Dear Liz: I was married for 12 years and have remarried. If I divorce again, am I eligible for my first husband’s Social Security? Answer: People who were married for at least 10 years and who are currently unmarried may be eligible for divorced spousal benefits based on their ex’s work record. So if you divorce, you […]
Recent Blog Posts
Q&A: What to do with a drawer full of unused credit cards?
Dear Liz: At 75 and 79, my husband and I have no plans to buy a new car or property. We own our home and cars. We have excellent credit ratings. We use one major credit card. I’m consolidating our financial life for our heirs. We have a drawer full of cards we never use. Is […]
This week’s money news
This week’s top story: Lousy customer service ‘designed for you to give up.’ In other news: What home shoppers need to know about the new buyer’s contracts, weekly mortgage rates tumble, and how to get your finances back on track for fall. Biden Official: Lousy Customer Service ‘Designed For You to Give Up’ New government actions target […]
Q&A: An update on the inheritor trying to stay below the poverty line
Dear Liz: I have an update about a recent question in your column. A reader wrote that they had been low income but had recently inherited $175,000. You noted that Medicaid has strict asset limits. Actually, that is no longer the case in California, where Medicaid is known as Medi-Cal. I just received literature from it […]
Q&A: He’s held stocks for decades. Should he sell before he dies?
Dear Liz: My father-in-law, age 100, has more than $1 million in stocks and bonds purchased in the 1980s and 1990s. With the stock market so high, I have suggested that he might want to sell the investments, take the tax hit and consolidate into short-term certificates of deposit or similar. This would make it easier […]
Q&A: Closing the case on the couple moving into their rental property
Dear Liz: You recently answered a question from a couple who wanted to move into their rental property, make it their primary residence and use the $500,000 home sale exclusion if they sold the property after living there for two years. You should have made it clearer that not all of the gains on the property would qualify […]