Go to Jeff Salisbury LWGate Home Page.From: persfin-digest <owner-persfin-digest@shore.net>
Subject: persfin-digest V4 #112
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:24:25 -0500 (EST)
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persfin-digest Thursday, December 11 1997 Volume 04 : Number 112
IN THIS ISSUE:
ADVERTISEMENT: MCI FAX REPLY SERVICE
Quicken 98 - I'm Not Upgrading
Re: Estate Plan / Father in Law's Will / Probate
RE:Father-in-law's will?
Re: resources for business plan
Re: overseas Net access - Japan and Nepal
Re:4-year spread of taxes on conversion to a Roth IRA
Re: Father-in-law's will?
Re: 403(b) to Roth IRA question
Re: [Q]: Tax Side of Child's Income
Re: Quicken 4 vs. Quicken 98
New Tax Law - Student Loan Deduction?
gold - will price go up?
Re: Probate?
Re: Roth - contributions after conversion?
Re:Tax Side of Child's Income
Re: Quicken 98
Re: Wills
Re: Probate
re: estate planning for Surviving Spouse
Re: Father-in-law's will?
Cash Out Life Insurance to Pay Student Debt?
Re: Quicken 4 vs. Quicken '98 Basic
I HATE Quicken 98
Re: Father-in-law's will?
violating her wishes to keep control. And whose money is it, anyway,
Treasury direct
Re: *SHORT-TERM* US Treasury bond fund versus Money Market fund?
Re: Roth - contributions after conversion?
Web calculators story
Correction on URL
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------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:42:25 -0500 (EST)
From: "George Podhiny, Jr." <georgep@chesco.com>
Subject: Quicken 98 - I'm Not Upgrading
I have used Quicken since 1990. My version is Quicken 6, and I will not be
upgrading to Quicken 98. The folks at Intuit are running out of ways to
enhance the product. Quicken 6 removed some functionality that existed in
Quicken 5. In addition, charging $45 to upgrade is costly to do every
year. I will continue with Quicken 6, unless something better comes along.
Are there other Person Finance Digest readers that have the same opinion?
George Podhiny, Jr.
Coatesville, PA
(Editor's Comment - I agree. I use Quicken4 and see no reason to upgrade.
Now if the tax laws stayed the same <grin> I wouldn't have to worry about
TurboTax upgrades either! -IK)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:47:07 -0500 (EST)
From: "Cal Lester CLU" <cal_lester@email.msn.com>
Subject: Re: Estate Plan / Father in Law's Will / Probate
>Subject: Estate Plan for Surviving Spouse?
>
>Our family has unfortunately committed the infamous estate-planning
>no-no: my father willed all of his assets to my mother, leaving her
>with an estate well over the $600K limit. I want to know what we
>could do at this point to reduce estate taxes when the children
>inherit my mother's estate. Unfortunately, she does not want to give
>up any control to her assets. Do I understand correctly that there
>isn't anything we can do, assuming that my mother does not give up
>title to some of her assets? Thanks!
>
>>>> As you so aptly put it "she does not want to give up control".
What IS hers, IS hers. As long as she maintains control, then it IS a part
of her ESTATE, and therefore subject to Federal Estate Tax ( and possibly
State Tax). Until such time as she agrees to relinquish control over some of
her assets, there is absolutely nothing that you can do DIRECTLY. However,
you should possibly attempt to work indirectly, through reading material,
her Legal Counsel, her accountant/CPA and/or through her religeous
affiliation.
If she has strong religeous feelings, then that is probably the
first area to look to. She might agree to making some form of donation to
her "church" rather than to "Uncle Sam".
>Subject: Father-in-law's will?
>
>My wifes father recently passed away. During his lifetime he claimed
>that there was money in the will for his grandchildren (mine and my wife
>children). According to my brother-in-law (who is also the estate
>executor) that my children were not mentioned at all in the will. My
>brother in law says he is the only one that has copy of the will. My wife
>does not want ot strain her relationship with her brother by asking to
>inspect the will. So she is taking him at his word on this matter.
>
>The question is, When one legally prepares a will does the state
>automatically get a copy of the will? And if so how can one get a copy of
>a will.
>>>> Not being an attorney, I can not offer legal advice. However I can tell
you that here in Florida, one is not required to file a will with the State.
However, in most cases, especially those where a will is drawn by ab
attorney, the attorney usually keeps a copy of the will.
Other than that I can not see any way that you can learn it's
contents without her brothers knowledge. BTW, I do consider it rather
strange that he would not OFFER to show the will to other members of the
family ! ! ! ! ! !
>Subject: Probate?
>
>Can someone please explain to me in simple terms what is meant by "a
>will having to go through probate"
>
>SK
>>>> The word "probate" means to "Prove". Therefore, when applied to a
will, to probate, simply means to prove the Who, What, When & Where of the
assets & heirs refered to in the will.
The probate process will determine a) the validity of the will,
b) just who the actual heirs are, c) just what the assets are, and d) who
gets what & when do they get it.
Not every will has to be probated though. The laws of the State
of Domicile will determine wether or not the will must be probated. Just One
of the reason for using a trust and/or Life insurance for the heirs, is to
avoid the neccesity of going through the PUBLIC process of probate.
Please keep in mind that I am NOT an Attorney, and do not
dispense legal advice.
Cal Lester C L U
Insurance Course Coordinator
Broward Community College
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:48:00 -0500 (EST)
From: Keith Mealy <kmealy@cincom.com>
Subject: RE:Father-in-law's will?
Steven Klein <SKLEIN@snm.org> asks:
<brother in law has only copy of decendent's will and will not share>
The question is, When one legally prepares a will does the state
automatically get a copy of the will? And if so how can one get a copy of
a will.
- ----
Prepares, no. However when a will is probated, it is a matter of public
record. At least in my state (OH), the copy is filed with the probate
court in the county where the decedent resided. Probate is the matter of
overseeing and ensuring the will is properly executed, creditors are paid,
minor children are taken care of (guardianship if necessary), assets are
inventoried and distributed. If your BIL is lax or sloppy about filing
with the probate court, your wife (as an heir) can petition the court to
force the issue (however, this may strain the relationship more than
asking to see a copy of the will.)
Unfortunately, settling estates sometimes brings out the worst (greed) in
people.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:48:22 -0500 (EST)
From: Lloyd Colston <colston@viagrafix.com>
Subject: Re: resources for business plan
In the same digest as your question appeared, there were a number of
resources listed.
Let me repeat them here. They are, in no particular order, a Small
Business Development Center in your area, your local Chamber of
Commerce, your State Department of Commerce, and the Small Business
Administration.
SBA has a bulletin board (telnet://sbaonline.gov) that has business
plan software on it. There are also forums for discussing small
business issues. For demographic information, I recommend Origins
BBS (this site is linked to my Oklahoma FAQ page at
http://www.viagrafix.com/colston/okfaq.htm and I mention that because
I forgot the URL). There are some other business links at my page
(start at http://www.viagrafix.com/colston (after all it IS the
front door <g>).
MasterCard has a free book, "The Small Business Financial Resource
Guide". Contact them at http://www.mastercard.com or phone 914 249
2000 or 800 727 8825. Their postal address is 2000 Purchase Street,
Purchase, NY 10577-2509.
Writing a business plan is much like writing a term paper. After all
the research, the plan itself can be whipped out in a weekend. As
pointed out, sometimes the focus is on financing rather than just get
after business. However, I look at the business plan as a integral
part of business. It helps you keep on track. After all, if you aim
at nothing, that is likely what you will hit.
Let me know how more I can help.
Lloyd Colston Success comes in cans, not can'ts
Pryor, OK USA social worker, writer, editor
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:49:02 -0500 (EST)
From: owner-persfin-mod@shore.net
Subject: Re: overseas Net access - Japan and Nepal
>
>If I were given this challenge for a short term, I would look at
>Compu$erve. Though they generally are high priced, their $30 per
>month would be affordable given they have net access and local access
>numbers worldwide.
Wasn't Compuserve bought out by AOL a couple of months back? Are they
operating as a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL now? Might be interesting to
see how the two corps continue to "compete" with each other under those
conditions.
The MacNut
| Victor Daniel a.k.a The MacNut Home page in progress at: |
| macnut@netaxs.com http://www.netaxs.com/~macnut |
| vdaniel@achtung.eng.temple.edu vdaniel@thunder.ocis.temple.edu |
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:49:38 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Foulks <steve_foulks@up.bresnan.net>
Subject: Re:4-year spread of taxes on conversion to a Roth IRA
>Steve Foulks said, relative to spreading the income from cashing in a regular
>IRA for purposes of converting to a Roth IRA, that "you don't have to do
>this, which would be sensible if you happen to be in a low tax bracket in
>1998."
>
>I am quite sure this is wrong. You MUST spread it over the 4 years; you have
>no choice. This can be a disadvantage for some. The relevant law is Section
>408A(d)(3)(A)(iii):
>
>In the case of a distribution before January 1, 1999, any amount required
>to be included in gross income by reason of this paragraph shall be so
>included ratably over the 4-taxable year period beginning with the
>taxable year in which the payment or distribution is made.
>
>Bill Jones
I stand corrected. A technical corrections bill being considered does
propose an option for these rollovers, but there doesn't seem to be
movement on that issue. Therefore assume the law will be as Mr. Jones
indicated.
Steve Foulks
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:50:14 -0500 (EST)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: Father-in-law's will?
With the caveat that things can vary widely from state to state...
>The question is, When one legally prepares a will does the state
>automatically get a copy of the will? And if so how can one get a copy of
>a will.
In general, assuming your state/county requires that an estate of the
size of the one in question (whatever it is) be probated, the executor
will have to file the will with the appropriate probate court. At
that point the will is a matter of public record and you should be
able to go to the courthouse and get a copy.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:50:40 -0500 (EST)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: 403(b) to Roth IRA question
>Which caused me to wonder: But after I roll it [qualified retirement
>plan balance] into a regular IRA, can I then convert that regular
>IRA to a Roth (in 1998) and pay the normal "regular-to-Roth"
>taxes?
Yes you can. But run numbers before you do so. It is *not* a
no-brainer that a Roth will beat a deductible IRA (which is
effectively what these are). Under some eminently reasonable
conditions it will, and under some other eminently reasonable
conditions it won't (though the two will be fairly close in either
case). Make some assumptions, do some projections, and then crunch
the numbers to see what might be best for you.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:51:21 -0500 (EST)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: [Q]: Tax Side of Child's Income
[Disclaimer: this is my opinion, not advice. I am not a professional.]
>My daughter got her fisrt part-time job after she became 16, last
>August. Her 1997 income will be on $700 level.
>
>How should I treat it? Part of our family income (married filing
>jointly) or separate?
There is no such thing as "family income" except for the combined incomes
of spouses married filing jointly and certain investment income of children
under 14 when the parents choose to include such income on their own returns
instead of electing to file a separate return for the child.
In any case, your child is 16, so she is a full, independent taxpayer in
her own right with respect to both earned and unearned income. If she files
at all, she has to file in her own name.
>We are in 28% bracket, so she is better pay lower (15%) tax... Can I do
>it in *our* tax return?
As stated, no. In fact, if that $700 from the job is her only income
at all, she almost definitely will have $0 tax liability and therefore
won't even have to file. However, if any federal income tax was
withheld, she should file so she can get back the taxes (income only,
NOT SS or Medicare). Similarly on the state level.
>What if she will follow my advice to open IRA, which AGI will be
>affected?
It'll only be *her* AGI. And whatever you do, don't have her make
a *deductible* contribution (again assuming that her job income plus
any other income she has leaves her in no-tax territory) as it'll give
her no tax benefit at all. Instead, have her designate the contribution
as *non-deductible* and then have her roll it over to a Roth next year.
That way she'll pay no taxes on the money going in (because she had so
little income) and will pay no taxes on the money coming out (because
it's a Roth).
>So, what are our choices/preferences regarding tax filing?
None. She will file as a single taxpayer in her own right. Her
standard deduction will be reduced because you will (presumably) be
claiming her as a dependent. Just follow the Form 1040 instructions.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:52:11 -0500 (EST)
From: Jason Kaufman <JHK@copper-mt.com>
Subject: Re: Quicken 4 vs. Quicken 98
Well, first I must ask what type of system are you running the new
Quicken on? And why did you get the basic when the Deluxe is so much
better.
Anyway, I think the new update is great, since it tracks your
retirement plans, mutual funds, stocks, you can download transactions
directly from your bank, credit card company, etc (depending on your
bank). The personal financial section is weak, but then again
planners don't charge money for something that a $50 program can do.
Good luck and I hope that you have better luck with Quicken 98.
Jason H. Kaufman
E-mail: JHK@copper-mt.com
Company Web Page: http://www.copper-mt.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:53:05 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jackson, Anthony D." <JacksAD1@central.SSD.JHUAPL.edu>
Subject: New Tax Law - Student Loan Deduction?
All,
Anybody have a feel on with the interest on student loans being
deductible starting 1998 will the provision be grandfathered? That
those currently paying as long as they haven't been paying over 5 years
will the remaining interest be deductible?
Does this mean graduates should postpone payments until 1998 if
they can? Are those that have been paying over 5 years and have more
to go (big Med school loans) out of luck under the new provision?
Tony Jackson
jacksad1@jhuapl.edu
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:53:54 -0500 (EST)
From: "Mangiero, Susan" <MangieroS@sacredheart.edu>
Subject: gold - will price go up?
Any contrarians who think gold prices might go up? If so, please
elaborate. Thanks. Susan M. Mangiero
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:54:47 -0500 (EST)
From: Rich Carreiro <rlcarr@animato.pn.com>
Subject: Re: Probate?
[Disclaimer: this is my opinion, not advice. I am not a professional.]
>Can someone please explain to me in simple terms what is meant by "a
>will having to go through probate"
"Probate" is from a Latin word meaning "to prove", and that's what happens
in a sense.
In a general sense (what happens will vary widely from state to state)
what happens goes something like this:
The decedent's will is filed with the court. The court then
authorizes someone (usually the person named in the will) to be the
executor of the estate, post a surety bond (this is often waived by
the terms of the will), inventory the estate, file the inventory with
the court, settle outstanding debts against the estate, file any
required tax returns and pay any required taxes, make distributions to
the heirs, and so forth. When this is done to the court's
satisfaction, the executor is released from his service (and liability
:-) and the estate is declared closed.
At some point in this process, heirs, putative heirs, creditors,
putative creditors, etc. can challenge the will or challenge the
decision to declare the estate closed if such actions are started
before various (set by statute) deadlines.
Check out Nolo Press (www.nolo.com) which I'm sure has something on
administering an estate. And if you want to really know the truth,
pay for an hour or so of a lawyer's time in the state in question.
Then you can get the definitive answer for the state involved.
Rich Carreiro
rlcarr@animato.pn.com
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:55:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Foulks <steve_foulks@up.bresnan.net>
Subject: Re: Roth - contributions after conversion?
>I was recently (mis?)informed by a rep for a large mutual fund
>company that after converting regular IRA A to Roth IRA B, I
>would no longer be able to contribute to IRA B, although I would
>be able to open a new Roth IRA C and make contributions to it.
>
>Truth or fiction? Being the paranoid, er, cautious type, I'm
>inclined to think it's just an excuse to collect another yearly
>maintenance fee...
>
>Thanks in advance.
Jeff,
How about it isn't clear. I took a look a the commitee reports that
accompanied the bill and a respected publishers detailed analysis and they
didn't mention a need for a separate rollover Roth IRA.
I took a look at the 1997 tax bill code section 408A(d)(3) in particular
408A(d)(3)(B). I interpret it to mean that there is no such requirement,
since it doesn't mention such a requirement. However if you are in doubt,
set up the rollover Roth IRA as a separate account until the problem is clear.
Of course for your mutual fund rep, this means more money
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:56:27 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Foulks <steve_foulks@up.bresnan.net>
Subject: Re:Tax Side of Child's Income
>Hi netters,
>
>Tax season is coming and this time I have a new (for me) situation I
>want your opinion about.
>
>My daughter got her fisrt part-time job after she became 16, last
>August. Her 1997 income will be on $700 level.
>
>How should I treat it? Part of our family income (married filing
>jointly) or separate?
If this is the only income she has she doesn't have to file at all.
Obviously you wouldn't pick up her tax liablity. She should refile her W-4
and claim exempt. If she has substantial unearned income, it is a whole
different story.
>What if she will follow my advice to open IRA, which AGI will be
>affected?
>
She should open a Roth IRA. Since she isn't required to file, it won't
effect anyone's AGI.
If I only made $900 and was 16 I probably wouldn't contribute to an IRA.
Why don't you make her a gift of a contribution? Maybe not tell her, and
sometime later in life surprise her with the good news. I do that for my
kids. Actually I started contributing to an IRA fro them a few years ago
and contributed an amount equal to their allowance, since they have to work
to get it. When you start an IRA for an 8 year old, and maybe continue
through college, it won't take much money, or effort on their part to
prepare for retirement.
Steven M. Foulks, CPA, CFP, PhD
Professor of Accounting & Finance
Northern Michigan University
<http://www.acs.nmu.edu/instruct/business/sfoulks/default.html/>
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 21:58:07 -0500 (EST)
From: "Jim Reed" <jreed1@airmail.net>
Subject: Re: Quicken 98
Scott Barnett asked:
>Can anybody tell me what the big advantages are of Quicken '98=20
>over Quicken 4? Otherwise, I'm sticking with the tried and true.
Hi Scott.....I've made the switch to Quicken 98 (the deluxe version) and
am fairly pleased. As a matter of fact, I went ahead and bought the
entire financial suite (Quicken 98 Deluxe, Financial Planner, and
Intuit's Legal Package).
All have been very helpful to me.....although I recognize that
everyone's needs and situation are different.
I remember using Quicken 4 a while back and remember my ugrade to
Quicken 6 was a good decision. By the way, I believe that you have to
purchase the deluxe version of Quicken to get the loan and debt planner
capability. A lot has to do with what you want the package to do.
My advice is that if you are needing to track investments (mutual funds,
stocks, etc.), an upgrade would be helpful. If not, the decision whether
to do so or not is pretty marginal.
Regardless of the above, I believe that when the ole' philosopher said
"if it ain't broke, don't fix it", he (or she) was giving some pretty
good advice. <smile>
Good luck....
Kindest regards,
Jim, in Texas
jreed1@airmail.net
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:00:33 -0500 (EST)
From: David Martin <dmartin@seabreeze.hc.ti.com>
Subject: Re: Wills
Disclaimer: I may not know what I'm talking about.
Steven writes:
>The question is, When one legally prepares a will does the state
>automatically get a copy of the will? And if so how can one get a copy of
>a will.
>What she really wants to do is look at the will without her brother finding
>out.
People often mention the word probate in connection with
wills. I was always under the impression that probate referred to a
process where the executor was required to file a copy of the will
with the court for period of time, during which period anyone could
examine it and, if they thought they had some claim to part of the
estate, get in touch with the appropriate authority. If I am correct,
then just get a copy of the will from the court during probate.
In any case, your wife should definitely get a copy of the
will one way or the other. In fact, her brother should have sent her a
copy of it for her records. The best thing would have been for the
father to have given all of his children copies of the will. Both my
sister and I have copies of our parents' wills.
-David Martin
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:01:35 -0500 (EST)
From: BOB FORD <BOB_FORD@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Probate
STEVEN
(THE USUAL WARNING)
I am not an attorney and the following is not legal advice. It is just my
opinion. It is based on my experience in California. The laws of other
states may be different.
The words simple and probate usually to not appear together as probate can
get very complicated and costly. Having a will go through probate can be
thought of as the way the assets of someone that has died are distributed
to the heirs. If the person that died had a will, the probate court will
use the will as a guide on how to distribute the assets.
BOB FORD
BOB_FORD@COMPUSERVE.COM
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:07:00 -0500 (EST)
From: BOB FORD <BOB_FORD@compuserve.com>
Subject: re: estate planning for Surviving Spouse
>Our family has unfortunately committed the infamous estate-planning
>no-no: my father willed all of his assets to my mother, leaving her
>with an estate well over the $600K limit. I want to know what we
>could do at this point to reduce estate taxes when the children
>inherit my mother's estate. Unfortunately, she does not want to give
>up any control to her assets. Do I understand correctly that there
>isn't anything we can do, assuming that my mother does not give up
>title to some of her assets? Thanks!
>(Editor's Comment - She could start an annual gift plan of $10K to
>whoever (as many people as she wants). This violates her wishes, but in
>estate planning the rule is if you have control of the asset it's part of
>your estate. -IK)
(THE USUAL WARNING)
I am not an attorney and the following is not legal advice. It is just my
opinion. It is based on my experience in California. The laws of other
states may be different.
You are correct that if the NET estate at the death of your mother is in
excess of $600,000, federal and possibly state estate taxes will be due.
However if the estate is "well over the $600,000 limit", your mother
should get good legal and tax advice from a pro. Their fees usually will
be a small percentage of what they can save in death taxes. This question
is a common one in my retirement planning classes.
It has been pointed out in this list before that the IRS has a "substance
over form rule" that can cancel out almost every tax avoidance plan. As I
understand that rule, even if that plan is totally legal in all of it's
parts, the IRS can say it is illegal when you put the parts together. I
hope a tax pro will correct me if my interpretation is wrong.
What follows is some plans that I know people have tried. I do not know if
they would stand up to an IRS audit. If you adopt any of them, please
have your legal and tax advisor give you their opinion.
1. Parent loans children money at a low rate of interest. Children loans
parent the same amount of money at high interest rate.
2. Parent gives children an option to buy parents homes at homes value
today. Option can be exercised when parent dies.
3. Children do work for parent. Parent gives children note payable at
death of parent. Note has high interest rate.
4. Parent loans children money that is due in 99 years. Since the loan is
due after the children's death, the children got to use the money and can
not pay it back.
5. Parent loans children money. Children spend, give away, or other wise
use the money and do not buy assets with it. Children declare bankruptcy.
These plans are trying to make the NET value of the estate less than
$600,000.
The plan that I like best is to have the mother spend her way down to
$600,000 or even better in my view is to spend her way down to a lot less
than $600,000. She should take that expensive cruise. When she travels,
she should travel first class. When she shops, she should only buy the
best. You get the idea.
GOOD LUCK
BOB FORD
BOB_FORD@COMPUSERVE.COM
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:09:45 -0500 (EST)
From: BOB FORD <BOB_FORD@compuserve.com>
Subject: Re: Father-in-law's will?
STEVEN
(THE USUAL WARNING)
I am not an attorney and the following is not legal advice. It is just my
opinion. It is based on my experience in California. The laws of other
states may be different.
The state does not automatically get a copy of a will when it is made.
HOWEVER when a will is probated, the ORIGINAL will is filed with the
probate court and then it becomes a public document and anyone can get a
copy.
An interesting twist to this is that you often see advertisements that will
sell you a copy of Elvis Presley's will for $30. His will like everyone
else's will that has been through probate is a public document. All
anyone has to do to get a copy of any will that is probated is to go to
the appropriate county office and get a copy for free or a small charge to
make the copy.
If anyone is interested, many well known people's will can be found on the
INTERNET.
GOOD LUCK
BOB FORD
BOB_FORD@COMPUSERVE.COM
(Editor's Comment: I have a Web page of Elvis Presley links and books at:
http://www.shore.net/~ikrakow/elvis.html
One of the links is to Elvis' will. -IK)
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:10:30 -0500 (EST)
From: "Timothy A. Budd" <Tbudd@pacbell.net>
Subject: Cash Out Life Insurance to Pay Student Debt?
In 1984, while I was a wee lad, my parents purchased a whole life insurance
policy. The Death Benefit was $10,000. They paid premiums of about $14.00
a month for a while. The most recent Policy Summary states that the total
death benefit is now $14,656.55. The Net Cash value of the policy is
$1,517.47. My parents have given me the policy to do what I see fit. As
with most Americans, I have developed significant consumer debt. I was
thinking about cashing in the policy and paying down a credit card. My
parents are named as beneficiaries on my 401(k), so they will have some $$
to pay for funeral expenses etc if the unexpected arises. I am now 28
years old, with a promising future, my number one financial goal is to
eliminate my debt.
Advice?
Thanks,
Tim
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:11:16 -0500 (EST)
From: varsh <varsh@concentric.net>
Subject: Re: Quicken 4 vs. Quicken '98 Basic
Scott,
I'm happy Quicken 6 user (and I had Q4 before). In my opinion
Q6 is definitely better (though maybe some functions were already
introduced in Q5, which I have skipped).
>From what I read on Usenet since introduction of Quicken 98,
it doesn't worth money + installation time to upgrade. Many
even call it "downgrade". Bugs, inconsistancy with previous versions,
many problems with on-line functions, dreadful attitude of Intuit
toward customers...
It seems, though, that for novice user (and you are definitely not one)
the core functionality works OK. But if you dig into a little bit...
Quite a few users reported returning software to the store (Intuit
has money-back guarantee).
Bringing into account *horrible* customer service makes the whole
equation very clear (for me): "Don't go to Q98, or at least wait
1 or 2 bug-fixing releases".
P.S. As 5-years Quicken user and Intuit shareholder, I'm very pity
watching the company with so useful product degrading more and more :(
- -Boris
Dover,NH
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:13:04 -0500 (EST)
From: Steve Crossland <stevec@onr.com>
Subject: I HATE Quicken 98
> Scott Barnett Wrote
> Well, I was very disappointed with Quicken '98 Basic...
> ...Can anybody tell me what the big advantages are of Quicken '98 over
>
> Quicken 4? Otherwise, I'm sticking with the tried and true.
Unless there is a specific feature of Q98 that you need (like invoices),
I'd avoid it like the plague. I just upgraded because I really need the
invoicing tied into my other finance stuff - I like that new feature
alot.
But my upgrade was a two day ordeal and countless hours on the
phone with clueless tech support. They said my data file is too big
and that I'm suppose to archive and start new each year - to which
I responded "what if I wanted to run a spending comparison report for
something by year, for the past 5 years?" Wouldn't be able to do it if you
break your data apart as they suggest. In my opinion, Q98 is a slow,
sluggish bloated turd of a program and the designers have no idea what
they are doing - too bad, I used to be an enthusiastic user. Now I barely
tolerate it.
For plenty of info (and flames) about Quicken and MS Money,
there is a newsgroup ==> comp.os.ms-windows.apps.financial.
Steve
Steve Crossland stevec@onr.com
Crossland Real Estate * Austin TX
Property Management * Leasing * Sales
http://www.io.com/~cre
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:13:44 -0500 (EST)
From: Avrum Lapin <avrum113@cyberg8t.com>
Subject: Re: Father-in-law's will?
>.... According to my brother-in-law (who is also the estate
>executor) that my children were not mentioned at all in the will. My
>brother in law says he is the only one that has copy of the will. My wife
>does not want ot strain her relationship with her brother by asking to
>inspect the will. So she is taking him at his word on this matter.
>
>The question is, When one legally prepares a will does the state
>automatically get a copy of the will? And if so how can one get a copy of
>a will.
>
>What she really wants to do is look at the will without her brother finding
>out. Her brother would be real insulted and hurt if he found out we might
>doubt him.
At last - the only good reason for probate court.
Unless you live in a wierd state or the estate is very small, a copy of
the will has to be filed in Probate Court for public inspection by possible
creditors. Contact your local (probably county) court house and find out
if the estate has been submitted for probate and where to inspect the will.
If necessary send a "friend" to go look.
Avrum Lapin
Upland., CA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:15:57 -0500 (EST)
From: JONESW@CCSUA.CTSTATEU.EDU
Subject: violating her wishes to keep control. And whose money is it, anyway,
Dmak wrote:
>Our family has unfortunately committed the infamous estate-planning
>no-no: my father willed all of his assets to my mother, leaving her
>with an estate well over the $600K limit. I want to know what we
>could do at this point to reduce estate taxes when the children
>inherit my mother's estate. Unfortunately, she does not want to give
>up any control to her assets.
I don't see that there is any problem. Encourage the mother to buy an
annuity that expires at death; for instance, she might put $500,000 in such
an annuity that gives an annual income of $45,000 with no worry about the
money running out no matter how long she lives, when otherwise she
would feel that she could not safely draw more than $30,000 annually for
fear that it would run out too soon. Another thing she could do is to make a
large donation to a charitable remainder trust, which also gives a high return
while living without leaving much in the estate.
Both of these methods, as well as outright bequests to charity in the will,
allow the mother to keep the income from many millions of dollars while
entirely avoiding estate taxes at death. It can easily end up that the
estate has only $300,000 or so, which solves all your problems without
violating her wishes to keep control. It is, after all, her money, not
the children's.
Bill Jones
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:16:55 -0500 (EST)
From: GeorgeS <pip@shore.net>
Subject: Treasury direct
Hi,
I'm interested in buying non-competitive bid Treasury direct 5 year 10K
note. Currently, I've got the money buried in a Fidelity cash Reserve
account. Exclusion from local state take (~6% in MA) is of some interest to me.
This money is money I do not want in stocks, it is the money I'd need for
short term expenses if I was laid off. I do not expect to be laid off, but I
do want some money in a secure account. My understanding is you can
transfer the note out of Treasury direct and into a broker account for sale
if you need to cash in early.
One item of interest is the direct deposit/direct withdrawal feature on the
treasury direct form. I'd like to shunt the money in and out (automatic
withdrawal for buying the note(s), automatic deposit for receiving the
interest) of the FCR account directly. T notes, unlike T bills, pay
interest each year. I know I can do this from/to a bank account, but, I'd
rather not store my $ in a bank. Fidelity is no help here. I called the help
line, and neither the agent, nor the supervisor was familiar with Treasury
direct, nor could they give me an unequivocal answer as to whether or not
they would respect the authorized withdrawal form submitted to the Treasury
direct bank.
Can anyone discuss the pros/cons of the treasury direct program, as opposed
to say, Fidelity Spartan Government Income, which has, roughly, the same
duration and yield as 5 year treasuries. My understanding is that Spartan
Gov Income invests in US agency instruments, and that it is subject to State
tax.The other point is that the Spartan Yield varies, whereas the T note
yield, once purchased, is fixed for the duration of the note.
My goal, such as it is, is to buy 10K note per year, reinvesting when they
are due, until I have about 100K set aside. At current rates, this would
yield about 5.76%.
TIA
george
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:17:37 -0500 (EST)
From: Eric <er@clark.net>
Subject: Re: *SHORT-TERM* US Treasury bond fund versus Money Market fund?
Strong Advantage Fund is the shortest-term bond fund that I know of, I think the
average maturity is 90 days or so. It has indeed yielded about 1.5% per year
more than money markets for the past year or so since I parked money there. NAV
fluctuation has been +/- 0.1% per month, the net change in NAV has been a wash.
I wonder what might happen in a real crash, probably not much.
> The typical "smart" thing to do is to put short-term money in a
> money-market fund (rather than passbook savings account). However, it
> occured to me why not put the <relatively> short-term $$ in a SHORT-TERM
> US Treasury bond fund, which would invest in US bonds maturing in 1-3
> years.
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:18:15 -0500 (EST)
From: Avrum Lapin <avrum113@cyberg8t.com>
Subject: Re: Roth - contributions after conversion?
Based on what I have read in supposedly authoritative articles and MF
company literature there is still a lot of confusion on what you can and
cannot do. I expect that it will be several months until it settles out.
I have seen conflicting advice on the total conversion of traditional IRAs
to Roth IRAs. A lot of the conflict arises because of the assumptions that
are made about where the funds needed to pay the income tax due on
conversion will come from and what tax bracket you will be in 20 years
into the future when you retire and have to draw from the IRA.
The major advantage that I see with the coonversion occurs after death when
someone has to pay income tax on what is left in the traditional IRA. If
that amount is large then some of it might be taxed as much as 39% to the
FEDs plus what ever your state extorts.
Even then I suspect that there will be sharpsters out there who will try to
extort a hefty fee for which is a clerical conversion. The only fee that
you might expect are the small fees ($25 - 35) which certain IRA trustees
(Banks, brokerages, mutual funds) have spelled out in their agreement for
starting, maintaining, or terminating IRA accounts. These fees are
sometimes waived for larger accounts or absorbed by a succeeding trustee.
Avrum Lapin
Upland., CA
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:19:26 -0500 (EST)
From: Danialle Weaver <danialle@mindspring.com>
Subject: Web calculators story
Ira--
My name is Danialle Weaver and I'm writing a story for The Wall Street
Journal Interactive Edition on Web calculators used on personal finance
sites to help folks decide how much house they can afford, how much they
should be saving for retirement, etc.
I got your name from the folks at MoneyInsider.com. They said you might
be able to help me locate some folks who have used these calculators for
interviews in connection with my story. Anyone who consents would be
required to give their real name, their age and occupation, and their
hometown (city where they live now). I would also need to talk to them
via phone at least once (WSJ's rules).
I'm also looking for experts who can recommend sites with calculators
for a variety of topics, such as house hunting, saving and investing,
retirement, etc.
I need this information by 12n Eastern time on Friday. Folks who are
interested would just drop me an email at dweaver@reporters.net (it's
the easiest one to remember, and it doesn't require spelling my first
name right!). I would follow up privately.
Thanks.
Danialle Weaver
online credentials at:
http://members.tripod.com/~danialle_weaver/indes.html
------------------------------
Date: Thu, 11 Dec 1997 22:22:51 -0500 (EST)
From: Danialle Weaver <danialle@mindspring.com>
Subject: Correction on URL
Let's try that URL again:
http://members.tripod.com/~danialle_weaver/index.html
Thanks. dw
------------------------------
End of persfin-digest V4 #112
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