What your neighbors do can easily impact your quality of life; good neighbors invite you to barbecues, provide an extra set of hands to help when repairs are needed, and let you enjoy your own home in peace and quiet.…
We have all been there before—ready to sign the lease on a new apartment, and then the leasing manager passes over a contract with a bunch of blanks to fill out and even more fine print. These form contracts are…
If you own a business and you plan to loan money to the company, be sure to consult an attorney about the paperwork. Otherwise, the IRS could claim the money wasn’t a loan after all, and come after you for…
A man divorced his wife in California in 1999, and soon fell way behind in his alimony and child support payments. He moved to Pennsylvania and remarried in 2006. Shortly before his remarriage, the man acquired some valuable real estate…
Did you know that your will does not determine who gets your IRA or your 40l(k) account when you die? That’s right – these accounts are “non-probate” assets, which means they’re not covered by your will. Instead, they will generally…
IRAs can be an important part of estate planning, especially for savvy investors and business owners. But be careful – mixing your IRA and your business interests too closely can cause big tax problems. The IRS can “revoke” an IRA,…
Each year, more and more of our lives move online. From photos posted on a social-networking site to bank statements stored in your email, many of our assets that used to be detailed by a paper trail are now completely…
Many people who seek estate-planning advice are owners of family businesses, and one of their chief concerns is how to pass on the business to the next generation. The fact is, there are almost as many ways to transfer a…
Recently, a number of companies have been trying to persuade people that they can save money by handling their divorce on their own. These companies sell packets of generic forms in books or on the Internet, claiming that they were…
A father in Virginia gave his married daughter a check for $15,000, and told her it was a gift for “y’all.” The daughter and her husband used the money to fix up their home, which they jointly owned. Later, the…