By Shelley Ocaña, Private Fiduciary For those of you new and seasoned private fiduciaries who are planning for your own financial future, you might want to take a second look at the health of the Social Security system. Whether your benefits will be there for you when you finally retire is a big question. Most [...]
Archive of posts filed under the Awareness category.
BEWARE FAKE GRANDKIDS CALLING FOR CASH
If someone claiming to be a relative asks you to wire money for an emergency, be suspicious. Scammers have already bilked ‘grandparents’ for more than $3.5 million. By CreditCards.com Dear ‘To Her Credit’: I just got a call from someone claiming to be my granddaughter. She said she was in Montreal and had been in [...]
LENDERS TO HALT FORECLOSURE EVICTIONS OVER THE HOLIDAYS
Provided by Craig Curreri Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will suspend foreclosure evictions from December 19, 2009 through January 3, 2010. To help struggling families over the holidays, both owner-occupants and tenants living in properties foreclosed upon by Fannie Mae will not be evicted. Freddie Mac’s suspension of evictions will be limited to properties up [...]
Smart Financial Actions to Take Before the End of 2009
With only a few weeks left in 2009 its time to take a good look at your year-end finances and make sure all your investments are in order. Gift tax exclusion, donations and contributions, and distribution requirements are important aspects to consider before the end of the year. As always, we recommend you meet with [...]
Reflections On Estate Tax Legislation
The Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA) is a Republican tax cut program that was approved in the first year of George Bush’s presidency. It was enacted to help stimulate the economy and restore financial confidence after 9/11. In an effort to save taxpayers nearly $1.4 trillion over a 10-year period, [...]
Congress Extends – and Expands – Homebuyer Tax Credit
Tips for first-time and repeat homebuyers to take advantage of credit By Rick Laws Sonoma County homebuyers and consumers across the country received an early holiday gift this month as Congress not only extended the first-time homebuyer tax credit, but expanded it to include many existing homeowners buying another property. This is truly exciting news [...]