Finances

Contributing to your IRA is one of the best ways to secure your financial future. The investment into this interest compounding, and tax-deferred or tax-free environment, comes with positive impacts on your retirement savings. Contributing to your IRA also provides tax benefits. You can deduct them on your tax return depending on how much income you make, whether you or your spouse are...

Retirement planning is one of the most important financial goals for your future. When done right, you’ll be assured freedom and financial independence for later in life. When done wrong, you’re facing a future full of stress and worry. To avoid this outcome, consider the ten worst retirement planning mistakes below, and make moves now to avoid them! #1. Not Having a Retirement Plan in Place...

The deduction for qualified medical expenses has survived yet another round of tax reform.  The IRS will allow a tax payer to deduct expenses that exceed 7.5% of their adjusted gross income for 2017 and 2018.  Beginning in 2019, all taxpayers may deduct only the amount of the total unreimbursed allowable medical care expenses for the year that exceeds 10% of their adjusted gross income. For...

Helen Justice, Geriatric Care Manager, at Advanced Wellness, published an informative article on updates to VA disbursements: Are you a War-Time Veteran or Widow of War Time Veteran? There are Financial Benefits available for War Time Veteran and Widow of War Time Veteran to help defray the cost for senior placement Assisted Living Facilities, Board and Care Homes, and In-Home Care. There is a...

–Our friends at Marcum, LLP recently published a detailed article on the new tax plan.– Highlights of key provisions include the following: Individual Provisions The act’s final version retains the seven overall tax brackets, but tax cuts are achieved by cutting the rates themselves. The final version cuts the top rate to 37% as follows: Filing Status Rates Single...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers This is an eye-opening article from Forbes on the cost of caring for aging parents. You might be surprised to read that it costs families more to care for a frail older adult than to raise a child for the first 17 years of her life. Planning for these costs now will prepare you and your family for the future. Read the entire article here: Costs...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers The year 2017 is bringing changes to the estate and gift tax exemption, the annual exclusion as well as a possible repeal of the estate tax due to President Trump and a Republican majority in Congress. The estate and gift tax exemption is increasing this year as expected. As a refresher, the estate and gift tax is a tax on the transfer of assets...

CunninghamLegal – The Living Trust Lawyers I often tell clients to consider a living trust like a box with instructions written on the side.  Assets, including real estate, bank accounts and brokerage accounts are put into the box.  The writing on the side of the box instructs a person (called the “Trustee”) what to do with the items in the box after someone dies.  Assets are “put” into...

In order to qualify for Medi-Cal, an individual must have limited income but may have unlimited assets due to the expansion of Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act. Medi-Cal expansion has made it easier for an increasing number of Californians to qualify for Medi-Cal. Although this is welcome news to many, it also presents an unanticipated consequence for many. Note that long term care...

When you think about the price of having kids, the costs that come to mind may include things like child care, camp, braces and college tuition. What probably doesn’t spring to mind are mortgages, car payments or personal loans. The reality, however, is that your bank account will likely continue to be tapped long past the day your kids turn 21. According to a 2015 Pew Research Center report,...