Tag Archives: guardianship

6 estate planning lessons we can learn from James Gandolfini

James GandolfinoEverybody thinks celebrities have teams of lawyers that help them protect their assets and ensure that their affairs are in perfect order.  This is not always true.  In fact, many people don’t know the lessons that are included in this About.com blog by Julie Garber.  And they are lessons that, if not learned, can cost your family time, money and public exposure after you die.

James Gandolfini, who died in June, is used as an example of these 6 estate planning  lessons.  It’s important that you read about these lessons and be sure that you have protected your estate.  If you don’t, your loved ones may be caught up in a public probate process that will cost them a great deal of time and money.

For more about probate, what it is and how you can avoid it, go to www.diesmart.com.

 

Have you collected the Social Security benefits to which you may be entitled?

You worked hard your whole life and paid money into the Social Security program evey month. So did your spouse. And now that you are both retired, you are relaxing, enjoying life and collecting a benefit check every month.

But Social Security benefits are not just for retirement. They are for widows and widowers, too. That’s right. Some of the money you paid into Social Security during your working life goes to survivor’s insurance from which you may one day be entitled to collect benefits. The amount of those benefits is based on lifetime earnings.

It is important to know that the surviving spouse is not the only one who can collect benefits. Surviving minor or disabled children are eligible as well.

Diesmart has received questions from widows and widowers who want to be sure they have collected all of the pension benefits to which they are entitled. However, they usually either forget or don’t know that they are leaving money on the table when they don’t file for Social Security survivor benefits as well.

Don’t forget to contact the Social Security administration to find out what steps you need to take to collect benefits to which you are entitled. www.ssa.gov/survivorplan/ifyou.htm

For more information about death benefits, go to www.diesmart.com.