Estate planning is often part of a divorce settlement, and negotiation of these terms can be as integral to the divorce settlement as allocation of parental responsibilities, support issues, or division of marital estate. For example, even a relatively simple Marital Settlement Agreement may generally contain waivers of an ex-spouse’s right to make claims to the other party’s estate upon death, including rights to property and to act as a trustee or executor of the estate.
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As a young adult moving from college to your first real job and your own apartment, it's time to start adulting and being responsible for your own finanicial life, insurance coverage, and building your wealth. Here are a few items and easy steps to take that can help make sure you’re ready to succeed in the adult world.
When it comes to budgeting, there are a few basics: Track your spending, know where your money goes, and don’t spend more than you earn. These fundamentals can boost your financial well-being and put you on a path toward reaching your goals—but going beyond these basics can help you accomplish so much more. With this easy-to-follow guide and worksheet, you can start to transform your relationship with money and how you feel about budgeting. You'll also learn:
If you’re a first-timer to the prenuptial conversation, having apprehension around talking about a prenuptial agreement is normal and to be expected. There may even be fear that raising the topic with the spouse-to-be will put a brake on the relationship. As you consider the best way to reach out to a loved one on the difficult topic, here are 7 tips on overcoming prenuptial paralysis, the condition experienced by soon-to-be-weds at the thought of talking about prenuptial agreements.
Wealthy families often take every precaution in preserving their legacies for future generations, with carefully constructed estate plans, wills, and trusts. But they often overlook the hidden factor that can undermine all these plans, and it isn’t investment returns or poor estate planning: It’s family dynamics. Studies have shown that the main reasons wealth fails to transition successfully across generations have little to do with making sound financial decisions—and much more to do with how the family interacts with each other.
If you’re not used to having conversations surrounding family wealth, it can be an uncomfortable experience that can lead to in-fighting and a breakdown in trust. That’s especially true when talking about inheritance: older generations often question if their kids are ready to grow into their roles as stewards of wealth, and younger generations often let inexperience and a fear of being judged keep them from asking important questions.
It’s both a special and critical milestone when your children turn 18. At that age in the family life stage, they become legal adults with many new rights and responsibilities. While there are certain ways to help them get started on ensuring their financial future, there are also rights that you as a parent lose when they reach adulthood, like guaranteed access to their medical records. With their financial future in mind, there are a few critical things to watch out for to help them with their personal finance and protect their future.
Departing for college is a major life event for your family, marking a significant step toward your child's independence. Whether your child is going near or far, planning is critical. Follow this checklist to address critical healthcare, insurance, personal safety, and financial decisions.
Many families are not aware of important legal issues that affect their 18 – 21-year-old children. Parents are often so focused on the fact that the drinking age is 21 that they do not realize that their 18-year-olds are, for most other purposes, adults in the eyes of the law. Parents no longer have the same access to information or control over their children after age 18. Proper planning for the legal issues that arise with an 18 – 21-year-old child can help avoid problems later.
It’s not uncommon for parents showing signs of mental or physical decline to need assistance from their children from time to time, and today that help primarily comes from their daughters. Daughters spend more than twice the amount of time caring for aging parents that sons do, and women make up 60% of all caregivers in the United States. Here is some guidance on how you can make conversations with your parents about their finances easier and more productive.