Money

Many people do not know about probate until a person has died. When a person dies, their will and other legal assets have to go through the probate process. This is often done by a probate lawyer because the process can become very complicated. When family members are involved it can create tension so having a neutral third party can help the process along.

Families can protect themselves with planning and finding an probate lawyer.

When a person dies they leave behind debts, tax bills, property, and other assets. All of this is called a person’s estate. When a person dies with a will in place, by law the estate needs to be administered. This is done by a person called an executor. The executor will read the will and notify the beneficiaries that the process has begun.

Many people do not understand that even if they die with a paid off home and cars that their debts still need to be resolved. This is why most probate lawyers ask people to give a specific percentage of their estate’s value to each beneficiary. This way it does not become too confusing to administer after the debts are paid off.

This process can be lengthy because creditors need to be notified of the deceased person’s death. Some creditors will even ask for a death certificate as proof that the person has in fact passed away. If the person has a life insurance policy then that needs to be administered either by the insurance company itself or the executor. Some people decide to leave their life insurance proceeds to one person or to their estate so that it is divided equally among the beneficiaries.

The first thing that needs to be done is to submit the will to the court in the state where the will was filed. A petition will need to be filed with the court that states the deceased person’s full name, if there is a will, and when the death occurred. Then, the court will review the information, appoint the executor of the estate, and see if a bond needs to be given to the estate. After this process is completed, people who are related to the deceased, those individuals named in the will, and creditors will be notified by mail that the court has received the will and that the estate is now being dealt with.

After this, the probate process begins; it can take more than a year to get a will through this process. It depends on how well the parties that are involved deal with each other. If someone challenges the will then it can take years to close the probate process. When dealing with the probate process it is a good idea to consult a probate lawyer. They can help guide people through the process to make it easier and much less stressful.

According to  the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI), many Americans are falling short when it comes to saving for retirement. In 2015, 28% of Americans had less than $1,000 dollars saved, and a whooping 64% had less than $50,000.  And although the savings so far are not much, the confidence of those interviewed believe they will have enough money saved by the time they retire. How can that be possible you may ask? One of the reasons they believe they will have enough saved for retirement,  is because they have started a retirement account and have started contributing to it.  They believe that now that they have started, they will continue saving till the time comes to retire.

While retirement plans are not always available through their employers, many individuals should be happy to know that the ease to open a retirement account through other mediums is fairly easy and pain free.  There are many companies out there that can have an account open for you within minutes, and can give you a list with a few steps to follow to roll over a 401(k) retirement account from another brokerage firm.

Remember to do a bit of checking to find  out which companies offer you the best deal for you.  If your current brokerage firm’s management  fees are eating up your earnings, remember there are many companies with lower fees that can do better, or comparable to what your current firm is doing. There is no need for you to stay with an investment company that takes all your earnings, and the initial capital invested has not grown.

Wealthfront is an online investment company where investment for a new person should be pretty easy to understand. They advertise zero trading fees, zero hidden fees, and if you need the help of an advisor, their cost is a fraction of other traditional advisors. Wealthfront is an example of the many investment companies that you can turn to when beginning to invest for your retirement.

If you are wondering whether you need to keep or buy a life insurance policy for when  you retire, talk to an advisor right away, specially if you have no other dependents to take care of, or your children are all grown up.

Long-term care insurance coverage is probably one of the many concerns Americans have for when they retire, and many  are unaware of the costs.  But even if you managed to saved enough for retirement, needing long-term care at a hospital or nursing home can eat up your savings pretty quickly.  So planning for long-term care insurance coverage now, can help protect your savings in the future.

Protect your investments and your retirement by making good decisions now. Talk to a professional advisor to find out what you need to do now, to retire comfortably.

Every year you probably make a resolution to save more money and waste less money in the new year.  For most people this is fairly easy to do but if you do not know where to start you will not be able to identify how to best go about it.  We have assembled this list of five simple things you can do to make a dent in your budget and put more away for that future nest egg.

1. Quickly audit your spending from the last year.  This is not as hard as it sounds.  Just get out your bank statements and credit card statements and use a highlighter and highlight unnecessary purchases from the previous year.  Do you see some trends?  Are you spending too much money on going out or on fast food?  How about your grocery budget?  Are you way over what you would like to spend?  Use this information to cut back on non-essential things that you are buying but do not really want to buy.
   

 

2. Change Charge Cards and Refinance if it make sense. If you are paying high interest rates you can usually move the debt you have to a lower rate card or refinance a higher interest rate loan.  A few hours of work could save you hundreds or thousands over the life of the debt.
   

 

3. Monthly Service – what are you using and what are you overpaying for? Everyone needs utilities, some entertainment, mobile phones, transportation, etc.  However, many of these services are simply paid each month without shopping around or looking at the plan you have.  Do you need full cable?  Maybe you only need Netflix?  It depends on what you value, but taking a hard look at these monthly expenses can save you a lot of money.  Even utilities sometimes can be shopped around and rates can be reduced for a limited time, sometimes saving more than 50% versus not doing anything at all and just paying the bill.
   

 

4. Meals – eat less and/or cook more. If you are not your ideal weight, why not just try to lower your portions at every meal.  Don’t think of it as a diet, think of it as trying to shave 20% off your food bill so you can save some money.  Split meals with someone else at restaurants or take half home and make it two meals instead of one.  Think about what you spend in a month on food and imagine trimming it by 20% or more.  This can also be done by cooking more and eating out less.  If you eat out several times a week, set a maximum number and once you have gone out that many times, you have to cook in every other meal.  Try learning some healthy meals you can make for under $5 as well and you will be really raking in the savings.
   

 

5. Necessities – Gourmet coffee, wine, organic? It is easy to fall into a trap of thinking you need the best gourmet coffee, or red wine every day, or only organic fruits and vegetables. If you do some research, you can find that some over the counter coffee is very good, and there are nice red wines for under $10 a bottle if you know where to look, and many organic items have no added benefit (especially if they are peeled.)  Spend money where you really need to but do not fall into a trap of always needing everything at the highest end when there are good alternatives.

In addition to these things, look at a spending threshold per item and set a waiting time period before you can buy anything over that limit.  It could be $50 or it could be $500 depending on what your spending habits are and what you can afford reasonably.  

As an example, if you see you often buy things on impulse over $50 then you say, I will not buy something over $50 unless I wait for at least 7 days before making the purchase.  If after 7 days I still really want it, I will then buy it.  This will stop impulse buys where you might often regret the purchase after you realize it was not something you would use.  A good example of this is kitchen gadgets, jewelry, shoes, tools, tech gadgets, etc.

There are a lot of ways people waste money and we are going to cover some common traps people fall into.

One of the first things you want to consider is your impulse buying.  One very wealthy person I was listening to on a podcast said he has a rule that anything that is over $50 and not immediately necessary he waits 30 days before buying.  The reason is that if you give it a little time, you may realize you can live without the item and even if you have the money to buy it, maybe you do not want to add clutter to your home.

But some of the real culprits are in those monthly bills.

1. Paid TV is a big one.  With approximately 1/3 of paid cable subscribers cutting out TV, you have to ask yourself what you are still doing paying for it.  More and more you can simple stream the channels you want and reduce your payments big time.
2. Cell phone bills are also something that should be reviewed every year or each time your contract is up.  Moving to a lower cost carrier will often cut your monthly fee and the difference in service is often negligible.
3. Gas for the car is another area where yo can use something like the Gas Buddy app and save a few dollars each time you fill up by choosing the best prices close to you.  This adds up over the course of a year to being potentially hundreds of dollars.
4. Gas for your home – if you are not shopping for lower priced utility providers you are spending too much.  This is a must.
5. Credit Cards – While it is best not to have credit card debt, it is also not a good idea to pay high interest on the debt if you have it.  Shop around for a favorable balance transfer and then work like crazy to pay it off before the better offer expires.
6. Eating out – while we love to eat out, it is also possible to look up a fancy recipe on YouTube and cook a great meal at home for a fraction of the price.  Better yet, have a pot luck with friends and you will all have a good time with little cost and more fun.

These are just some of the money traps you may be falling into and wasting your hard earned cash where you do not need to.