Web Wealth: Death and money
Death is hard to think about. But death and money? Now, there's something interesting. Good financial planning means knowing how your earthly goods will be divvied up. Here's some advice.
Death is hard to think about. But death and money? Now, there's something interesting. Good financial planning means knowing how your earthly goods will be divvied up. Here's some advice.
"You never know if you might inadvertently step into the path of a truck." So begins this item on preparing for death and disaster at bankrate.com by Boomer Bucks writer Barbara Whelehan. Start, she says, by organizing your financial life into files. Then keep those files in a fireproof box. The post concludes, though, with an admonition to write down your life story - which might be the most valuable thing you can leave loved ones.
Selecting a financial planner for your survivors is one topic covered by Scott Holsopple on the Smarter Investor blog at money.usnews.com. "After your death is not the time for your loved one to start searching for a reputable investment adviser," Holsopple says. Like many, he suggests a fee-for-service adviser who's not working on commissions from the sales of financial products.
If death and taxes are the only certainties, then why not invest in both, asks this hubpages.com post. There's a short list of funeral- and cemetery-company stocks, such as Servicecorps International, Stewart Enterprises, and StoneMor Partners. Invest in taxes by buying government bonds. Though those bonds have had their detractors lately, many investors still flee to U.S. Treasury bonds as a haven because Uncle Sam presumably will always pay his bills, even if his money grows worthless.
There are plenty of excuses for not planning for death. You're busy. It'll be someone else's problem. It probably won't happen anyway. Kiplinger.com offers estate-planning steps to "die the right way." Aside from the obvious advice to write a will, with tips on how to get that done, this article has useful news about ways to let your survivors avoid the tedium of probate court and how to look into setting up a trust. There are also tips for planning your funeral party.