Every week we share news stories, blog articles and other interesting stuff from around the web that received the most views, shares, comments and overall interest on various KeatsConnelly social media outlets.
This week has a bit of a focus on end-of-life and retirement issues. The first two articles focus on how to make sure your family is prepared for your death, and the final article discusses understanding some of the factors that go into properly projecting a retirement plan
What should be in your ‘death’ file? (http://www.financialpost.com/) – After helping a girlfriend through the messy, tangled finances left in the wake of a parent’s death, John Kerecz had a message for his own mom and dad: Get your paperwork in order. A few years later, Kerecz’s father passed away unexpectedly. The 52-year-old environmental engineer from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania went to the house and looked where his father and mother used to keep their important documents, but nothing was there. It was pure luck that he went to the computer to look up a phone number and saw a folder on the desktop labeled “DEATH. Sure enough, everything was there in that folder,” Kerecz says…
How to discuss your estate plan with heirs (and why it’s critical to do so) (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/) – My wife, Carolyn, and I revised our wills recently. The hardest decision was around the guardian of our kids. “Tim, I just want someone who is loving, caring and a good role model to look after our kids if we’re gone.” “Carolyn,” I replied, “if we knew someone like that, why wouldn’t we just give the kids away today?” Well, we decided to keep the kids. And then we sat down with them to talk about who will look after them if we’re gone. We’re starting to share our estate plan with them…
Will your retirement cash last for the rest of your life? (http://www.theglobeandmail.com/) – Think of retirement as a 30-year game of poker. You begin with a certain amount of money at, say, 65. Your mission is to figure out how to make that cash last for the rest of your life. What makes this task difficult is that you don’t know what returns you can expect in any given year, or what sequence those returns will arrive in. Just as in poker, the returns you get early on can change the game entirely…
Come back next week for more interesting news and articles. Enjoy your weekend!