http://personalwealth.saulnews.com A Law Blog hosted by Sun, 22 Jan 2012 18:36:36 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en An article in the New York Times of January 22,2012 offers some ideas on how to make the tax system simpler and maybe fairer:  1. Broaden the base and lower rates. What this means is eliminating some deductions, like mortgage interest, and reducing tax rates on the larger base. No ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/157 There isn't any. Although spouses have protection when assets are held in qualified retirement plans, so that the plan participant can't name a beneficiary other than the spouse to receive death benefits without the spouse's approval, no such protection applies to assets held in individual retirement accounts. So a ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/156 In the now-booming industry of determining what people think about retirement, another study reaches some conclusions that suggest a general attention to current financial issues and less confidence in the ability to achieve retirement goals: more people are determined to retire without a home mortgage, and are focusing on paying ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/155 An article in the on-line Wealth Counsel Quarterly asks why families fight over inheritances and offers several reasons: people are genetically inclined to competition and conflict receiving an inheritance is somehow a mark of approval, which many seek even from deceased parents people are inclined to look for evidence that they have ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/154 A recent Forbes article describes some unusual final planning by the rich and occasionally famous. Magician Harry Houdini stated in his will that he wanted a seance held on each anniversary of his death. Apparently he never made contact though. Gene Roddenberry, creator of Star Trek, asked that his ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/153 We hear and read frequently about baby boomers and the retirement years they are now entering. A recent article in the Wall Street Journal discusses a downside to that impending or occurring retirement. In an effort to make up losses from stock market uncertainties and the drop in home ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/152 Retirement seems to be the word of the decade, now that baby boomers are beginning to experience the latest in their life adventures. Unfortunately, this event coincides with a high level of uncertainty in financial markets and in other aspects of the wealth equation. Here's some further evidence: in ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/151 A number of articles appearing on the Internet concern the question of how much discussion there should be with a spouse and children about money. One article concludes that relationships are improved when a couple's financial life is stable and both of them know what's going on. Still, many spouses ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/150 Many people postpone planning their estates, not wishing to confront issues of mortality; or, it may be that they believe the subject so complex that no amount of effort will yield any useful results. They may shrug their shoulders and say "I'll let my kids worry about it", not ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/149 A poll taken by a group called LifeGoesStrong.com indicates that only 47% of baby boomers (born between 1946 and 1964) feel confident they will be able to afford a comfortable retirement. As recently as March, the percentage was 55. Because of this, many more plan to continue working after ... http://personalwealth.saulnews.com/archives/148