Annuities?

[M59]

turbo36,

You are right to question Snobdds generic statement. Every person has their unique financial position, however there are some rules of thumb, which I abide by, in the big picture investment universe. Absent all other invest able options, the S&P is a good go to for investment without having to think too hard. I personally will avoid Annuities, Whole Life Insurance, and Reverse Mortgages like they are the black plague. These three items were designed to largely benefit ( handsomely enrich ) the issuer.

Depending on one's risk acceptance level and/ or asset level, the range of invest-able options is wide open.

 

[2manyrocks]

A friend of mine is a fee only investment advisor. His general advice is "duration and diversification."

 

[kenmac]

I doubt any large financial institution is going to offer or advise anyone to invest in private equites. It would be taking funds from them.
I searched and interviewed several Private financial advisors until I found one that offered clients to invest in private equites, while still leaving some in the markets, but not all in.

 

[Snobdds]

Really? At any age or financial position?

Yes. The huge benefit is not paying WallSteet for management fees. The fees kill a person over the a person's investment lifecycle.

Never forget these charts...

 

[buckeyefarmer]

We're in the process now of getting our 401K's into the trust as we thought we had one (estate), but only had a basic will. In the process with all of our other assets as well.

What do you do to get 401k into trust?

We had lawyer draw up trust documents years ago, but we never finalized them. Something didn’t seem right. Looking back over what he did, he just created the trust, but didn’t fund the trust.
I need to get this started again.

 

[Sigarms]

What do you do to get 401k into trust?

We had lawyer draw up trust documents years ago, but we never finalized them. Something didn’t seem right. Looking back over what he did, he just created the trust, but didn’t fund the trust.
I need to get this started again.

You need to get the proper paperwork from who is handling the 401K to sign off on listing your trust as the beneficiary. You most likely have your wife or someone else significant to you listed as the primary beneficiary.

End of day, anything you or your wife have in any assets should have the trust listed as a beneficiary as well (bank accounts, CD's, other investments), unless someone else who isn't listed in the trust as the primary executor is listed at the primary beneficiary in other capital assets.

In my fathers case, since my mom died, he listed me as a primary in their (my parents) family trust and took my mom off the trust (he updated it when he moved to NC, which was a little bit of a hassle due to some variances in different state laws).

If everything is listed in you and your wife's name and not the estate, it goes without saying that if either of you two are listed as an executor in the trust and one of you dies, any capital assets will inevitably go to the other via the trust, but by listing the trust as a beneficiary, this makes it painless and no questions asked.

I'm not a lawyer, but this is what our estate attorney told us.

Even my sons whole life insurance policy is being turned over to the family trust via beneficiary (son is listed as an executor, but not for another couple of decades to see how he plays out "life wise" now that he's 18).

Seems to be a lot of work to keep the legal system out when you die LOL

Thing is, my dad wasn't a wealthy man monetarily wise, but with him keeping his trust updated with no will, transferring what he had in his life to me was absolutely painless. You don't have to be rich to have a estate, but I will tell your our lawyer costs us $2,500, but to us for what we have worked for and now own, that money was well worth spending.

Never think about dying unexpectedly, but it can happen.

 

[buckeyefarmer]

Thanks, my cousins estate is in probate now. What a pain. $2500 is cheap compared to what lawyers will suck out of the estate in probate.

 

[Sigarms]

Thanks, my cousins estate is in probate now. What a pain. $2500

My father got stuck as the executor selling the family home (the house my grandparents bought in the 1930's when they came off the boat.

No will, no estate, unpaid taxes with a bunch of my fathers siblings still alive.

Very long story short, my father was "disinherited" by one sister and her 3 daughters because that aunt (who was the oldest sibling still alive at the time) thought that she being the oldest, should get the entire house, kit and kabuddle no questions asked.

Funny thing was the house was only worth only about 70K (with 15K in unpaid taxes) and she threw her relationship with her brother (my dad) out the window because my father followed what the state law laid out on how to split the house for everyone who was alive.

My dad died last year, but he kept the paperwork and what was involved in dealing with my aunt. I had to read it. Talk about a PITA.

 

[JethroB]

If any financial advisor tells you to invest in anything other than low cost index funds...your working for him and he is not working for you.

Vanguard Advisory service will generally recommend Total Market index and bond funds over the less diverse S&P 500 or such. Also a mix of domestic and international.

 

[JethroB]

A friend of mine is a fee only investment advisor. His general advice is "duration and diversification."

May I add low cost.