The government giveth, and the government taketh away. And so it is with the Stretch IRA. For years, the stretch IRA has been a financial planning strategy used to extend the tax-deferred status of an IRA by passing it on to a non-spouse beneficiary, such as children or grandchildren, who then enjoyed the tax benefits “stretched” over their lifetimes. With [...]
Estate planning. It’s such a noble phrase. It conjures up images of passing on to your loved ones a lifetime of hard work and success—leaving a legacy. But the road to distributing your estate is filled with potholes that may hijack your good intentions. Pothole # 1. Probate Court. If you have a will, your estate will go through [...]
By Rafael A. Perez, Esq., Partner at McArdle, Perez & Franco P.L. and Chief Compliance Officer at Alhambra Investments Introduction: Over the past several decades of practicing real estate law I have had many clients, both domestic and foreign, ask me to apply for an extension of a like-kind exchange deadline. My response has always been that this is [...]
When the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) was passed it changed the rules about deductions for charitable giving. Under current law the only way to deduct charitable gifts is to itemize on your tax return. Because of that, giving to charities has fallen substantially. In 2018 almost 32 million Americans made charitable donations. In 2019 that number dropped [...]
The Coronavirus is changing the landscape, as we know it, in almost every part of life. Unquestionably, it’s also shaking up the financial universe and changing rules that have been etched in stone for decades, and retirement accounts are no exception. With the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARE) now law, Americans 72 years old and older get [...]
As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin extended the 2019 tax filing date to July 15. As a result, it also extends the deadline for making a 2019 contribution to your Individual Retirement Account (IRA) or Roth IRA. You now have until July 15 to make last year’s contributions. According to the Internal Revenue Code, [...]
I was having a conversation about retirement health insurance with an acquaintance of mine who just retired. He’s a former corporate executive—an analytical person—who’s always done his homework to avoid as many surprises as possible in the business world. He’s done the same thing with healthcare and decided that a Medigap policy is best to handle that part of his [...]
I’m a Baby Boomer—in the middle of the Boomer pack. Talk to almost anyone of my generation and they’ll tell you stories of what retirement looked like for workers when we were growing up. Back then it was common for someone to work for only one company, starting at age 18 and retiring at 65. You took your pension and [...]
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