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Term life insurance provides life insurance coverage for a specific time period (the term). It is often referred to as pure insurance. The face amount of the policy is paid if you die during the term of the policy. When you live longer than the term of the insurance coverage,...

In a word, no. Estate planning allows you or anyone to implement certain tools now to ensure that your concerns and goals are fulfilled after you die. Your objective may be to simply make sure that your loved ones are provided for. Or you may have more complex goals, such...

Investors are often confused about the differences between growth stocks and value stocks. The main way in which they differ is how they are perceived by the market and, ultimately, the investor. Growth stocks are associated with high-quality, successful companies whose earnings are expected to continue growing at an above-average...

A nonqualified deferred compensation (NQDC) plan is an arrangement between an employer and one or more employees to defer the receipt of currently earned compensation. You might want to establish an NQDC plan to provide your employees with benefits in addition to those provided under your qualified retirement plan, or...

The loss of a spouse can be a devastating, life-changing event. Due to longer life expectancies, women are more likely to face this situation. Becoming a widow at any age can be one of the most difficult challenges a woman must face. Not only is there the emotional loss of...

Federal Reserve monetary policies can affect the entire fixed-income market, and the prospect of rising interest rates is a major concern for bond investors. Regardless of the rate environment, however, bonds are a mainstay of investors who want to generate income or dampen the effects of stock market volatility on...

If you're receiving benefits based on your own work record, your benefits will continue. If you're receiving spousal benefits based on your former spouse's work record, those benefits will generally end upon your getting remarried, but you may be able to receive benefits based on your new spouse's work record,...

How much life insurance do you need? Your life insurance needs will depend on a number of factors, including the size of your family, the nature of your financial obligations, your career stage, and your goals. For example, when you're young, you may not have a great need for life...

Since October, Frank Vaughan has been fixing up a 1990 Catalina 18 sailboat at his home in Cedar Creek, Texas. By early this year, the boat was just about ready for the lake. All it needed was some sails.In February, Vaughan, 66, ordered two new Dacron sails from a Chinese...

What is underwriting? Underwriting is the process insurance companies use to evaluate information collected about an insurance applicant in order to decide whether or not that applicant should be issued an insurance policy. Disability insurance underwriting is strict because the insurance company has only one chance to evaluate the potential...

If you're like most people, it's not that you don't appreciate the value of life insurance. In fact, many people believe they need more coverage. You probably wouldn't mind owning additional life insurance. It's just that you don't want to buy it. Thinking about buying life insurance, talking about buying...

Cryptocurrency is treated as property for federal income tax purposes, and general tax principles related to property transactions apply to transactions using cryptocurrency. Thus, the sale or other exchange of cryptocurrencies, or the use of cryptocurrencies to pay for goods or services, or holding cryptocurrencies as an investment generally has...

When I was first employed as an accountant by my current law firm, it felt like I was living the dream. The thought of working on a hybrid schedule, three days in the office and two days at home, gave me a sense of freedom. At the time, I was...

The average inheritance for American households is $46,200, according to the Federal Reserve.1 This number is as high as it is because of the large inheritances passed down by wealthy families to their heirs.So, what should you do with an inheritance? And what do you need to know about the...

So you are thinking about making a series of gifts protected from gift tax by the annual exclusion, or a large gift sheltered from gift tax by the applicable exclusion amount, but have concerns about losing access to the gifted property or its income if circumstances change. If you are...

A grantor retained annuity trust (GRAT) is an irrevocable trust into which you make a one-time transfer of property, and from which you receive a fixed amount annually for a specified number of years (the annuity period). At the end of the annuity period, the payments to you stop, and...

It’s been another harrowing week of political challenges to progressive action — from targeting of Harvard University to corporations pausing or silencing impact initiatives that are intended to make the world a better place. Group of people activists with raised fists protesting on streets, strike and demonstration concept.GETTY Over the...

The Markets (as of market close April 17, 2025) Stocks ended an abbreviated week of trading with mixed results as the U.S. markets closed a day early in observance of Good Friday. Throughout the week, investors weighed trade talks, interest rate uncertainty, and concerns of a global economic retreat. Big...

In times of uncertainty, such as the present, most business leaders understand the need for caution, balance, and restraint, especially financial restraint. If they are being honest with themselves, however, leaders know they should be careful with finances all of the time, because financial discipline isn’t a stop-and-go practice; it’s...

If you're a small business owner, you face many challenges in growing your company. One of them is recruiting and retaining the best talent for your needs. When your primary goals are managing costs and increasing revenue, how do you sufficiently entice new recruits and reward current staff members for...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ashlee Piper, a political strategist turned eco-lifestyle journalist and TV personality who is the author of Give a Sh*t: Do Good. Live Better. Save the Planet. and the forthcoming No New Things: A Radically Simple 30-Day Guide to Saving Money, the...

This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Allie Larsen, a 37-year-old who lives in Raleigh. It has been edited for length and clarity.My husband Ryan and I met on Instagram in 2018, right before I turned 30.I followed his sister on Instagram because we both worked for the...

Taxes can take a big bite out of your total investment returns, so it's helpful to look for tax-advantaged strategies when building a portfolio. But keep in mind that investment decisions shouldn't be driven solely by tax considerations; other factors to consider include the potential risk, the expected rate of...

Key TakeawaysCongress passed a law last week overturning the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's $5 overdraft fee cap, which would have gone into effect in October.If President Donald Trump signs the law, the bureau's rule will be scrapped.The bureau estimated that the law would have saved bank customers about $5 billion...

COPYRIGHT ©2023 WEALTHKARE.COM, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | FEE-BASED FINANCIAL PLANNING AND INVESTMENT ADVISORY SERVICES ARE OFFERED BY WEALTHKARE.COM, INC. A REGISTERED INVESTMENT ADVISOR DOMICILED IN PENNSYLVANIA. INSURANCE RELATED CONSULTING, PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ARE OFFERED THROUGH AMERICAN ASSETS FINANCIAL CORP. & RIA WEALTH SOLUTIONS LLC. WEALTHKARE.COM, INC., RIA WEALTH SOLUTIONS...

For now, changes including AI continue to play to the tech giant’s strengths. iStock-1729779122 When Bill Gates and Paul Allen founded the company they called Micro-Soft 50 years ago this week, it was to sell a version of the Basic computer language for the Altair, the first proto-PC.Their first product...

It all started with matching family outfits.I wanted a family portrait in which my family of seven wore similar outfits — some combo of pink and white. I spent hundreds of dollars at Target on shoes, dresses, pants, and shirts.After the photo was taken, no one in my family wore...

At 4:00 p.m. on April 2, 2025, President Trump announced sweeping tariffs on imported goods that were significantly larger and different in structure than expected. The announcement was carefully timed to coincide with the close of the New York Stock Exchange to avoid immediate market volatility. But over the next...

Running a company is a full-contact sport, and even the victor rarely leaves the arena unbruised. No era has underscored that reality more than the mid-2020s, when the world seems intent on lobbing one curveball at us after another. Whether it's emerging from a global pandemic, confronting supply chain chaos...

Easy everyday habits can help keep you sharp. And it’s never too late to start them.Small tweaks to your daily routine can go a long way toward protecting your body’s control center and preventing cognitive decline down the road. In fact, scientists believe that as many as 45 percent of...

Tariffs and inflation and market volatility, oh my!Goldman Sachs raised the probability of a US recession in the next 12 months to 35%, up from 20% at the start of the year. Similarly, JP Morgan raised its recession probability to 40% from 30%.While the Trump tariff tornado has led to...

Key TakeawaysYour genetics can impact your life insurance premiums in both positive and negative ways.Genetic testing can lead to people being denied life insurance or cause them to forgo this coverage.Life insurance companies can’t require you to take a genetic test, but if a doctor has ordered one, it will...

Potent storms moved through the country recently. And as the storm system evolved, common weather misinterpretations or statements appeared in social media or personal discussions. I realizes that it was time to update my list of ten things that confuse the public about weather. Definition of tornado watch and tornado...

Every year about this time, students and their parents find themselves puzzling over why some kids get into Ivy League and highly selective colleges—and others do not. They may wonder what Harvard saw in a student who had the same grades and test scores as another kid who did not...