Columns

At 2 a.m. on Jan. 1, 2013, the Senate overwhelmingly passed a compromise bill, called the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012, and narrowly averted the fiscal cliff. But what does that mean for seniors? Consider the following: 1. Tax rate changes — The bill permanently extended current tax rates for individuals earning less than $400,000 and couples earning less than 450,000. Wealthy taxpayers earning $400,000 or more will revert back to a 39.6 percent tax rate (up from 35 percent). Taxpayers in this category will also see an increase in their capital gains tax rate and dividend tax rate …

Since the real estate bubble burst a few years ago, many homeowners have lost their properties to foreclosure. Recently, federal and state officials announced that the federal government and every state except Oklahoma have reached a $25 billion agreement with five of the largest mortgage lenders in connecting with loan servicing and foreclosure abuse. The investigation and negotiation process took 16 months to complete and emerged as the largest joint federal-state settlement in history. The agreement included Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Citigroup, and Ally Financial, which was previously known as GMAC. These lenders agreed to provide financial …

It was at the December meeting that the Federal Reserve finally came out and set a target for how long it will keep interest low, and how long it will continue to buy mortgage bonds. The Fed said it will continue to buy bonds until the unemployment rate hits 6.5 percent, as long as the inflation rate does not go above 2.5 percent. (The Fed top for inflation was previously 2 percent.) The Fed went on to say it will keep short-term rates low until 2015, extending the deadline for an additional year. Buying mortgage bond in the open market …

What are the three most common fallacies about long-term care and long-term care insurance? Fallacy 1 — I’m never going to need long-term care. Approximately 1 in 68, or 4 million, people in the United States are afflicted with Alzheimer’s disease; approximately 1 in 272, or 1 million, people in the United States, are afflicted with Parkinson’s disease; and 1 in 27, or 10 million, people in the United States are afflicted with osteoporosis (8 million women/2 million men). Fallacy 2 — If I never use long-term care insurance, I will lose it. Not true anymore! Modern policies have return-of-premium …

With 2013 here, you may be considering purchasing your first home or investing in a second property. The biggest challenge you may face is coming up with the down payment. There are a variety of loan programs with different down payment levels. The most common are FHA loans, which offers options as low as 3.5 percent, and conventional program, which often require 20 percent down. Making more money is easier said than done for many, but truth be told, you already may have your down payment hidden in other resources you never even thought of. Many times, eliminating a bad …

I have told you in several recent columns about the amazing data available for free at familysearch.org. Now I have more information about ways to share the family tree you already have. You need to have an account at familysearch.org in order to use the new features. All you need is to enter your name, and create a user name and password. There are a few more questions, but “credit card number” is NOT among them. Whew! The new feature is quite thorough and could be extremely helpful. It allows you to upload your family tree to the web site, …

Back before the financial crisis of 2008, banks and brokers were able to use whichever appraisers they wanted. They decided which ones to use, and the compensation for those services was decided between the two parties. It wasn’t until late 2008 that then New York Attorney General and now Governor Andrew Cuomo pressed Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to buy only mortgages that had originated from a third-party AMC, or appraisal management company. They called this change HVCC, or the Home Valuation Code of Conduct. Why was this put in place? Well, Cuomo’s office found out that Washington Mutual, which …

Quite often a good friend or member of your family will have a will or trust drawn up and ask you to act as the executor or trustee. You may feel honored and compelled to accept this office. This article is intended to provided a very basic overview of the estate administration process: gathering of estate data; payment of debts, expenses and taxes; and the distribution of the estate in accordance with the provisions left behind by the deceased. This article is not intended to provide legal advice. As the personal representative, you are primarily responsible for settling the affairs …

One of the biggest fears of home buyers is the unpredictability in home-related costs, whether it’s a necessary large repair or a bunch of smaller unexpected costs. Property tax increases can be one of the largest unexpected costs. Imagine this, you qualify for a 30-year-fixed mortgage, and along with that you set up an escrow account with the lender so you will not have to worry about the tax bill when it’s due to the county twice a year. One day you receive a letter from your bank informing you the mortgage payment will be going up due to an …

Happy 2013! I hope your holidays were filled with laughter, joy, cool presents, warm memories and a few genealogical discoveries! Did you make your New Year’s resolutions yet? I resolved to lose 40 pounds, and even though I lost it, I ended up finding it again! Please keep your genealogical resolutions separate from your regular goals for the new year. For one thing, you want to actually try to accomplish the genealogical ones! I don’t want you all to give up too easily. So what should be your goal this year? That is a complicated question. I have written a …