Recent content by tpkinsl

While it may be too late for OP, I recommend “saving the family cottage” by S. Hollander. He gives a variety of suggestions on how to pass down a vacation home. In our case, we put it in an LLC with rules to address selling. For OPs question, we said the LLC would hire an appraiser. The...

Goodbye Vanguard After 35 years with Vanguard, I moved a mid 7 figure portfolio to Fidelity. I was tired of the crappy mobile app, no customer service (3 hour wait for customer service a simple issue ) the onerous security when you log in (I am an IT professional so know what a good security...

I made this move 3 years ago - from North Jersey to the Middletown DE area. We are saving significantly on taxes and like being between relatives in NJ, NY and Washington DC. Amtrack runs hourly to all those places. Philly Airport is 45 minutes away. For what you want, I would suggest you...

Don’t do what we did! On our first trip to London we hit 47 of the top 50 sites in 4 days. We were run ragged and don’t remember a thing! We have been back since, and to Paris. We pick 2-3 things a day and figure the rest out. We walk a lot - our “rule” is when we hit an intersection, we look...

Allow me to ask a variation- I am the executor for an in law. (They have no kids, estate will be divided among at least 10 siblings). They have a house packed with rare books and expensive art - they were in that business so a lot is very valuable - total estate in the low millions (a guess)...

I like it, thanks! To give you a sense of this guy, he gave her a phone in the nursing home which would only allow local calls - so she couldn’t call her sisters. Then tried to get the sisters banned from visiting. We got around all of this, but he keeps throwing up obstacles. A classic abuser...

Thanks for the response - you are correct, the bequests are mostly pieces of inexpensive jewelry and perhaps the remains of her savings - probably less (a lot less) than $5000. So this is not worth a fight (or an attorney). But if the will is valid, I will do my duty as the executor. Others...

The question- how do I know if a will is the final will, or if a subsequent will was written? The background- 30 years ago, a relative named me executor and gave me a copy of her will. She is now in poor health with dementia (so not able to clarify things). Her husband is an abusive SOB who...

Look at Medjet I travel internationally extensively and lived in Asia for six years so have had my share of sketchy travel. Look at Medjet for medical evacuation insurance - a full year policy for my wife and I is less than $500 - and covers all travel in that year. It provides for medical...

I like it simple and I like to sleep at night, so this is conservative. I am in the same position as OP - retired at 58, no pension, living off savings in a taxable vanguard account 1) we have an annual budget (say $100k for easy math) 2) we stopped all automatic reinvestments - this nets...

I lived in China from 2012-2019, so have direct experience. At first, we had my son bulk up the Mail and forward it. That was good because he could recognize important stuff, but we switched because as a new college grad, he kept moving and was busy with his life. We used USA2Me and were...

I am a big fan of Wyze brand products. They have a Nest like camera for $25. I have a set for security in my vacation home. They also make a thermostat- I have not used it but I do have a robo vac and smart outlet from them. The products work great and are usually 50-75% less than the brand...

try what my friend did - send an email "this is confirming my last day at work will be (the day they told you.) After this, I will be available at a consultant, at a rate of $275/hour with a minimum of a 5 day commitment." wordsmith it to meet your situation.

HSA contributions I am retired, age 59, and paying for a high detectable medical plan via COBRA. I was contributing to an HSA while working. Can I contribute to an HSA this year?

We moved from high cost / high tax NY to low-cost DE within a few months of retirement. Like you, we didn’t know a soul, but took multiple trips to the area to make sure we knew what were were doing and to pick the right community. We did pick new construction in a new development, as we...