When you decide to remarry, especially either of you have children, here are some tips to create a solid foundation for your continuing relationship.

Consider a Prenuptial Agreement

When you have your own assets, intending to pass them on to your children, and your new spouse has the same-  a prenuptial agreement can be particularly helpful. Honest and open communication about money and what came before, is an important part of a new relationship so it can be be built on trust and fairness.

(For help here, email me for a copy of “How to Talk to Your Honey about Money”)

If either or both of you have gone through a divorce, you’ll want to avoid that contentious negotiation about dividing assets and protect each other the best you can. Consider what’s in those divorce settlements. Receiving alimony likely will end with remarriage, but the obligation to pay a former spouse does not end. Child support continues, and life insurance beneficiary designations may need to remain in place. Many prenups will state that premarital assets, what you own before this marriage, may go to the children, but assets you acquire during the marriage, are split between you.

States have their own rules, most requiring that a half or a third of marital assets pass to a surviving spouse. It’s important that this is specifically addressed in the agreement, to avoid problems later.

Update Estate Planning Documents

It’s important to do this after divorce whether you remarry or not. All of your legal and financial documents, account titles, and beneficiary designations should be updated.  Who should act as your health care proxy? Who is the beneficiary of your life insurance policy? Etc.

Wills: Do you have a will? A will states your wishes about who gets what when you pass away. You’ll want to make certain that your former spouse is not still your beneficiary! If your children are still minors, who will act as their Guardian?

Your children are the ‘natural objects of your bounty’- a legal concept. But your stepchildren, however close your bond with them is, are not.  If you want to leave something to a stepchild, you need to list it specifically.

Do you have a Living Trust? Review the terms of the Trust and who is acting as Trustee.

If you don’t have a Trust, consider putting one in place.

Trusts can be especially useful for blended families. You can  ensure that your assets benefit your surviving spouse during his/her lifetime, while providing that what remains after the spouse’s death passes to your own kids. Consider choosing an independent, neutral trustee, to minimize friction for everyone.

Check Beneficiary Designations

Review the beneficiary designations on 401(k) accounts, IRA’s and other retirement accounts, life insurance policies, or any account with a directly named beneficiary. These assets pass outside of your will, and must be separately updated. Your prior divorce does not necessarily revoke a designation of an ex-spouse as a beneficiary on everything.  Your prior settlement may give retirement assets to your ex- and these cannot legally be revoked. Spousal rights in retirement plans governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) are subject to special rules and may require your new spouse to sign off if you want your 401(k) to go to your children.

Consider Life Insurance

Life insurance can be a valuable tool to create an inheritance for your new spouse and your children. It’s not uncommon for a pre-existing policy to name your former spouse as beneficiary as part of the settlement, perhaps to secure child support payments. A new Life insurance policy can create the funds to benefit everyone you wish- your kids, your new step-kids, and anyone else.

Family structure is increasingly fluid. As your family structure changes, it is important to make sure that your estate and financial plans reflect your these dynamics. Your financial planner and estate planning attorney can help you take a holistic approach to your future, so you can enjoy the present.

If you need guidance on securing your financial future, contact me at adrienne@adriennegrace.com or schedule your free Financial Clarity session at www.calendly.com/contactAGrace to get started.

1. https://www.nerdwallet.com/blog/average-credit-card-debt-household/

Where do YOU stand in relation to the ‘average U.S. Household’?
Do you have one of these- or are you working under the trifecta of debt- with several or
perhaps all of these weighing you down?

How does this make you feel? Are you confident? Scared? Overwhelmed? Do
you need some help?

A financial plan can help you to structure your financial life, so that you can get a better
handle on your debts- and your goals! and move forward in a positive way to a secure
financial future.

As a Certified Financial Planner (CFP®), I help people manage their financial lives with
ease and confidence, and build toward the goals they want to achieve.
Call me for a free consultation about creating your financial plan.

Avoid the common mistakes most women make about money, especially when they are in crisis- divorce, widowed, etc.  Schedule a free consultation with me at Calendly.com/contactagrace; or call me at 716-817-6425.

Adrienne Rothstein Grace, CFP®, CDFA
Certified Divorce Financial Analyst
1404 Sweet Home Rd, Suite 9 Amherst, NY 14228
716-817-6425/fax 716-313-1754
adrienne@adriennegrace.com
www.TransitioningFinances.com
Member, NYS Council on Divorce Mediation.
Empowering You. Financially.
Securities and Advisory Services offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc., a Registered Investment Advisor and Member FINRA/SIPC. Davis Financial Service and Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. are separate entities.

During this time period, you can ‘true up’ your full contribution for 2018, as well as make your 2019 deposit.

Brace yourself for a lot of numbers —I’m sorry! — but that’s what taxes are all about! If you have questions, or this makes your stomach hurt, just call me and I’ll help explain further (716-817-6425).

The contribution limit for employees who participate in 401(k), 403(b), most 457 plans, and the federal government’s Thrift Savings Plan is increased from $18,500 to $19,000.

The limit on annual contributions to an Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) which last increased in 2013, is increased from $5,500 to $6,000. The additional catch-up contribution limit for individuals aged 50
and over is not subject to an annual cost-of-living adjustment and remains $1,000, for a total of $7,000 for 2019.

If you’re under 50, this means $115.38 per week; if you’re 50+, you can save $134.61 per week for 52 weeks to reach the total.

The income ranges for making deductible contributions to traditional IRAs to contribute to Roth IRAs and to claim the saver’s credit all increased for 2019.

You can deduct contributions to a traditional IRA if you meet certain conditions. If during the year either the taxpayer or their spouse was covered by a retirement plan at work, the deduction may be reduced (phased out), until it is eliminated, depending on filing status ( single, head of household, married filing jointly, and married filing separately) and your income. If neither the taxpayer nor their spouse is covered by a retirement plan at work, the phase-outs of the deduction do not apply, and you can save the full amount.

Call me for the ranges, if you wish, and I’ll pass them along.

If you are negotiating your divorce settlement, please don’t forget to include which filing status you will use for 2018, 2019 and on. It may make a substantial difference in the amount of tax due.

Don’t let this opportunity to save for your future, using either Traditional or Roth IRA options, pass you by. You can gain either tax advantages for your current filing year or enrich your future. Contact me at 716-817-6425 for further information.

Don’t wait too long!

Avoid the common mistakes most women make about money, especially when they are in crisis- divorce, widowed, etc.  Schedule a free consultation with me at Calendly.com/contactagrace; or call me at 716-817-6425.

Your investments. Review your approach to investing and make sure it suits your objectives. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation.

Your retirement planning strategy. Does it seem as practical as it did a few years ago? Are you able to max out contributions to IRAs and workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s? Is it time to make catch-up contributions?

Review any sales of appreciated property and both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Take a look back at last year’s loss carry-forwards. If you’ve sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. Look for any transactions that could potentially enhance your circumstances.

Your charitable gifting goals. Plan contributions to charities or education accounts, and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion is $14,000 per individual for 2015, so you can gift up to $14,000 to as many individuals as you like this year without tax consequences. A married couple can gift up to $28,000 tax-free to as many individuals as they wish.

You can choose to gift appreciated securities to a charity. If you have owned them for more than a year, you can deduct 100% of their fair market value and legally avoid capital gains tax you would normally incur from selling them.

Besides outright gifts, you can plan other financial moves for your family – you can create and fund trusts, for example. The end of a year is a good time to review trusts you have in place.

Your life insurance coverage. Are your policies and beneficiaries up-to-date? Review premium costs, beneficiaries, and any and all life events that may have altered your coverage needs.

Speaking of life events… did you happen to get married or divorced in 2016? Did you move or change jobs? Buy a home or business? Did you lose a family member, or see a severe illness or ailment affect a loved one? Did you reach the point at which Mom or Dad needed assisted living? Was there a new addition to your family? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift?

Lastly, did you reach any of these financially important ages in 2016? If so, act accordingly.

• Did you turn 70½ last year? If so, you must now take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your IRA(s).
• Did you turn 65 last year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Medicare.
• Did you turn 62 last year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Social Security benefits.
• Did you turn 59½ last year? If so, you may take IRA distributions without a 10% penalty.
• Did you turn 55 last year? If so, and you retired during this year, you may now take distributions from your 401(k) account without penalty.
• Did you turn 50 last year? If so, “catch-up” contributions may now be made to IRAs (and certain qualified retirement plans).

The beginning of the year is a key time to review your financial “health” & well-being. If you feel you need to address any of the items above, please feel free to give me a call.

For Sheila, reducing today’s expenses by selling the family home and downsizing to a smaller place makes the most sense financially. Yes, it is yet another change that she and the children will need to absorb. It could mean changing schools and disrupting children’s neighborhood friendships.  In fact, all of the family’s habits and comforts will be disrupted more than it already is. Emotionally, this is a very tough decision. But financially, it is vital to keeping the family on track to their future.  As time goes on, there will be college tuitions to pay, weddings to be hosted, cars to be replaced and emergencies handled.

Clients come to me from all walks of life with the same question – “How can I maintain my lifestyle after my divorce?” For some – they simply cannot. Their marital combined income that may have barely supported just one household, will now be split into two. Where once Sheila had her husband on tap for quick household repairs and maintenance, she will now be hiring outside services. Sheila’s husband’s small business allowed him to be available for child care in the afternoons – now afterschool daycare costs need to be added.  Not only will Sheila have less money to cover expenses – she will also have more expenses.

This is a time of hard decisions.  As the adult in the family you need to be the one to face them- and help everyone, including yourself, move on.  Sometimes this very hard decision is the only one  that will provide a secure future for all of you.

If you have not planned your estate yet, take inventory. Spend a half-hour and jot down the assets you own, major and minor. Who should own these assets after you die? Your spouse should do this, too – and you should talk about your preferences. It may not turn out to be the easiest conversation, but agreement now may preclude family squabbles and legal challenges down the line. (If you have a prenuptial agreement in place, you may have already discussed some of these matters.) You should also consider two scenarios – what happens if you die first, and what happens if your spouse dies before you do.

If you and/or your spouse have children from prior marriages, there may be some dilemmas for each of you. If you die, there is a real possibility that your current husband or wife will not elect to provide for your children from past marriages. So what might you do to prepare for that possibility? You might make a child the primary beneficiary of a life insurance policy, or set up a trust for your kid(s), or place certain real property under joint ownership with a child.

If you have already written a will, it will probably need revisions. They could be considerable. You want to be extremely specific about which heir gets what; you need to state bequests convincingly, because the more convincing your bequest, the less ambiguity.

How up-to-date are your beneficiary designations? Out-of-date beneficiary decisions are an Achilles heel of estate planning. Be sure to review them; you may want to revise beneficiary forms for retirement plans, investment accounts, and insurance policies.

As you consider these revisions, pay particular attention if you have been divorced. Divorce may actually preclude you from changing beneficiaries in certain cases. Turn to a lawyer and show the lawyer a copy of your divorcee decree; ask if revising your beneficiary designations will violate it. Should you be unable to make beneficiary changes to your life insurance policy, you may want to buy another one in consideration of your new spouse.

Take a look at irrevocable trusts. They can be used to provide for your spouse as well as your kids. Some people establish a separate property trust to provide for their spouse after their death while directing most or all of their real property to their children.

Those aforementioned pre-nups can play an estate planning role as well. They allow you to designate personal assets (such as assets within a college savings account) for existing rather than future children. Post-nuptial agreements (similar to pre-nups, but drafted after a marriage) can also accomplish this. Some states do not view pre-nup and post-nup agreements as legally valid, however – and sometimes carrying out the terms and conditions of these agreements is up to a judge.

Be sure to consult legal & financial professionals. When estates become this complex, collaboration with professionals having a thorough understanding of estate planning and tax issues is essential.

Insurance

1. Apply for COBRA or other health insurance, if necessary
2. Change your insurance: auto and homeowner’s/renters from a joint policy to one for you, even if your address stays the same.
3. Draft and execute a new will, trust, power of attorney, living will and health care proxy.
4. Change the beneficiaries on your life insurance, 401k, pension and IRA (Roth and Traditional), 529 plans and any other accounts which have a beneficiary designation.
5. If purchase or maintenance of life insurance policies is mandated, follow up to ensure that it has been completed. Ask for proof, and set up an annual compliance procedure to be sure that policies stay in force with appropriate beneficiary designations

Assets:

6. Divide your assets- and debts- as agreed in the decree. You may need a financial advisor (CDFA) to help with this.
7. Change the locks and access codes and passwords on all secured items: real estate, vehicles, boats, safety deposit boxes, post office boxes, email, bank accounts, etc.
8. Remove your name, or your ex’s name from any joint accounts or mortgages. If the divorce decree requires a quitclaim or warranty deed, follow up until it is executed and recorded.  Your attorney may assist with the deed.  If refinancing is required, start the process as soon as possible.
9. Meet with a financial advisor (Certified Financial Planner, or Certified Divorce Financial Analyst) to put together a financial plan for your new future. If you had an advisor during your marriage, consider working with someone new, to avoid potential conflicts of interest.  Review investments received as a part of the settlement to determine if they are appropriate for your new circumstances.  Reallocate as needed, especially regarding Steps 16, 17, below.
10. If transfers of investment, retirement and savings accounts are included in your divorce settlement (IRA, Roth IRA, other accounts), follow up until the transfers are made into your own accounts. Your financial advisor can be very helpful in tracking this.
11. If a Qualified Domestic Relations Order (ODRO) is required to divide 401k, 403b, pensions, other retirement accounts, contact your attorney, or a QDRO specialist to have the order drafted and sent to the appropriate place(s). Follow up, or have your financial advisor help you follow up until the orders have been fulfilled and retirement funds have been transferred to your name.
12. Hire a new CPA or tax preparer to help with your tax return. Review and adjust your withholding allowances to reflect your new filing status, income level, payment or receipt of maintenance, etc.
13. If you or your spouse is age 70 or over, recalculate your Required Minimum Distribution.

Budgeting, Banking and Credit

14. Review your income and expenses. Update or create your budget to live within your means, or determine how much additional income you need and what you need to do to earn it.

1. Open a checking and savings account in your own name, if you don’t already have one.
2. Establish a credit card in your own name, if you don’t already have one.  Use it wisely!
3. Set up direct deposit or automatic transfer for payment or receipt of child support and maintenance.

Congratulations!  Your transition is underway.  You are several steps farther along your path to empowering yourself, financially.

We may retire earlier than we think we will. Some of us envision leaving the workforce at “full” retirement age (66 or 67) so that we can receive “full” monthly Social Security benefits rather than slightly reduced monthly payments. Will that happen? It might not, according to data released this spring by the respected Employee Benefit Research Institute.

In EBRI’s most recent Retirement Confidence Survey, 21% of the respondents thought they would retire at age 65. Another 26% expected to retire at age 70 or later.

These expectations may not correspond with reality. In surveying current retirees, EBRI found that only 6% had worked into their seventies. Only 9% had retired at age 65. Sixty-five percent of the respondents had left work before age 65, up from 61% in EBRI’s 2010 survey.

We may see retirement as an extension of the present rather than the future. This is only natural, as we live in the present – but the present will not go on forever. Things change, and the costs we have to shoulder five or ten years from now may be greater than the expenses we face at the start of retirement. As many of us will likely be retired for 20 or 30 years, it becomes essential to take a long-term view of the retirement experience – which is why retirees may want to consider growth investing and long term care coverage.

Beyond that basic question, we need to think about insurance from a couple of other angles. Will we need long term care coverage? It seems to get more expensive each year, but as medicine and health care continue to advance and evolve, the possibility of a gradual rather than sudden death may increase. The wealthy may have the assets to contend with long term care costs, but the middle class rarely does. In Genworth’s 2015 Cost of Care Survey, the median annual cost for a semi-private room in a nursing home is $80,300. In California, it is $89,396; in Florida, $87,600.

Disability insurance and long term care coverage may prove more essential to retirement planning than many of us realize.

Age may catch up to us sooner rather than later. Generationally speaking, are we healthier than our parents and grandparents were? Anecdotally, it would seem so: we see people running 10Ks in their eighties, climbing mountains in their seventies, and so forth. Then again, we have diabetes and obesity plaguing American health.

We may be alone sooner than we assume. Many couples retire with a reasonable assumption that they will be together for some time – but something may happen to leave one spouse alone. As anyone who has ever lived alone realizes, a single person does not simply live on 50% of the income of a couple. Keeping up a house – or even a condo – could be arduous for an eighty-year-old man or woman. Driving is a concern. All this means that we may need someone or some group of people to care for us when our spouse is gone. Is that kind of support currently available? Could it be available twenty years from now? If not, what will take its place?

These are some of the blindspots that can surprise us in retirement. They may quickly affect our money and our quality of life. If we age with an awareness of them and recognize them in our retirement and estate planning, then we may be betterprepared when or if they emerge.

One way to look at your Risk Tolerance is your emotional and financial capacity to ride out the ups and downs of the investment market without panicking when the value of investments goes down.

Where do you fit? See if one of these “Financial Personalities” matches you:

• Are you a Relationship Rosa? Rosa has a high risk tolerance, but is not very involved in her financial planning. She focuses on her family and loves talking about the adventures of her life. If you are a “Relationship Rosa,” you trust fully the decisions being made on your behalf. When it comes to financial matters, Rosa is easily influenced by others in her life. She therefore needs to align herself with financially astute advisors and family that she trusts.
• How about a Powerbroker Pam? Pam has a very high risk tolerance but is willing to back it up with a very high involvement level. She wants to be in control and take charge. She is very direct, and is very knowledgeable about financial planning and finances in general. Pam is not likely to be easily influenced by those around her – and is more than willing to do her homework to make the right decisions.
• Or does a Traditional Tess describe you better? Traditional Tess has the lowest risk tolerance level and also has the least interest in being involved in the financial planning process. Tess has a high fear of change. Tess wants to trust those around her but will do so only after they have proven themselves to be in her corner.
• And then there is a Deliberate Dee. Deliberate Dee is on the low end of the risk tolerance spectrum but does want to be highly involved in her financial planning. Dee is already somewhat knowledgeable but will also continue to research and learn. Dee needs to feel safe in who she aligns with and when she is – is willing to take on some risk.

Understanding your financial persona will give you great insight into what types of investment strategies to employ in setting yourself on the path of financial freedom.

Your investments. Review your approach to investing and make sure it suits your objectives. Look over your portfolio positions and revisit your asset allocation.

Your retirement planning strategy. Does it seem as practical as it did a few years ago? Are you able to max out contributions to IRAs and workplace retirement plans like 401(k)s? Is it time to make catch-up contributions?

Review any sales of appreciated property and both realized and unrealized losses and gains. Take a look back at last year’s loss carry-forwards. If you’ve sold securities, gather up cost-basis information. Look for any transactions that could potentially enhance your circumstances.

Your charitable gifting goals. Plan contributions to charities or education accounts, and make any desired cash gifts to family members. The annual federal gift tax exclusion is $14,000 per individual for 2015, so you can gift up to $14,000 to as many individuals as you like this year without tax consequences. A married couple can gift up to $28,000 tax-free to as many individuals as they wish.

You can choose to gift appreciated securities to a charity. If you have owned them for more than a year, you can deduct 100% of their fair market value and legally avoid capital gains tax you would normally incur from selling them.

Besides outright gifts, you can plan other financial moves for your family – you can create and fund trusts, for example. The end of a year is a good time to review trusts you have in place.

Your life insurance coverage. Are your policies and beneficiaries up-to-date? Review premium costs, beneficiaries, and any and all life events that may have altered your coverage needs.

Speaking of life events… did you happen to get married or divorced in 2015? Did you move or change jobs? Buy a home or business? Did you lose a family member, or see a severe illness or ailment affect a loved one? Did you reach the point at which Mom or Dad needed assisted living? Was there a new addition to your family? Did you receive an inheritance or a gift?

Lastly, did you reach any of these financially important ages in 2015? If so, act accordingly.

• Did you turn 70½ this year? If so, you must now take Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs) from your IRA(s).
• Did you turn 65 this year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Medicare.
• Did you turn 62 this year? If so, you’re now eligible to apply for Social Security benefits.
• Did you turn 59½ this year? If so, you may take IRA distributions without a 10% penalty.
• Did you turn 55 this year? If so, and you retired during this year, you may now take distributions from your 401(k) account without penalty.
• Did you turn 50 this year? If so, “catch-up” contributions may now be made to IRAs (and certain qualified retirement plans).1,5

The end of the year is a key time to review your financial “health” & well-being. If you feel you need to address any of the items above, please feel free to give me a call.