General Estate Planning

A few days before I sat down to write this month’s column, I was at dinner with my daughter and son-in-law, when the latter excitedly announced to the table that the first Saints game was less [...]

Not everyone wants to take the required minimum distributions from their retirement accounts right away. If you don’t want your distribution, one option is to donate it to charity and get a tax [...]

In most states, spouses can purchase and own property separately from one another. I’d like to think that when I buy a bag of Zapp’s Crawtators that they belong to me and only me, even if I bring [...]

Parents usually want to leave their children equal shares of their estate, but equal isn’t always fair. If you plan to provide more (or less) for one child in your estate plan, preparation is [...]

If you need a lot of cash on hand upon retirement, Social Security offers a lump-sum payment option that’s worth six months of benefits. However, it comes at a cost. It is important to understand [...]

If you run a small business, you know that it can keep you up at night. Staffing, bookkeeping, inventory, customer relations and so much more are all things that may have your mind racing at a [...]

If your spouse dies, you may have to decide whether or when to sell your house. There are some tax considerations that go into that decision.  The biggest concern when selling property is capital [...]

Prepaying for your funeral is one way to ease the burden on your family following your death and make sure your wishes are carried out. But pre-paid funeral plans come with risks, so you need to [...]

If you are about to turn 70, congratulations on reaching a big milestone.  And if you also have delayed claiming Social Security retirement benefits up till now, you are joining a select group [...]

Many people believe that joint accounts are a good way to avoid probate and transfer money to loved ones.  But while joint accounts can be useful in certain circumstances, they can have dire [...]