering, online banking, financial planning, credit cards, credit reports, homeowners insurance, mutual funds, estate planning, wills, executor, emergency fund, income tax, tax software
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from partner blog Blueprint for Financial Prosperity. Popular Mechanics created a list called "100 skills every man should know," which naturally gravitated toward DIY/physical skills like jump-starting a car and splitting firewood. The Frisky listed "30 skills every woman should have before turning 30," which actually touched on more than physical skills (though No. 12 is physical), with a handful of financial skills (Nos. 17-20). The following isn't a checklist of things you necessarily need to do in your life. It's a list of things you should know how to do in case the need arises.
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Posted
Nov 20 2008, 05:20 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. Most people have financial worries in their lives: How will I pay the bills? What will happen if I'm suddenly injured and unable to work? What if I lose my job? I'm in the same boat. Although I've come a long way in the last few years, I still have a lot of concerns. What would happen if I were to pass away suddenly? What if my wife were to die? Many people bury their concerns and don't consciously think about them. They hide them deep under the surface and live life pretending such things could never happen. Under the surface, though, worry builds up -- and bursts out when they hit a bump in the road.
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Posted
Nov 17 2008, 05:58 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from J.D. Roth at partner blog Get Rich Slowly. My friend Sparky called the other day. We chatted about work, we chatted about the economy, and we chatted about investing. We also chatted about our families. We talked about my mother and her health problems, and then we talked about his parents and their health problems. "I can't believe they haven't updated their wills," Sparky said. "What?" I said. "Are you kidding me? How old are they?" "They're both about 65," he said. "Maybe a little older. They haven't updated their wills since I was 5. If you go by the paperwork, when they die, I have to go live with one of my aunts. I'm almost 40."
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