Need Ideas to Help My Sister

[Aerides]

My final question is that we are thinking of having her retirement funds transferred to Vanguard. I'd appreciate any advice about that, as sister has also asked me where to put her funds.

Thank you!

Unless your sister is used to self-servicing, I'd recommend Fido over Vanguard. My own experience says they are easy to reach and talk to, and fast to act. Many threads recently have pointed to Vanguard slipping in this area. For someone who isn't super-savvy, a little hand holding goes a long way, plus the odds she might have a branch if she really wanted to meet in person.

 

[rothlev]

so, her combined income of social security plus pension should provide her a liveable base amount.

If she maxes out her 403b ( current max is 27k ) these last years and adds that money to her savings she will be fine. It is possible she will be in a low tax bracket when she retires, maybe even likely. In that scenioro I would not do a roth, as her tax bracket will be lower when retired than it will be now.

On the 403b check where she is investing, as some of the choices are high expense annuity options, but most of them also have a self directed option with fidelity or vanguard.

 

[athena53]

Is this easy to do?

I’m still on my ex’s mortgage. I always figured banks wouldn’t allow it since it increases their risk. In my case, it’s only a minor issue, so no big deal either way, but I can see it being an issue for others.

It will turn into one if he stops making payments or if she wants to take out a mortgage to buy another place (I realize the latter is unlikely in the near future since she has a place to live).

The bank does have to re-assess the creditworthiness of the person left on the title and his/her ability to make the payments and I suppose it could involve a total refinance with all that involves- never been through it myself- but I can't imagine being taken off the title to a house and still having my name on the debt.

 

[38Chevy454]

Assuming that your sister is going to be working for approx 10 years, I would invest into diversified equity funds with low fees. Fidelity has several "zero" funds with no fees even. As for choices, I would probably just go with a equal mix of S&P and Nasdaq. With current low fixed income returns, and the 10 year and longer timeframe, put it into stock funds. If you want to add some international, maybe 10% is OK.

 

[Sunset]

It will turn into one if he stops making payments or if she wants to take out a mortgage to buy another place (I realize the latter is unlikely in the near future since she has a place to live).

The bank does have to re-assess the creditworthiness of the person left on the title and his/her ability to make the payments and I suppose it could involve a total refinance with all that involves- never been through it myself- but I can't imagine being taken off the title to a house and still having my name on the debt.

+1
If the person cannot qualify for the house on their own, then it has to be sold. No way would I co-sign a loan or mortgage, which is what is basically being requested.

 

[tulak]

+1
If the person cannot qualify for the house on their own, then it has to be sold. No way would I co-sign a loan or mortgage, which is what is basically being requested.

Not necessarily.

I agree that in general, you probably want to avoid this situation.

Mine was unique in that the mortgage is less than 20% of overall value and no way ex would stop making payments. And if she did, the divorce decree states it’s her obligation and there’s plenty of equity for the lender to go after.

The hassle is the extra paperwork when you apply for a mortgage or refinance. I’ve done both and have to provide a copy of the divorce decree which states I’m not liable for the mortgage. Not sure how well that would work out if there wasn’t equity to draw from and the ex stops making payments. As I said, for most it’s best to avoid this situation, but there are cases where it’s not a big deal.