Archives for 2012

Can You Contest That Will?

Most of us know the importance associated with solid estate planning — especially if we have assets to divide. One of the most important aspects of planning is the will. Many of us think of the will as the final word in inheritance. However, this is far from the truth. Some things, like beneficiaries listed on retirement accounts and life insurance policies, supersede what is in a will. And, there is always the possibility of contesting a will if you feel as though distribution wasn't what it should be.

Contesting A Will

can you contest a will As you might imagine, though, contesting a will isn't exactly a walk in the park. First of all, you need to find out the procedure for your state. If you feel that you have been left out for a reason that doesn't make sense, or you don't like what you received, it's vital that you actually determine whether you have reasonable grounds to contest the will, and that you know the law in your state.

Also, be prepared to pay. While you might be able to intimidate the executor of the will into giving in if your demands are small and you threaten to contest, there is also a good chance that it will cost you upward of $10,000, by the time you pay litigation and attorney costs. You also need to be ready for it to take two or three years to come to a conclusion. And don't forget about the ill will and relationship toll it can take.

Reasons To Contest A Will

If you decide that contesting a will is worth it, you need to examine the situation, and figure out if you actually have grounds. Here are some of the reasons that you can contest a will:

Accidental Disinheritance: Were you born after your parents' last will was made? If they never got around to updating their estate planning, or making a new will, many states allow you to contest the will on the grounds that you were accidentally left out.
Incompetence: This is one of the main reasons that wills are challenged. You have to show that the deceased was incompetent when he or she wrote the will. It doesn't count that dementia set in three years ago if the deceased wrote the will 10 years ago, in control of his or her mental faculties. It takes a lot to prove incompetence, including witnesses and medical records from the time that the will was written.
Undue Influence: Was the writer of the will subject to undue influence? In some cases, a will might be changed to illogically include someone who is in a position to influence the writer. This can include a new spouse who works to get the children excluded, or a health care worker that spends a lot of time with the writer.
Improper Execution: It's also possible to contest a will based on the idea that it wasn't properly executed. If there are multiple versions of the will, and they aren't clearly dated, you can also contest based on the fact that the will in question might have been revoked. You can also try to prove that the will is a forgery.

Realize that you can't contest a will based on sour grapes. If the writer did everything right, and was of sound mind, the will stands, and it's a waste to contest it.

Using the Power of Cash to Your Advantage

By Contributor 1 Comment

As our society moves more and more away from cash and toward other methods of payment, many people forget just how powerful cash can be. If you'll use cash to purchase big ticket items, it can save you quite a bit of money. Here are a few things to consider about using cash more to help your financial situation:

Cash Prices

One of the big advantages of paying with cash is that you can sometimes take advantage of cash bonuses with certain merchants. Many merchants have one price for cash and another price for credit or debit cards. This is because it costs the merchant something to be able to accept a credit or debit card payment.

They have to pay the credit card processing company two or three percent of the purchase price. Because of this, they can afford to sell the product for less money when a cash payment is made. Any time you make a big ticket purchase, ask the merchant if they can give you a better price for cash.

Negotiation

When you use cash, you also have a little bit of room for negotiation. Many merchants may be willing to negotiate with you if you have a big stack of cash to work with. Ask them what the lowest price is that they would take for a cash payment. This can sometimes net you a pretty good deal. You can even negotiate in some places you might not have imagined, for example, on your hospital bills.

Be Patient

If you are shopping with cash, patience pays off. Instead of taking the first deal that you find, try and shop around a little. There are a lot of places that will give you a good deal for cash, and you can have fun shopping around a bit. You can always go to a normal store and buy the item for full price, but sometimes you can find a better deal.

Overall, having cash on hand can come in very handy. Whether you need to shop with a local department store, or with an automotive dealer, you can really get some great deals with cash. You also don't have to worry about finding a merchant that accepts credit cards, debit cards, or some other chosen payment method.

Almost everyone takes cash, and if you get in the habit of shopping with it, you'll be able to score some great deals and save money.

Amanda Green is a freelance writer who normally writes about personal finance and business. Her normal finance writing can vary on topics from saving money on groceries to using services like expertbail to stay financially afloat during times of trouble. You can read more writing by Amanda at paidtwice.com

Tired Of Credit Card Offers? Take Your Name Off the Marketing Lists

By Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

Lately, my mailbox has been stuffed full of credit card offers. To be honest, I haven't done anything about it because I'm actually in the market for a shiny new credit card. Hopefully one with a fat signup bonus, and a decent rewards program. So I'm ok with the credit card offers.

What I'm not happy about is the constant stream of solicitations for refinancing my home loan, switching my car insurance company, and changing my TV service. At some point, it needs to stop. Not only because it's annoying and wasteful, but also because it can be a bit of an identity theft risk.

Cutting Off The Junk Mail Stream

credit card junk mail At some point, I'll probably cut off the credit card offers. And I'll also want to stop the flow of other junk mail. The good news is that it's possible to do this — do it fairly easily. You have to online stops to make:

DMAchoice: Use this site to opt out of direct marketing campaigns. While you probably won't stop everything forever, this site can really help you slow the trickle.
OptOutPrecreen: This site is all about opting out of prescreened credit card offers. If you want to stop receiving offers for loans and credit cards, you can use this site to reduce your junk mail from that quarter.

Even though it seems as though the junk mail industry is one of the few things helping the USPS stay even remotely in the game, that doesn't mean I want to keep receiving that stuff. It's frustrating to have to wade through it all, and shred it. As result, I'll soon be heading them off.

Protecting Your Identity

While there is no completely full proof way to avoid having your identity stolen, you do need to do what you can to prevent identity theft. One of the ways to do that is by reducing the amount of information about you floating around. Stopping junk mail can also help.

When you have your name taken off marketing lists, you are in fewer databases that can be hacked. On top of that, there is still a risk when it comes to the way that identity thieves sometimes get your information — from marketing mail. Some unscrupulous could use the offers to pretend to be you, and get a credit card in your name. All it takes is a little extra information, and an address change, and the card goes elsewhere. (It's a good idea to keep on top of your credit by checking for these fraudulent accounts on your credit report.)

These days, it's all about information. Restricting your information can be one of the ways that you can reduce the chances of being a victim of identity theft. When you do receive marketing mail — especially if you are receiving prescreened credit offers — be sure to shred them. You don't want to throw out something that someone else can use to pretend to be you.

If you are tired of receiving junk mail, and if you want to do your part to live a greener lifestyle, you can put a stop to a lot of what appears in your mailbox. And it just might help you protect your identity as well.

Rebuilding And Starting From Scratch

By Contributor 1 Comment

One of the most frightening prospects in the world is starting from nothing and having to rebuild. Even when the situation is not as bad as you think, life can feel like it's crumbling around you. If you've been laid off from your job, watched your stocks drop or retirement plan tank, or gone deeply into debt because of a car accident, divorce, or medical bill you know that life can often make it feel as if you have to start completely over and build from the ground up.

While most people would view this as a curse, you may be better served by viewing it as a blessing. Sometimes it's good to clean house and start over. After all, it can be difficult to know what needs repair before it breaks.

Here are a few tips on how to recover from a financial calamity and start from scratch:

Stop The Blood Loss

If you have investments that are tanking, your best bet may be to just sell off and reinvest, or do better at diversifying your portfolio. Yes, you may lose some money, but if you don't act and act quickly your stubborn denial of reality may lose you a lot more and preclude yourself a chance to recover in the process. Often times the best use of old, stagnant investments is reinvesting in new growth industries.

Same scenario with a mortgage that you're thinking about refinancing. Instead of blowing your money on a new kitchen or building a home theater you may be better off refinancing the mortgage, lowering your payment and improving your financial situation.

Network With Your Contacts

You may have a rolodex of hundreds of professional contacts, but if you never communicate with them or update them on your situation, how will you ever attain any leverage from these connections? If you're out of work, instead of cowering indoors get out and network.

These days, social media allows you to streamline this process. Online communities and networking sites like LinkedIn and, to a certain extent Facebook and Twitter, allow you cultivate a rich support group of professionals who may be looking for just your skill set. Thousands of individuals have found vibrant new careers by engaging with social media.

Get Professional Advice

If your situation is particularly grim, do yourself a favor and enlist the help of a financial advisement and management service. Companies like World Financial Group can help you to appraise your investments, reevaluate your strategy, manage your current assets, and project into the future.

Especially if you've been hit with a triple whammy of employment trouble, sour investments, and mortgage or insurance problems, you need experienced professionals who can evaluate your overall situation. Part of starting from scratch is getting a new pair of eyeballs on your accounts, looking at them with a fresh perspective.

This isn't a blueprint for financial success. Few of those exist, and the ones that do are usually proprietary. You have to create your own blueprint for success. But that's hard to do if you're buried in debt or struggling to reinvent yourself. That's why sometimes the best thing to do is to start from scratch, rebuild your portfolio, and look at your life from a new angle. You may find that things weren't as bad as you thought, or you may find an ingenious new path into the future.

What Things Motivate Your Spending?

By Miranda Marquit 1 Comment

Introspection is not something many of us apply when spending money. Unfortunately, too many of us just buy mindlessly, without really think about why we buy the things that we do.

A little self-knowledge, though, can go a long way. If you are unhappy with your financial situation, maybe it's time to look at your spending habits, and figure out if they match with your spending priorities. Part of that is looking at your money motivations, and examining why you buy the things that you do.

Necessity

One of the main motivations for spending is need. If you need something, you are going to spend money on it. For most of us, money is a means to an end. We need food to nourish our bodies, so we spend money on food. We need a place to live/shelter, so we buy a home. Necessity is all about survival. If you are spending money so that you can survive, it's clear that you need to keep spending money on those things.

But make sure you know where the line is. Don't call things needs when they are really wants. You might be spending on something that you think is a need, when it really isn't. Another issue is trying to move out of survival mode. It's not fun to see all your money go to survival. If everything is a struggle, you might need to figure out how you can earn more money, perhaps with a second job or a side hustle.

Enjoyment

Another money motivator is enjoyment. Do you enjoy the things you spend your money on? I stopped buying trinkets because I realized that I didn't enjoy them. I had got in the habit of buying them, but I don't really have a good time with them. I am happier with a good book, or going out to dinner, than I am looking at a trinket. My husband likes collecting action figures. He enjoys looking for them on eBay, and getting a good deal (or sniping them out from under someone else). He also enjoys looking at them and arranging them for display.

That's fine. Having a hobby — one that you can afford — or buying things or experiences that you enjoy, is fine. But make sure that is what you really want to spend your money on. If you spend money on things and experiences that you don't actually enjoy, your money is wasted, and you are unhappy. Evaluate your spending, and make sure you are happy with where your money is going.

Impress Others

Sometimes, we spend money on things we don't enjoy in an effort to impress others. Look at your motivation there. If you are buying things because you are “supposed” to have them. Or because you think that it will add to your status in the neighborhood, you probably aren't very happy with the outcome. It's nice to feel as though you are on top of things, and that you are a major player in the neighborhood, but it's not true enjoyment. And it's certainly not need.

Examining your money motivations can help you figure out where you could change your spending, and maybe start using your resources for things that matter to you, rather than wasting money and racking up debt for things you don't actually need or even want.

3 Things To Consider When Investing During Retirement

By Miranda Marquit 2 Comments

Too often, we plan our investments to get us to retirement; we forget that it's a good idea to plan to continue investing through retirement. With life expectancy rising, most of us can expect to be living in retirement for 25, 30, or even 40 years. This means that you can't just put your retirement on automatic, trusting that your portfolio will carry you through without changes. Between inflation, continued fees, and market volatility, it doesn't make sense to assume that the portfolio you have at retirement is the end.

Instead, you need to keep up with your investment planning. While you don't need to become a day trader, there are some things to think about when investing during retirement to make sure that your portfolio survives throughout your golden years:

investing in retirement

1. Reconsider the 60/40 Stock/Bond Allocation

You don't have to keep sticking with the same old thing, especially since we saw how it can be a real problem with an asset allocation that focuses exclusively on stocks and bonds. Instead, think of how you can add something a little different to your portfolio. The longevity that many of us can expect in retirement means that if you are 55, you can use a 20 or 25 year horizon for part of your portfolio. There are some alternative investments (you can tap into commodities with the help of ETFs), as well as a number of options that, if appropriate to your risk tolerance, can be added to your portfolio.

Don't think that you have to shift everything to bonds as you head toward retirement. While you want to include those types of investments, your retirement is likely to be a long one, and you'll want to keep building assets with a portion of your portfolio during retirement.

2. Diversify Your Income

Retirement is a great time to look for income in diverse places. You can start a side hustle, or turn your hobby into a money maker. Working a little in retirement, if you are doing something you love and that brings in another income stream, can be a great way to invest in your future.

You can also consider a little wider view of “income investing.” Many retirees think of income investments strictly in terms of bonds. However, there are other opportunities. Dividend stocks can provide you with better returns than Treasuries — especially in a low-rate environment. Think about your options, and your risk tolerance. It might be that you can handle the addition of dividend aristocrats in your retirement portfolio as you move forward.

3. Watch Out for Cash

Many retirees like cash because it's safe. After all, you can't lose when your cash is housed in FDIC or FOMC insured financial institutions, right? Unfortunately, this isn't true. Inflation is a big deal, and it's highly unlikely that you will be able to beat inflation with the meager returns you get on cash — especially if your retirement lasts more than 20 years. While having some cash isn't the end of the world, don't switch everything to cash as you retire. Instead, look for other options, and consider that you will need to adjust your asset allocation, and look for new opportunities, throughout your golden years.

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