Search results for estate planning
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Posted
Oct 10 2007, 09:09 AM
by
Karen Datko
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
A newspaper article about a do-it-yourself funeral got Matthew at Finance Is Personal musing about alternatives to the traditional -- and expensive -- funeral. Why allow your family to spend $10,000 at a funeral home when you can instruct them to leave out the middleman and use the money for a more worthwhile purpose. Other bloggers have chimed in on the subject and note that the Funeral Consumers Alliance can be a helpful resource.
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Posted
Nov 08 2007, 08:05 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Sarah Winfrey at partner blog Wise Bread . A lady I know of died last night. It was expected; she had been diagnosed with incurable cancer last spring. I didn't know her well. I wish I had, as her friends are going to great lengths to honor her. It's been really cool to see people coming together, comforting each other, saying meaningful things to each other. One of the things friends say has comforted them is that her family is in a secure place financially. I'm not sure what plans she had in place, but her family has been able to cover her medical care and will be able to pay for her funeral without a lot of trouble. Friends are comforted that the family won't have to worry about money as they grieve the loss of this wife and mother. This has made me think hard. You can do a lot before a crisis hits to help your family when it does. Here are things I'm glad I have and ones I intend to look into. Health insurance. I have great health insurance and will have better
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Posted
Jul 18 2008, 05:35 AM
by
Karen Datko
Rating:
Money Blog: Smart Spending Blog - MSN Money
This post comes from Trent Hamm at partner blog The Simple Dollar. About a year ago, I wrote a lengthy article about how to start a filing system, including information about what kind of filing cabinet to buy and what sorts of things you should file. Near the end, I wrote one little paragraph that deserves to be looked at again in more detail: A master document explaining what all of this stuff is. This is mostly a guide to the executor of your estate, containing all important information not in the other documents and also explaining online account access and other details, like where a safety deposit box key can be found. This may also include personal letters for people to read in the event of your passing. Think about this scenario: If you dropped dead right after reading this article, would your survivors -- your kids, your spouse, your family -- have any idea how to access your money? Would they even know where all of your accounts are?
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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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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
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
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
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
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
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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