Dear Liz: My father passed away in May of last year. In his trust, he intentionally left out one of my four children. The remaining three, who were to inherit a substantial sum, decided to pool their money and share it with their excluded sibling. My stepmother, who is in charge of his trust, has told […]
Recent Blog Posts
Q&A: Be careful when commingling old and new funds in a Roth IRA
Dear Liz: I am a stay-at-home mom of 15 years who has a Roth IRA account from working before marriage. I will start working again soon and would like to know how to best protect my separate property from my future community property earnings. Should I start a new Roth IRA instead of adding to my […]
Q&A: When it comes to Roth IRAs, 59½ and 5 are the magic numbers
Dear Liz: You recently answered a question about Roth conversions, saying that each conversion triggered its own five-year holding period. It was my understanding that after age 59½, the five-year rule doesn’t apply and earnings aren’t taxed. Answer: The rules for Roth IRAs can be complicated, and they’re different for accounts that you fund directly versus those […]
Q&A: In estate planning, finding the right trustees can be a challenge
Dear Liz: My partner of 37 years and I have shared a revocable living trust for much of that time. It has become necessary to update our successor trustees, since one has passed away and the second is our age. It has been pointed out that we ought to name younger people who are more likely […]
Q&A: Tapping into a Health Savings Account while on Medicare
Dear Liz: I’m on Medicare but I also have a health savings account with a fair market value of over $9,000. Am I able to spend this on prescriptions, eye care, etc.? I hate to waste this money. My wife passed away and it’s been sitting there for a while. Answer: You can’t contribute to an HSA […]
“Your aunt is so cool!”
Beverly Beyette Graber, who died Dec. 20 at 91, knew how to get people to tell their stories. She had plenty of her own to tell. When she was eight, for example, word came that the Japanese had attacked the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. Her father, the future Brigadier-General Hubert Beyette, had been […]