Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Consumer Boomer

Consumer Boomer


How To Avoid Probate

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 04:14 AM PDT

As a general rule, avoiding probate court is ideal whenever possible. While you may have heard of this advice, unless you have been through the process you might not understand why. In a nutshell, probate describes the process or procedure used to settle the estate of a person who has passed away. When an estate is in the probate process, all steps are court supervised which can result in a long, drawn out process that can quickly become expensive due to attorney fees and court costs. This is one of the reasons why most people would prefer to avoid probate, another is the amount of time an estate could be tied up in legal proceedings. To make it easier on your loved ones and reduce the stress and burden of dealing with an estate in probate, consider the following tips to ensure your estate is handled with the least amount of difficulty.
How To Avoid Probate
Creative Commons License photo credit: mliu92

Estate planning for Probate

The easiest way to avoid probate is by taking steps today to plan for the handling of your estate. The following are popular ways to pass property and assets directly to your beneficiaries without going through probate.

  • Name your beneficiaries- Life insurance policies and retirement plans allow the owner of the account to determine who will receive these assets at the time of death. By naming your beneficiaries you bypass any probate of these assets as they are contractually obligated to pass to the beneficiary named.
  • Living trust- Sometimes referred to as a revocable living trust or revocable trust, this tool is intended to help people avoid probate. A living trust can be set up by an estate attorney and gives the creator the opportunity to re-title all of their assets to the trustee (who can also be the creator of the trust). This allows you to retain control of your assets for as long as you wish including making changes to the trust. At the time of your death, all of your assets will be a part of the living trust which is not considered part of your estate. This allows the successor trustee (determined by you) to control the trust and administer it as you have directed.
  • Set up payable-on-death accounts- Depending on the state in which you reside, you can convert bank accounts, retirement accounts, vehicle registrations and more to your beneficiaries at the time of your death. This will prevent these assets from going into probate.
  • Joint ownership for property- If you do not want property to go into probate, consider joint ownership which will automatically transfer the property to the other person named on the deed at the time of your death.
  • Gifts- Another popular way to avoid probate is to gift your property or assets to beneficiaries while you are still alive.

Keys to Avoiding Probate

When you plan your estate properly you can ensure your assets get passed on to the people intended without the hassles and cost of going through probate. Your loved ones will benefit from your foresight by not having to deal with the additional burden of probate at an already difficult time in their lives.

WineontheKeyboard

WineontheKeyboard


How to be my favorite

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 03:54 AM PDT

textmsg

Text your mama (or your boyfriend’s mama…) when you arrive. I’m just sayin’

Notice on the iphone4 you can increase the font size of your text messages so you aren’t hunting up your reading glass to see what the message says. Reason enough to upgrade. Honest.

beach

I love technology. Here is the photo she sent with her text letting me know that got in okay to Hilton Head. :love:

And here is one sent from my son’s iphone…probably right after I texted his girlfriend and told her she was my favorite… :dance:

couple-on-beach

Wish I were there. I want my toes in the ocean.  Just sayin’

Oh, and if my lovely son is reading this blog post? I’m just glad it wasn’t either of you that went to the ER for stitches… hope he’s feeling better! Watch out on the  :beer:

Similar Posts:

The Boomer Blog

The Boomer Blog


Changing America's Attitudes on Race

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 08:00 AM PDT

By MATT THORNHILL

Note to readers: This article appeared originally appeared in the Richmond-Times Dispatch July 29, 2010

Almost two years ago we observed that the baby boomer generation had played a significant role in transforming attitudes about race in America over the past 40 years. We credited boomers as being the generational "pivot point" in race relations.

The thinking was this: Boomers, white and black, were raised by G.I. and Silent Generation parents who generally believed white and black people were not equal, and in many places the laws supported that view. Despite such parental influences, boomers apparently absorbed Dr. Martin Luther King's plea to judge not "by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character" and successfully raised the millennials as the first "colorblind" generation in America. Thus, the "pivot" designation.

FH Boom Daily Digest – September 1, 2010

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 05:46 AM PDT

Top News From Today's "Boomiverse"

Large Majority of Boomers Plans to Continue Working past Retirement Age
Kiplinger News
August 31, 2010

Overview: "Baby boomers don't expect to shut the door on their careers when they reach retirement age, a new Charles Schwab survey shows. The brokerage polled boomers between the ages of 50 and 60 - and fully 88 percent of the people it surveyed said they expect to continue working after they become eligible for retirement benefits."
http://tinyurl.com/2b58yk7

Senior Citizens Expand Their Social Network Online
Emily Brandon
U.S. News & World Report
August 31, 2010

Overview: "Baby boomers and seniors are the fastest growing group of social networking website users. Older Americans are increasingly using the Internet to reconnect with people from their past and to seek information and support with medical issues, according to a new Pew Research Center report."
http://tinyurl.com/2ac9znc

Fighting the Muscle Loss That Comes With Age
Toby Bilanow
New York Times
August 31, 2010

Overview: "Loss of muscle mass affects about 10 percent of men and women over 60 and is a major reason why the elderly lose mobility and cannot live independently, researchers say."
http://tinyurl.com/28nhkoo

Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)

Baby Boomers U. S. (The Blog)


Baby Boomers Blog Carnival Fifty-fifth Edition

Posted: 01 Sep 2010 04:03 AM PDT

Welcome to the September 1, 2010 editionBaby Boomers U.S. Blog Carnival of the Baby Boomers Blog Carnival. There are some really well thought out and insightful Boomer articles for you to peruse this week.

So, grab a cup of coffee (or tea),  sit back in your most comfortable chair, put up your feet and Enjoy.

This one’s for you!

Family

Silicon Valley Blogger presents My Stock Investments: Stock Picking With Diversification posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “Discussing stock investments that affect the family.”

Nance presents Think You Have "Bed Bites"? Don't Let the Bed Bugs Bite! posted at ChitChatCorner.com.

General

Mark Allen presents 13 Things Baby Boomers Ought Not To Be Paying For posted at Baby Boomer Talk Online, saying, “If you're into the latest new toy, shiny things and collecting stuff, then just avert your eyes and click away. But if you want less clutter in your life and want to keep more of your money, then check out these 13 things you ought not to be paying for”

Joe Plemon presents How to Successfully Budget For an Irregular Income posted at Personal Finance By The Book, saying, “You CAN budget for an irregular income by following these five simple steps.”

Bucksome presents A Foundation for Sharing Wealth posted at Buck$ome Boomer’s Journey to Retirement, saying, “You don’t have to be a billionaire to share your wealth.”

Tomar Levine presents Do Your Higher and Lower Consciousness Collide? posted at Blooming, saying, “Our "lower self" or ego-mind & our Higher Self – Sometimes these two sources of motivation collide head-on.”

Madison DuPaix presents 2011 Tax Calculator for Income Tax Planning posted at My Dollar Plan, saying, “Get a head start on tax planning for 2011 with this tax calculator.”

Health

Canika Jackson presents 50 Ridiculous and Weird Facts About the Human Body posted at Online Surgical Technician Courses, saying, “The human body is truly fascinating, as these 50 ridiculous, weird, and infinitely interesting facts prove.”

Bernice Frankel presents Six Months Later: Top 10 Updates on Healthcare Reform and Implementation posted at Master Of Health Administration, saying, “The controversy surrounding healthcare reform was significant. This article discusses what has actually changed in the last six months.”

Kat Sias presents Do not mix alcohol and your antibiotics posted at Karun, saying, “We should understand that business letter writing is different than writing other letters.”

Charles Chua C K presents Happiness Checklist posted at All About Living with Life.

Israel Baline presents 50 Excellent Public Health Web Sites Worth Bookmarking posted at Masters of Public Health, saying, “This list of 50 excellent public health Web sites are worth bookmarking if you need sources that offer assistance, news and information at all levels and in all topics from the flu to how the environment and animals contribute to public health issues.”

Humor

Madeleine Begun Kane presents High-Tech Limerick posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Susan Howe presents 12 Independently Wealthy Pets posted at Welcome to the Insure.com Insurance Blog: Life Insurance, Health Insurance and Car Insurance news and opinions, saying, “Some pets have more money than you do. Here are some of the world's 12 independently wealth pets.”

Terry Hamburg presents BELL BOTTOMS posted at Boomer To You, saying, “You had a pair. You may still have a pair in the back of the closet. But beware of what you wear.”

Retirement

Jeff Rose, CFP presents 401k Tips Right Before You Retire posted at Consumer Boomer, saying, “It is very important to take the necessary steps to protect your retirement savings and ensure they are used as intended.”

BWL presents How a Dreary Retirement Prognosis Can Actually be Good posted at Christian Personal Finance, saying, “For those who are looking at financial challenges in retirement, maybe this can help…”

Super Saver presents A Simple Way to Build Wealth posted at My Wealth Builder.

Travel

Thailand Breeze presents Loy Kratong Festival posted at Tip.

Work

Ray A Johnson presents Government of Last Resort posted at The Debt Crisis.

MoneyThinking presents Intro to Being Broke: Saving Money on Minimum Wage | Money Thinking posted at Money Thinking, saying, “This article is for recent grads on how to prepare for budgeting after school.”

nissim ziv presents How to Introduce Yourself in an Interview posted at Job Interview Guide, saying, “Don't skip preparing your answer to this question. A well prepared answer can put you, as a candidate, in the right direction right from the beginning of the interview. You have a good opportunity to sell yourself effectively in few words and it allows you to set the tone for the rest of the interview”

That concludes this edition. Submit your blog article to the next edition of baby boomers blog carnival using our carnival submission form. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Remember, when you submit an article, please fill in the Category and Remark Fields to add your own description of your post. Please Submit only ONE Article per Carnival, multiple articles Will Not Be Accepted.

Since this is a community endeavour, please feel free to advise me through comments or my contact form if there is something you think I can do to improve the Carnival.

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The Boomer Chronicles

The Boomer Chronicles


What Do You Want to Learn?

Posted: 31 Aug 2010 09:22 AM PDT

It’s interesting living in a college town like Boston. Around this time of year, everything turns to college. The arrival of a new class of freshmen can be exciting but it can also lead one to review one’s life, even if you are not a college student and in fact may have graduated some 30 years ago. Personally, I believe in learning all your life. Here is what I intend to learn this (academic) year:

Continue with my violin lessons

Take a cooking class (maybe ethnic)

Maybe take another bike repair class and actually try to change a tire by myself

And you? What would you like to learn this year?