Dear Liz: I was married for 33 years and divorced 4 years ago. We have reconciled and are now back living together as a couple, but have not remarried. I’m 68, and my former spouse is 63. Neither of us is drawing Social Security, but we are now considering applying. Will she be able to draw […]
Recent Blog Posts
Q&A: Roth conversions and holding periods
Dear Liz: Eight years ago I converted a number of stocks from an IRA to a Roth IRA and paid the taxes. Now I am in a position to convert the last shares but want to do it incrementally over the next four years. Does each conversion then require its own five-year waiting period or will […]
Q&A: Credit cards and co-signers
Dear Liz: My son is in his mid-20s. He has a credit card that we co-signed and that has a credit limit he would likely not qualify for on his own. He would like to remove us as co-signers as he starts to take more personal control of his finances. Would it make more sense to […]
Q&A: Hard copies, thumb drives and the cloud: How to handle vital records when it’s time to flee
Dear Liz: We are assembling our important document to-go box with the typical things advised should we need to evacuate, such as birth and marriage certificates, passports, insurance documents, mortgage statements, etc. Many of the documents can be accessed online, so I wondered about pay-off statements from old loans and mortgages. Is it important to take […]
Q&A: Navigating the Risks of 401(k)s, IRAs, and Payable-on-Death Accounts
Dear Liz: You recently wrote about the drawbacks of payable on death accounts, including that the funds go directly to the beneficiaries before the estate’s expenses are paid. Aren’t all 401(k)s payable on death? I’m often reminded to update my beneficiary info whenever I log into my account. Should 401(k)s be converted to IRAs once we […]
Q&A: An aunt left him out of her will. Can his siblings share the windfall?
Dear Liz: My brother and I have received a cash inheritance from our aunt, as have our cousins, among a few others. Our youngest brother was excluded, as was our cousins’ youngest sibling. I believe my aunt, who was 96 when she died and in her 80s when her will was done, simply forgot these two […]