Financial Guidance
Life Events FAQs

Financial Guidance
Life Events FAQs

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Life's Milestones, Explained.

Whether you're celebrating a new baby, planning for retirement, or experiencing any other major life event, you might have questions about how it impacts your finances.
Explore the topics below to find clear and concise answers to common questions about how life events can affect your insurance coverage, investment strategies, and overall financial well-being. Still have questions? No worries! Our team of experts is here to help you navigate these changes with confidence. Contact us today here!

Buying or Leasing Your Next Car

It depends on factors such as 1) what kind of deal you can make with the dealership, 2) the typical mileage you put on your car, 3) how much you wear down a car, and 4) the primary use for the car.

To determine whether leasing or buying is best, compare the costs and other issues involved in a lease or purchase. The following factors should be considered:
  • Beginning costs
  • Continual costs
  • Total costs/li>
  • Is there a possibility of deduction of any of the costs due to the car being used for business
  • How important is it to have ownership of the car
You first need to decide on the type, size and options of the car you would like (such as manual, automatic windows, airbags).

You then need to decide what the car dealer has to pay for the car of your choice - the "invoice cost". The difference between the sticker price and the invoice price can be negotiated.

You can obtain this information two different ways. The best way is to look at an auto pricing service supplied by a consumer group or an auto magazine. For instance, Consumer Reports New Car Price Service, will give you details of the invoice price and the sticker price that can be adjusted for options or rebates as well as tell you how to use the data for negotiating. This is the best way because it gives you the most recent information. Another way is to use pricing guides that can be found on the Internet. Two popular sites are Motortrend or Edmund's New Car Prices. You may also be able to obtain these books at the library and they will give you an idea about the information that you need instead of exact data.

If you have a trade-in, you will want to find the value of that car too. You can use the N.A.D.A. Official Used Car Guide to look up your used car.

Now it's time to begin negotiating with dealers. Because you know the invoice price, you can use that information to bargain for the lowest mark-up from the dealer's cost.

An amount like $300 to $500 above the dealer's cost is a sensible mark-up, unless the car you want to buy is either difficult to get or very popular.

Any attempts by the dealership to sell you rustproofing, undercoating, or other extras should be refused. You may want to invest in an extended warranty, depending on the model's repair history.
Keep in mind that you are not just looking for a car. You also have to select a dealer with whom you will continue a long-term relationship with, as you usually have to service your car at the dealership. If you aren't comfortable with the dealership, go somewhere else.

A good time to try for a good bargain on a car is the last Saturday of September, October, or December.

Before you start looking for a car, learn about the financing options. You can be prepared when the dealer starts to discuss financing if you are aware of what the banks are charging.

Some points you will want to highlight during the negotiations are:
  • You are aware of the exact model and options you want
  • You are shopping around and will get quotes from other dealerships.
  • You will not be talking about financing or trade-ins until the dealer has given an offer and make sure not to mention a trade-in until the price has been negotiated.
  • You are fully aware of the invoice cost of the car.
Like a loan, the monthly lease payment is reliant on the term of the lease, the implied interest rate and the initial "purchase price" of the car. The "lease-end" or "residual" value varies from a loan, but is still important. This is the value that is expected at the end of the lease term.

You are paying the difference between the initial purchase price and the residual value in a lease. The lowest purchase price should be negotiated, which will lower the cost of leasing. If you don't intend to buy the car at the end of the lease term and it is closed-end, you might want to negotiate a higher residual value. Make sure that your expected mileage during the lease aligns with the allowed mileage in the agreement. If it doesn't, you may pay significant penalties when you turn the vehicle back in to the dealer.
Learn what the total initial costs will be when determining if you want to lease or buy. You will use this total amount to compare to the cost of buying.

Initial costs are the amount you will need to come up with for the down payment when you lease a car. The security deposit, the first and last lease payments, the "capitalized cost reductions," the sales taxes, title fees, license fees, and insurance are included. Usually the initial costs amount to less than the down payment that is necessary to purchase a car. During the bargaining with the dealer, all initial costs are open for negotiation.

The Lessor must disclose all up-front, continuing, and ending costs in a standard, understandable format according to the Federal Consumer Leasing Act.
If you owe money at the end of the lease or if you miss a monthly payment, the Lessor is permitted to keep the security deposit. It may also be used to cover the car's damage or excess mileage from the limit stated in the lease by the dealer. Your security deposit is given back to you if you do not owe anything at the end of the lease's term.

Getting Married

Unmarried couples don't:
  • Inherit each other's property automatically. Married couples have the state intestacy laws to support them if they do not have a will. Under the law, the surviving spouse will inherit (at the minimum) a fraction of the deceased spouse's property.
  • Have the privilege to speak for one another in a medical crisis. In the case that your life partner loses capacity or consciousness, someone will have to make the go-ahead decision for a medical purpose. It should be you, but if you haven't filed certain paperwork, you may not have the ability to do so.
  • Have the privilege to handle one another's finances in a crisis. A married couple that jointly own assets is less affected by this problem than an unmarried couple.
Here are some important steps to take for couples that are unmarried:
  • Draft wills. The chances of the intentions being followed through with after a death are greater if both partners make wills. Without wills, the probability of the unmarried surviving partner having no rights is more likely.
  • Think about owning property together. This is a way to guarantee that property will pass to the other joint owner at the time of the other's death due to the right of survivorship.
  • Make a durable power of attorney. This will permit the partner to sign papers and checks and take care of other financial issues on his/her behalf should one become incapacitated.
  • Make a health care proxy. Also known as a medical power of attorney, this permits the partner to talk on your behalf to make medical decisions, should you become injured.
  • Have a living will. This lets your wishes regarding artificial feeding and other measures to prolong your life be known.
In the case of death, life insurance will provide a form of income for your dependents, children or whoever is your beneficiary. Because of this, married couples usually require more life insurance than singles.

Having someone dependent on your income will determine if you need to have life insurance. If someone such as a child, parent, spouse or other individual is dependent on your income, you should have life insurance. The following are situations where life insurance is necessary:

Single parents or families with young children or other dependents: The younger your children, the more insurance is necessary. Insurance should be in proportion to the amount earned. If both spouses are working, they should both be insured. If both earners cannot afford to be insured, the primary wage earner should be the first to be insured and the secondary will follow. To fill the insurance gap, a less expensive term policy may be used. Insurance should be bought to cover the absence of services such as childcare, bookkeeping, housekeeping, which are provided by the spouse that works within the home. The insurance that covers the non-wage earner is secondary to the insurance that covers the wage earner's life, if funds are scarce.

Adults that have no children or other dependents: You will need less insurance than people in the previous situation if your spouse can live comfortably without income. However, some form of life insurance is still necessary. You will want at least enough to cover burial expenses, to pay off any debts you may have acquired, and to provide an easy transition for the surviving spouse.

You may want to buy more insurance if you think your spouse would go through financial hardship without your income or if your savings aren't adequate. This depends on your salary level as well as the amount of your spouse's, the amount of savings you have and the amount of debt incurred.

Single adults without dependents: Unless you would like to use insurance for the purposes of estate planning, you will only need insurance to cover expenses for burial and debts.

Children: Typically, children only need life insurance to cover burial expenses and medical debts. An insurance policy could also be used as a long-term savings instrument, in some instances.
Definitely. When an important life event occurs such as marriage, it should be updated. If not, your spouse and other beneficiaries will not get what is meant for them at the time of your death.
You are entitled to file a joint income tax return upon marriage. Although this simplifies the filing process, you will more than likely discover that your tax bill is either higher or lower than when you were single. It's higher when you file together, as more of your income is taxed in the higher tax brackets. This is commonly known as the marriage tax penalty. In 2003, a tax law that intended to reduce the marriage penalty went into effect, but this law didn't get rid of the penalty for higher bracket taxpayers.

Once married, you may not file separately in an attempt to avoid the marriage penalty. Actually, filing as married filing separately can raise your taxes. For the optimal filing status for your situation you should speak with your tax advisor.
Yes. After marriage, there are many ways of owning property. They differ from state to state.
  • Sole tenancy, which is when one individual has ownership. The property is passed on in accordance with the will at death.
  • Joint tenancy, with the privilege of survivorship. Two or more people have equal ownership. The property is passed to the joint owner upon death. This should be used to effectively avoid probate.
  • Tenancy in common, property has joint ownership with the privilege of survivorship. The property is passed on according to your will upon death.
  • Tenancy by the entirety, like joint tenancy, with privilege of survivorship. This doesn't allow a spouse to get rid of the property without the other's consent and is only possible for spouses.
  • Community property, property that is gained through marriage that has equal ownership. States such as AZ, CA, ID, LA, NV, NM, TX, WA, and WI allow community property.

Getting Divorced

A plan for the termination of the financial partnership of the marriage is crucial if you are thinking of divorce. All financial assets and liabilities that have been acquired during the years of marriage will need to be divided. If children play a role, the support that will be paid to the custodial parent in the future should be taken into account.

The time put into organizing this will be worth it in the long run. The following are a few steps to consider:
  • Prepare an inventory of your financial situation that will help you in two ways:

    1. It will aid in determining how debts accumulated during the marriage will be paid off. (It is best to try and get all the joint debt (credit card debt) paid off before the divorce. To come to an agreement as to the method for paying them off, it is smart to make a list of the debts.)

    2. It will give you an introductory look at the information needed to divide the property.
  • Prepare a list of all assets, whether joint or separate.
  • Locate copies of the last two or three years' tax returns. These will be beneficial later.
  • Know the exact quantity of salary and miscellaneous income brought home by your spouse and you.
  • Obtain all papers regarding insurance, life, health, pension, and other retirement benefits.
  • Make a list of debts that are owed both separately and jointly, including mortgage, credit card debt, auto loans and other liabilities.
As soon as you know you are going to be getting a divorce, immediately cancel all joint accounts.

Regardless of who accumulated the bill, creditors can legally try to collect payment from either party on the joint credit card or other credit account. You will be responsible for payment as long as your name appears on the joint accounts.

The agreement that is reached during the divorce may state who must pay the bills. From the creditor's point of view, both your spouse and you are responsible as long as the joint account stays open. The creditor will attempt to receive payment from who they think are most likely to pay while reporting late payments to the credit bureaus in both names. Due to the irresponsibility of the co-signer, your credit history could be harmed.

You may be required to pay the remaining balance in full upon closure of the account. If this is the case, ask the creditor to distribute the outstanding balance to separate accounts.
It is possible to separate yourself from your spouse on your credit report, if the spouse's credit is hurting yours. If you can prove that he/she opened the shared accounts prior to marriage and that he/she pays the bills, you might succeed in convincing the creditor that the damaging information is relevant to your spouse and not you. It may take persistence to demonstrate that the credit history in question doesn't reflect your own.
If the name on your account changes, lenders may appraise the application and credit line to decide if your qualifications meet the credit standards. You may be asked to reapply.

To avoid inconvenience, maintain credit in your own name. Preserving your own, separate, credit history makes things easier in the future. In an emergency, if you need credit, it will be available.

Avoid using your spouse's name - i.e. Mrs. Peter Johnson - for purpose of credit.

Get an update on your credit report. Be sure that your name, as well as your spouse's, is being reported correctly. f you would like to use your spouse's credit history to your benefit, simply write a letter to the credit agency and request that both names be put on the account.

Find out if there is any incomplete or inaccurate data in your account. Send the credit bureau a letter asking them to correct this information. They need to confirm receipt within a normal time period and inform you when the mistake is fixed.

Improving your own credit history in your name should be simple if you have been sharing accounts with your spouse. Make a call to a major credit bureau and ask for copies of your account information. Get in touch with the issuers of the cards with whom you share accounts with your spouse and request to have your name on the account as well.
If in accordance with the qualified domestic relations order or other order of the court in the case of an IRA, these plans are separated as non-taxable. However, this is the case only if the assets stay in the retirement account or IRA. Once the funds are allocated, they will be taxed to the recipient. The payer does not get the benefit of a deduction and the recipient does not have taxable income when divided.
Typically no, although specific fees paid for income or estate tax advice due to the divorce may be deductible. The fees used to decide the alimony amount or to collect the alimony may be deducted. These would be subject to the 2% limitation under the miscellaneous item deductions.

Death of a Loved One

The following is a list of papers that will be necessary:
  • Copies of all insurance policies.
  • Marriage Certificate (if the deceased's spouse will be requesting benefits). You may obtain copies at the Office of the County Clerk where the marriage license was issued.
  • Birth Certificates of dependent children. These may be obtained at either the County or State Public Health offices where the child was born.
  • Social Security numbers of the spouse, deceased and any dependent children.
  • Military discharge, if the deceased was a veteran. Write to The Department of Defense if you are unable to find copies.
  • A complete list of all property, including stocks, savings accounts, real estate, and personal property of the deceased.
  • Will, which will more than likely be with the lawyer of the deceased.
To learn how to handle the following assets of the deceased, speak with your financial advisor.

General rules are as follows:
  • Automobiles. Find out if the title of the car of the deceased needs to be modified by checking with the State DMV.
  • Insurance Policies. The beneficiaries of policies held by the deceased's spouse may need to be modified. It might be smart to lessen the amount of life insurance coverage if the spouse doesn't have any dependents. Revision of home and auto insurance may also need to be done.
  • Bank Accounts. The title of a joint bank account will automatically pass to the surviving spouse. Advise the bank to change the ownership records. If the name of the deceased was the only name on the bank account, the asset will go through probate unless it is a trust account.
  • Safe Deposit Box. A court order is necessary, in most states, to open a safe deposit box that is only in the deceased's name.
  • Stocks and Bonds. Verify with the broker of the deceased to change title of stocks and bonds.
  • Credit Cards. If the credit cards are only in the deceased's name, they should be cancelled and the estate should pay outstanding payments. If the cards are in both names, the surviving spouse should inform the credit card companies of the death and ask for cards only in the survivor's name to be reissued.
If the deceased has paid Social Security for a minimum of ten years, he/she is covered. Contact your local Social Security office or call 800-772-1213 to find out if the deceased was eligible. There are two types of available benefits, if eligible:

One-time death benefit - A death benefit is paid by Social Security towards burial expenses. To apply the payment to your funeral bill, simply complete the form necessary at your local Social Security office or ask the funeral director to complete the application. This is only available to eligible spouses or a child that is entitled to the benefits of the survivor.

Benefits of a survivor for a spouse or children - The spouse will be eligible for benefits if he/she is 60 years old or older. The benefit amount collected before the age of 65 will be less than that due at the age of 65 or older. Widows who are disabled are eligible for benefits at age 50. If the deceased's spouse cares for dependent children under the age of 16 or for disabled children, they may qualify for benefits before age 60. The deceased's children who are disabled or younger than 18 may also qualify for the benefits.
To refuse all or part of the property that is being passed on to you by a will, intestacy laws or the operation of law, you should make use of the disclaimer. The property is passed to the next beneficiary in line with an effective disclaimer.

By the property passing directly from the decedent to the next beneficiary, it could possible save thousands of dollars in estate taxes. The wise use of the a disclaimer and the condition for a disclaimer in a will permits the shifting of assets and income to maximize the estate tax marital deduction, unified credit and the lower income tax brackets.

To provide for financial contingencies, disclaimers may also come in handy. For instance, if someone needs funds, you can disclaim an interest to them.
Typically, yes because it is considered income with regards to the decedent. The tax is due by the recipient because the deceased had not paid the distribution's income tax. You may be entitled to a deduction for a segment of the estate taxes paid, if the account's value was incorporated in the estate tax return of the decedent.

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