Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
Tehachapi's Online Community News & Entertainment Guide
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One of your important sources of retirement income will likely be Social Security - but when should you start taking it? You can start collecting Social Security benefits at 62, but your checks will be considerably bigger if you wait until your full retirement age, which is likely between 66 and 67. You could even wait until you're 70, at which point the payments will max out, except for yearly cost-of-living adjustments. But if you need the money, you need the money, even if you're just 62 or...
As a business owner, do you mix personal transactions and business transactions? It is a common issue. One survey found that more than one-quarter of small businesses say they co-mingle finances. And it is easy to see why given the wide range of priorities a small business owner oversees every day, using a bank account that is already set up often seems like the easiest and most logical choice. But, while it might seem simpler to only manage one account, that is not actually the case. Here are...
Trusts have been used as an integral part of sophisticated tax and financial arrangements for centuries. Exactly how they are used depends on a person's particular goals, current tax rules, and other factors. Hopefully this article helps you to understand some ways a trust may help you. A trust is an arrangement in which title to property is held by someone for another's benefit. The trust can be established to benefit the person creating it (the grantor), or to benefit another (the...
The real estate market has certainly had its ups and downs in recent years. During the pandemic housing prices soared due to the demand for homes with an extra bedroom or an office. Many people also decided they didn't need to live in a large city anymore because the need to be close to the company office fell away. After mortgage rates hit a 20 year high in 2023, the market quickly slowed. But with the decrease in interest rates from last year, mortgage payments have become more affordable for...
Taxpayers with one or more qualifying children may be able to claim a tax credit of up to $2,000 per qualifying child. The childcare credit is generally a nonrefundable credit that is limited to regular tax liability plus alternative minimum tax liability. However, a portion of the credit is refundable for certain taxpayers. The refundable portion of the additional tax credit for any qualifying child cannot exceed $1,500. The additional childcare credit is the smaller of: 1) The amount of the...
Example: My mother just passed away. She had a living trust. I need to distribute the assets. After the grantor of a living trust dies, there are several things that must be done, either by the successor trustee or the surviving trustee (usually the spouse). The process is called Trust Administration. 1. Obtain several copies of the death certificate. 2. Prepare and record documents that establish the authority of the current trustee. In California, typically you would file an Affidavit Death...
Couples who have opposite philosophies regarding saving and spending often have trouble finding common ground, and money arguments frequently erupt. But you can learn to work with - and even appreciate - your financial differences. Money habits run deep If you're a saver, you prioritize having money in the bank and investing in your future. You probably hate credit card debt and spend money cautiously. Your spender spouse may seem impulsive, prompting you to think, "Don't you care about our...
Benjamin Franklin once said that nothing can be certain, except death and taxes. Well, I am not a funeral director, but I am a mortgage lender and know how you can utilize your tax refund in a home purchase. Saving for a down payment can be a challenging task, with many unexpected expenses occurring along the way. Utilizing your tax return, however, can make that effort much less daunting. You may be able to fund most if not all your down payment depending on the total purchase price of a home...
As your electric bill continues to grow, we can get you a new roof and solar panels for the same monthly price, with back up batteries! That’s right, no more high electric bills, no more peak hours and a new roof that will last 30-50 years, plus solar panels with back up batteries that you own. Zero down and financing as low as 3.99%. Go to www.getsolartoday.energy for your free custom report. Scroll down to click on the three easy steps that will explain the process and how easy it is to save money. Call owner Darren Sauro with Get Solar T...
March 8 is International Women's Day, a day for celebrating all the accomplishments of women around the globe. But many women still need to make up ground in one key area: retirement security. Women's challenges in achieving a secure retirement are due to several factors, including these: • Pay gap – It's smaller than it once was, but a wage gap still exists between men and women. In fact, women earn, on average, about 82 cents for every dollar that men earn, according to the Census Bureau. And...
With a payable on death account or paid on death account, you name a beneficiary who gets the account when you die – no probate, no hassle. The person you name has no rights to the money until you die, so you can spend it all or change the beneficiary whenever you want. A payable on death account is created when you make an agreement with your financial institution – usually your bank. The bank has a formal, legal agreement that lets you tell the bank who they should hand your money over to afte...
Do I need to file a tax return? The answer depends on your filing status, your age and the type of income you earn. Each person is allowed to earn a certain amount of income before they are required to file a tax return. For 2023 tax returns, individuals are not allowed a personal exemption deduction, but are still entitled to a standard deduction of $13,850 for a single file. Hence, an individual can have $13,850 of taxable income before being taxed if under age 65. If age is 65 or over, an...
I get calls all the time from a parent that wants to add their child to their home. Typically this is done to avoid probate. I looked a several articles on the internet and this is what I saw. Adding an adult child to your house deed, or giving them the home outright, might seem like a smart thing to do. It usually isn't. Transferring your house to your kids while you're alive may avoid probate, the court process that otherwise follows death. But gifting a home also can result in a big,...
Academic researchers have been exploring how investors' personalities might affect their financial decisions and wealth outcomes. In one study, three finance professors (Dr. Zhengyang Jiang from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management, Cameron Peng from the London School of Economics, and Hongjun Yan from DePaul University's Driehaus College of Business) surveyed more than 3,000 members of the American Association of Individual Investors - a relatively sophisticated group of...
Read part one in the Jan. 6 issue of The Loop newspaper. After the effective date of the law, its implementation requires the following list of governmental restrictions: A. It limits estate recovery to long-term care services for costs, such as nursing homes. B. California will no longer recover for basic health care services. C. It limits recovery to probate estates, meaning living trusts will not be subject to recovery. It also means that if you are using a Last Will and Testament as the...
As your electric bill continues to grow, we can get you a new roof and solar panels for the same monthly price, with back up batteries! That’s right, no more high electric bills, no more peak hours and a new roof that will last 30-50 years, plus solar panels with back up batteries that you own. Zero down and financing as low as 3.99%. Go to www.getsolartoday.energy for your free custom report. Scroll down to click on the three easy steps that will explain the process and how easy it is to save money. Call owner Darren Sauro with Get Solar T...
When you plan to retire at a certain age, you can follow a strategy that incorporates your investment moves, your health insurance and other factors. But what happens if you're forced to retire earlier than you anticipated? Unfortunately, this situation is not that uncommon. About 40% of Americans say they have been forced into retirement, according to a recent survey from Edward Jones and Morning Consult, a research firm. If this were to happen to you because of a layoff, company downsizing or...
It's been an interesting year with important tax changes that will impact you. Here are some of the changes and issues you need to know about. Tax return due dates: • Individuals must file returns by April 15 for the 2023 tax year. • Partnerships must file returns by the 15th day of the third month following the close of the taxable year (March 15 for calendar-year taxpayers); • C corporation returns are generally due by the 15th day of the fourth month following the close of the taxable year...
If you've recently received an inheritance, you may be facing many important decisions. Receiving an inheritance might promote spending without planning, but don't make any hasty decisions. Here are some suggestions that could help you manage your inheritance. Identify a team of trusted professionals Tax laws can be complicated, so you might want to consult with professionals who are familiar with assets that transfer at death. These professionals may include an attorney, an accountant, and a fi...
A Trust can save you hundreds of thousands of dollars by avoiding MediCal benefit "chargeback" or recovery against your home for benefits paid to skilled nursing homes. If you have an elderly person in your life and they live in a nursing home, it's not uncommon to pay $5,000/month. If they don't have much cash, even if they have a house, MediCal (public benefit program) will pay that rent for them as long as they live. Before 2017, law offices used to prepare documents they called "House...
Who knows where the time goes? We've reached the end of another year, so it's appropriate to reflect on the nature of time and how it affects us. And time certainly is a key element in the pursuit of your financial goals. As an investor, time can be your greatest ally. If you hold some investments for the long term, you could achieve an impressive cumulative growth in value. Furthermore, if you keep adding shares to these investments, possibly through a dividend reinvestment plan, you could atta...
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from local business owner Darren Sauro at Get Solar Today. Christmas presents are usually for our kids but the joke always was, “even if I don’t get presents, you’re lucky to have a roof over your head.” As your electric bill continues to get higher, we can get you a new roof and solar panels for the same monthly price. Treat yourself this Christmas with a new roof and solar for $0 down at 3.99%. That’s right, no more high electric bills, no more peak hours and a new 30-50 year roof plus solar panels th...
I know I'm a nag. I nag because it's so important to plan now for your family when you die. It's not that we plan to fail, we fail to plan. So what happens to your children when they inherit the family home that is in a trust? A step-up in basis resets the cost basis of an inherited asset to its market value on the decedent's date of death. Example with a trust: Dad dies and has a house that is owned by a revocable trust. He bought the house for $100,000 in 1970 and transferred it to his trust....
The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) is a piece of legislation aimed at increasing corporate transparency and preventing money laundering and other illicit financial activities. It was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 and signed into law on January 1, 2021. Key provisions of the Corporate Transparency Act include: 1. Beneficial Ownership Reporting: Under the CTA, certain corporations, limited liability companies (LLCs), and other similar...
My wife died recently and I need to transfer the property into my name. How do I do that if my name is not on the deed? I thought since I am the surviving spouse I can just transfer the property into my name. Remember, this information is not legal advice. Please consult an attorney if you need direction on what procedure to use in your case. Fortunately there is a simple solution. But it does require a court order. According to "How To Probate and Estate in California" by NOLO, any property...
