In my experience, these are death to your credit rating. Why? Because of how they work. The short story is they get your creditors to agree to accept some lesser number of dollars for your debts. The creditors, for their part, aren’t happy about this. They often mark you as not having paid in full. …
Category Archives: Financial Accounts
The Fallacies of Index Fund Investing
It seems I can’t hardly turn around in the investment world without a paean to Jack Bogle, who preaches the advantage of the index fund. Mr. Bogle’s reasoning goes something like this: Looking at the world of mutual funds, relatively few funds beat the S&P 500 Index, so why not just buy the whole S&P …
Tax Treatment of Annuity Withdrawals
Asymmetrical Information has a good article about the political and budget problems faced by pensions everywhere. It touches upon the treatment of annuities, one of the most popular investment vehicles there is. Most defined contribution pensions (e.g. 401k, among others) in the United States are actually funded by variable annuities. Annuities currently have in interesting …
Probate Without Money
legal information on going through probate without money That was a search hit I got. The problem with this question is that you can’t go through probate without money. The deceased’s creditors want cash. The probate court wants cash. Attorneys and anybody else your executor has to hire want cash. Federal Estate tax may be …
Probate and Foreclosure and Planning Ahead
This question brought someone to my site: If my house is going into foreclosure but the house is also in probate, can the lender actually go forward with the foreclosure sale while the house is in probate? The short answer is yes. The Trust Deed (or Mortgage Note) that was signed by the now deceased …
Continue reading “Probate and Foreclosure and Planning Ahead”
Company Stock in Retirement Accounts
Most of what you read on financial planning in the media is garbage, but here is one of those occasionally useful pieces: IRA Rollovers Could Have Tax Implications. Here’s the idea: You keep company stock in your qualified plan aside from any rollover you may do. Leave it with the company. Convert it to non-qualified …
Passive Asset Allocation
A while ago I talked about Passive Asset Allocation as a way to beat market return as a strategy. So I’m going to write a bit about what it is, why it works, and how to do it. Passive Asset Allocation is very simple at its heart. What you are doing is keeping the balance …
Naming Beneficiaries – Do It, and Keep Them Current
what happen when 401K leave blank on beneficiary Nothing unless you die, and it’s not covered in your will or other documents. Then the state’s intestate code takes effect. Each state has a law for how the estates of those who die intestate will be divvied up. These laws were typically made generations ago, and …
Continue reading “Naming Beneficiaries – Do It, and Keep Them Current”
Variable Annuities: Debunking the Ignorant Press
Found an annuity article in the local paper with an error so glaring that I had to debunk it. Here’s the article:Income for Life And here’s the critical error, conveniently in the first two paragraphs: Interested in annuities? The type known as an immediate annuity may pique the interest of some investors. But the first …
Continue reading “Variable Annuities: Debunking the Ignorant Press”
The Prerequisites of Investing
It shouldn’t surprise anyone that there are things you should do before you make your first investment. The SEC, NASD and all of the various other financial planning organizations all explicitly list three things that should be in place in most cases prior to making your first investment in anything. The first of these is …