The probate process can be expensive for some estates. Settling an estate through probate can cost you both time and money. It could take up to a year for the estate to be settled, plus attorney’s fees, appraiser’s fees, and court costs may eat up as much as 5% of a decedent’s assets. Probating an estate valued at $400,000 could cost as much as $20,000.1

The Internal Revenue Service has released new limits for the coming year. After months of high inflation and financial uncertainty, some of these cost-of-living-based adjustments have reached near-record levels.

A classic retirement preparation rule states that you should retire on 80% of the income you
earned in your last year of work. Is this old axiom still true, or does it need reconsidering?

Some new research suggests that retirees may not need that much annual income to keep up
their standard of living.

How might it affect you?

Agreeing about what you want from retirement is crucial.

Walking across the stage and receiving your college degree can be the first step toward adulthood. Gone is the structure of education, replaced by the uncertainty of finding your first professional career.

But one thing that is often certain after graduation is student loan debt.

For many families, finances are rarely discussed in detail, even as children mature into adulthood. But as your parents age, especially if they live into their 80s and 90s, there's a chance that they may lose their cognitive function and be less capable of managing various tasks. This can be upsetting for some parents and they may try to fight it, or deny that it’s happening.

It’s believed that retirement planning as we currently know it didn’t really exist until a few decades ago. Up to that point, people worked until 65 and then sailed into retirement on a pension plan.

It’s no secret that the cost of pursuing higher education is becoming unaffordable, even for affluent families. But if you have aspirations of sending your child to college, it is possible, but there are some details to consider.