Nice girls talk about estate planning

When you think about the fact that 42% of women are widowed but only 14% of men are widowed, you can see how profoundly estate-planning affects women. This is the main idea behind an excellent article by Deborah Jacobs in http://www.forbes.com/. You should read it if you are a woman, or if you are a man with a wife or daughter. Click here to read the article.

How to pass on your frequent flyer miles

I don't see this question often on estates, but to those who have accumulated a lot of miles, it's important. Those miles are valuable! This article is American (from http://www.forbes.com/) but the concepts translate nicely to Canada. The article contains a link to specific information about 10 popular plans too. Click here to read the article.The attached photo is from Forbes Images.

Seven steps to better money conversations with aging parents

This article from Forbes gives some specific ideas on what to say - and what not to say - when you are having difficulty discussing financial matters with aging parents. It's a frightening conversation for aging parents and no picnic for the kids either, so click here to read the article if you need a bit of help.

No excuse for no estate plan

In Forbes, Ashlea Ebeling provides a short list of the minimum things you must have in place as an estate plan. Though the article is American and therefore refers to American taxation, the rest of the article is very relevant to us here in Canada. I've certainly heard of people flying in separate airplanes as Ms. Ebeling mentions. Read it here and see if you recognize yourself in the story.

Helping aging parents who don't want help

This is a topic that isn't discussed enough, in my opinion. It's all very well for the children of aging individuals to make plans to help out Mom or Dad, but it's really Mom or Dad's choice, so long as they continue to have capacity. It's a tricky area. Click here to check out this story from Forbes.
The attached photo is also from Forbes.com.

The Case Against Do It Yourself Wills

This article will be a bit of an eye opener for many of you. The author relates some DYI horror stories, and they ring true for me after my years of practice. Click here to read this article from Forbes.com.

How to handle aging parents' pets

One of the best things about having a blog is getting to share articles from all over the place, on all kinds of interesting stuff. Click here to read this article from Forbes on what to do when your aging parents have pets.

(Attached photo is also from Forbes, from the same article)

Six ways to avoid capital gains tax

A plain-spoken and informative article from Forbes.com on avoiding capital gains. American, but still much applies to Canada. Click here to read the article.

Protect your aging parents from financial fraud

I suggest that anyone who is dealing with aging parents who are beginning to lose their capacity to deal with finances should read this article in Forbes.com. It's very practical and down-to-earth (always my favourite kind of article) and doesn't pull any punches about what's really going on with elderly folks and those who take advantage of them.

(Photo attached is also from that story in Forbes.com).