Articles

Succession-Planning Mistakes
Most business owners expect to pass on some day their pride and joy—mostly likely to their children, but possibly to an employee or an outside buyer.

Dividend Tax Rates
One of the most publicized changes of the 2003 tax act was the reduction of tax rates on stock dividends to the point the rates equal the reduced rates on capital gains.

Charitable Trusts
They come with the funny abbreviations so common in estate planning—CRTs, CRUTs, CRATs, NIMCRUTs, CLTs, CLATs, CLUTs—but if you have significant charitable intent you should become acquainted with these versions of charitable trusts.

Best Small Business Structure
Small-business owners have more factors and choices to consider than they once did when choosing the best business structure for their company.

College Saving Strategies
Saving for college isn’t just for kids anymore. Or grandkids, for that matter. It’s also for retirees.

Financial Planning
Many people prepare—if not always adequately—for life’s unexpected financial surprises: insurance for health problems or an auto accident, estate plans for death, an emergency fund for the unexpected loss of a job.

Long-term Care Insurance
Buying a long-term care insurance policy is a complicated process involving many decisions about which features are right for you and what price you can afford.

Investing Lessons
Following three years of gut-churning decline, the stock market is in positive territory again, and strong positive territory at that. In late December 2003, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was over the 10000 mark at a 19-month high, up roughly 23 percent from the first of the year, and the Nasdaq had climbed over 46 percent during the year.

Grandparents Can Help Pay for College Education
One of the best gifts grandparents can give their grandchildren is to help pay for their college education. A 2003 survey by AIG SunAmerica Mutual Funds found that 54 percent of grandparents were already helping pay college costs or planned to do so.

Falling Dollar
You may have recently read or heard numerous references about the “falling dollar,” but not paid them much attention. Perhaps you should.

Being an Estate Executor
At some point in your life, you may be asked to serve as executor of a loved one’s estate—a spouse, a parent, a good friend.

Your 401K Plan
Let’s get one thing straight: 401(k) plans, and similar employee-funded retirement plans, are here to stay. These plans have been battered by the sour stock market of 2000–2002, corporate scandals, and the mutual fund scandals.

Insuring a New Marriage
Reevaluating their insurance coverage isn’t uppermost on the minds of most newlyweds, and it won’t ensure a long and happy marriage. But the right insurance can go a long way toward shielding you against the kinds of financial calamities that can strain and sometimes break a marriage.

Home Sale Rules
The Internal Revenue Service has proposed new regulations that make it easier for people who don’t meet the standard two-year home-sale rule to save taxes on sale profits. The regulations also provide a tax break to those who operate a qualified home office.