Ask Liz Weston

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Liz Weston

Wednesday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: Don’t skip these steps when borrowing parent student loans. Also in then news: How to build a home office without breaking the bank, medical student borrowing slows, and the easiest way to lower the interest rate on your credit card.

Don’t Skip These Steps When Borrowing Parent Student Loans
Assess your financial situation and talk openly with your child before borrowing parent student loans.

How to Build a Home Office Without Breaking the Bank
Decide where you’ll invest to make a home office that’s comfortable and productive, as well as affordable.

Med Student Borrowing Slows, but Debt Still an Issue
In the class of 2019, 73% of medical students took out loans; their median debt was $200,000.

The Easiest Way to Lower Your Credit Card Interest Rate
Get ready to spend some time on the phone.

The upsides to thinking about when you will die

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Social Security’s life expectancy calculator predicts I’ll live to about 86. An insurance company’s version says I should expect to die at 98. A longevity calculator created by actuaries demurs, putting the odds at only 32% that I’ll make it to 95.

Eventually, I’ll find out which life expectancy calculator was most accurate. In the meantime, the different results help illustrate one of the most important and difficult calculations in retirement planning: figuring out when it will end.

In my latest for the Associated Press, why life expectancy matters.

Monday’s need-to-know money news

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Today’s top story: 4 tax triggers new investors need to know about. Also in the news: A new episode of the SmartMoney podcast on identity theft and financial stability, how to compare Medicare Advantage plans, and how to save your finances by avoiding these common mistakes.

4 Tax Triggers New Investors Need to Know About
Advice from the tax pros.

Smart Money Podcast: Financial Stability and Identity Theft
Creating financial stability in an unstable world.

Medicare Advantage Plans: How to Compare
Medicare Advantage Plans are an alternative to Original Medicare, offered by private insurers. Here’s how to shop.

Save Your Finances by Avoiding These Common Mistakes
Some errors are more costly than others.

Q&A: Death doesn’t take a holiday

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Dear Liz: In a recent response, you wrote, “Your living trust should name a successor trustee who can take over managing your affairs if you should become incapacitated or die.” This sort of writing is not uncommon but it implies some people won’t die. It would have been better to write “… take over managing your affairs when you die or if you should become incapacitated.” This is important, since it is noteworthy how many people are unwilling to face the facts when it comes to being prepared and finances: None of us are going to get out of this alive.

Answer: Good point!

Q&A: Rent-or-buy question isn’t simple

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Dear Liz: I often agree with your advice, but recently you suggested a 70-year-old widow rent rather than buy. I say buy the condo with the stairs and reap the appreciation. Later, if you need a home without stairs, sell the condo and buy another with your profit. I’m 73, and buying rather than renting has allowed me to live payment-free while leaving some future equity for my heirs.

Answer: In a follow-up email, the reader told me she had already purchased the condo and just wanted confirmation she’d done the right thing. A bigger issue than the stairs is her lack of savings and the possibility she would become house rich and cash poor. Fortunately, though, the condo is new and she’s not likely to face large special assessments for repairs, which would be an issue for an older building.

Q&A: They want to give the caretaker the house she lives in without imposing a tax burden

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Dear Liz: Our family owns a vacation home. A caretaker for the property lives in a smaller house next door that is also owned by our family. We consider her part of our extended family and would like to show our appreciation when the property is sold. Our wish would be to give the smaller house in which she lives to her as a gift, but we know the annual payment of property taxes would probably be too great a financial burden for her to live there as a retiree. (She is currently in her 50s.) Is there some sort of trust or fund we could set up that would cover her property taxes until her death without adding to her taxable income?

Answer: Yes, but there may be a better solution.

A trust can be set up to pay the property taxes or other property expenses during the caretaker’s lifetime, said Jennifer Sawday, an estate planning attorney in Long Beach. Trusts face high tax rates, however, and cost money to set up and administer. Plus, you have to find people willing to be trustees and backup trustees who are likely to outlive the caretaker. You also must decide what happens to the money when the caretaker passes away.

All these issues are surmountable, of course. Younger members of your family could be trustees, for example, or you could hire professional trustees. The money could be invested conservatively, or in tax-efficient mutual funds, to minimize taxes. Or it could be invested aggressively enough to pay the tax bill and still provide enough income to pay the property expenses.

Another, simpler solution would be to give her the cash outright. Gifts are not taxable to the receiver, so the gift itself would not increase her income taxes. She would have the burden of managing the cash, of course. Like the trust, she could invest to minimize taxes or more aggressively to potentially grow the money and offset inflation. Either way, her tax rates probably would be lower than the trust’s.

An estate planning attorney can help your family discuss the various options and set up the documents to carry out your wishes.