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The Dumbest Investment Move
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Should I Pay My Taxes With Plastic?
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PLAYLiving to 100? That Will Be $3.5 Million
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Keeping Prying Eyes Off Your Phone
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Retire Here, Not There: Mississippi
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PLAYTithes That Can Bind
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5 Ways to Avoid an IRS Audit
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Why Apple Shares May Disappoint
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Estate Tax Calculator
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How to Write a Will
There's no better time to start than today.
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How to Rollover a 401(k)
To get a clearer picture of your money, consolidating old workplace accounts to an IRA or your next employer plan makes a lot of sense.
Gimme Tax Shelter; With talk of tax hikes in the air -- and pressure on the U.S. to pay off its debt -- many advisers say now's the time to prepare.
SmartMoney.comIt has been said that nothing is certain but death and taxes. How much those taxes will be, ironically, is among the biggest uncertainties there are these days. Indeed, with the Bush-era tax cuts and higher exemption limits for the estate ...
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This Adviser Enjoys Friends in High Places
WSJ.comSometime around 2006, when Facebook Inc. was little more than a collection of T-shirt-clad 20-somethings in a sparsely populated office, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. private-client adviser Divesh Makan showed up to add a dash of formality.
Retire Here, Not There: South Carolina; Scores of retirees have discovered Hilton Head Island. Here are four less expensive options.
SmartMoney.comFor the more than 36 million Americans who will turn 65 in the coming decade, the best cities and towns to retire in now have a much higher bar to clear: They can't just be great places -- they have to be affordable. Each week, ...
Check Your Life Insurance; We reveal some secrets of the American Dream.
SmartMoney.comMost people don't realize it, but unless you plan carefully, there's a chance the federal government will end up as a major beneficiary of your life insurance policy. While it is true that life insurance death benefits are paid ...
Estate Planning Update for Singles; Here's what unmarried individuals need to know about recent tax changes.
SmartMoney.comThe 2010 tax cut extension package made beneficial changes to the federal estate and gift tax rules for 2012. That's good news, but your estate plan may need an update to take advantage of the benefits. Here's what unmarried individuals ...
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Federal Wealth Tax Would Certainly Change the Game
WSJ.comProf. Ronald McKinnon's suggestion ("The Conservative Case for a Wealth Tax," op-ed, Jan. 9) that a modest wealth tax can be a conservative policy tool is mistaken. Governments use new tools of taxation to grow spending, the reason ...
Good Will Hunting; Wills aren't just vehicles for the wealthy or the morbid. If you've got a family and a home, you should definitely have one.
SmartMoney.comIf you're a long-time reader of SmartMoney.com, chances are you've spent plenty of your free time thinking about the money you'll have available at retirement. But what have you done to plan out your estate? The sad truth is that most of us ...
Closing Down the Estate; Being named the executor of someone's will is tricky tax business.
SmartMoney.comWhen a loved one dies, somebody must step up to the plate to handle all the resulting tax issues. This person may be identified in the decedent's will as executor of the estate. If there isn't a will, however, the probate court will appoint ...
Estate Tax Tips for Married Couples; The generous $5.12 million exemption for individuals who pass away in 2012 has thrown some new twists into estate-tax planning for married couples.
SmartMoney.comThanks to the generous $5.12 million exemption for individuals who pass away in 2012, the assets of relatively few people in the United States will be exposed to the federal estate tax over the next few years. To see if you and/or your ...
When to File Gift Tax Forms; Steps to take if you think gifts, payments or transfers to family members may run afoul of federal gift tax rules.
SmartMoney.comGenerally speaking you only need to file a gift tax form when you exceed the annual $13,000 tax-free gift limit. But it's also prudent to send in that Form 709 every time you make a transaction with a family member over $13,000 - even if it ...
Start Giving It Away Early; Should you start giving it away early? It can be a wise estate-planning move to bequeath your IRA to charity and other assets to loved ones.
SmartMoney.comThere are three basic things to remember when getting started with estate planning: The Estate-Tax Exemption For 2011 and 2012 you can leave bequests (gifts to other individuals upon your death) worth up to $5 million free of any federal ...
Can These People Teach Financial Planning? Why classroom experience may not pay off on Wall Street.
SmartMoney.comIt's a scene that has the nervous-perspiration intensity of a training session at a cutthroat brokerage. Attorney Mitzi Lauderdale is drilling her charges on the aspects of estate planning, peppering them with questions: How do you ...
Passing Your Home to Heirs; There are nearly half a dozen ways to give a home to your child. And a couple are tax-free. Here's a rundown of your options.
SmartMoney.comBefore the days of estate taxes, children simply moved into the family home and took over the master bedroom after their parents died. Unfortunately, it's not that easy anymore.
Why Most People Need an Estate Plan; If you have some assets (maybe just a car and some nice furniture) or minor children, you still need an estate plan--even if taxes are not an issue.
SmartMoney.comThanks to the $5.12 million federal estate tax exemption for those who die in 2012, most folks are not exposed to the federal estate tax right now. However, if you have some assets (maybe just a car and some nice furniture) or minor ...
Estate Planning With a Roth IRA; Congress probably didn't plan it this way, but it's one of the best estate-planning tools around.
SmartMoney.comWhen it comes to saving for retirement, many investors already know how well the Roth IRA fends off Uncle Sam. But what they may not realize is that it's equally effective as an estate-planning tool. Seniors who convert a regular IRA into a ...
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Romney's Unorthodox IRA
WSJ.comLike many Americans, Mitt Romney has an individual retirement account. Unlike most Americans, Mr. Romney has between $20.7 million and $101.6 million in it, a big chunk of his fortune.
The Grandparent Tax; Here's how to avoid the bite of the rapacious generation-skipping transfer tax before it takes a bite out of your grandchild's gift.
SmartMoney.comLeaving lots of money to grandchildren, and skipping the generation in between, used to be a nifty way to beat estate taxes. That way, the money was subject to estate tax just once, when the grandparent left it to the grandchild. Otherwise, ...
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The Tax Mess Deepens
WSJ.comEpic failure in Washington is causing epic uncertainty for taxpayers. This week, Congress's special 12-member deficit-cutting committee failed to agree on even a broad outline for addressing the U.S.'s fiscal woes. It marked the third year ...
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By Kelly Greene; Who Gets the Vacation Home?
WSJ.comIs there a way to hand off a vacation home to the next generation so that everyone still wants to spend time together there? Tensions often mount when a family figures out what to do with a property that could be a lightning rod for sibling ...
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Beat the Clock, Win Some Tax Breaks
Barrons.comWealthy taxpayers have had a heck of a run over the past 10 years. Tax cuts under President George W. Bush dropped the top income tax rate from 39.6% to 35%, and the long-term capital- gains tax rate from 20% to 15%. Dividends, which had ...
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Holding Back the Inheritance
Barrons.comFor children of the rich, the gravy train is starting to take a little longer to reach the station. A growing number of parents are shunning the time-honored practice of handing big inheritances to their children when they turn 21. Instead, ...
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Heiring Grievances; Leaving your kids different amounts of money could make perfect sense. But it also could have unintended consequences.
WSJ.comIf you're a parent with multiple heirs, here is a bit of advice from estate-planning professionals: Before making any decisions about who gets what, think carefully about the emotional legacy you want to leave behind.
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Taking Care of Disabled Heirs; When Loved Ones Need Help, Estate Planning Can be Tricky
WSJ.comDeciding how to leave your assets to your kids is tricky enough. If your adult child has a chronic disability, the task is much more complicated.
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Survivors' Biggest Mistakes; Widows and Widowers Often Lose Money Needlessly; the IRA Rollover Penalty
WSJ.comA larger share of people's savings is winding up in IRAs—even as estate-tax rules are getting trickier and the markets are growing more volatile.
Low Interest Rates Can Be a Boon to Taxpayers; Why low rates can cut your tax bill.
SmartMoney.comHere is one surprise benefit of low interest rates: They can help reduce taxes. Every month, the Internal Revenue Service resets the interest rates it allows for private loans and various estate-planning transactions carried out that month. ...
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Financing Your Future; Taking Charge of Your Assets; Estate planning today calls for an early start, knowledge of your state's laws—and lots of flexibility
WSJ.comMany of the emails we receive from readers touch upon estate planning, a source of confusion and concern. With that in mind, we recently spoke with Rachel Emma Silverman, an editor and reporter at The Wall Street Journal and author of a new ...
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Book Excerpt; Need to Know: Life Insurance 101
WSJ.comLife insurance is one of those financial products that can give people the heebie-jeebies. It can sound confusing and complicated, and it involves thinking about a very scary proposition: death.
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Goodbye, Family Fortune
Barrons.comThe Top Wealth Management Firms After his mother died, John Mecom Jr. was supposed to make sure her money was preserved for his four children.
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Estate Executors: An Honor...and a Pain
WSJ.comBeing asked by friends or family to be executor of an estate is a big honor, but the warm feelings can vanish once the job starts. A long list of tasks comes with the chore of handling an estate after someone dies. There can be legal ...
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The GOP Candidates Square Off on Taxes; The proposals range from modest to bold. All include lower rates, which will stimulate growth.
WSJ.comThe 2012 election is shaping up as a historic confrontation over the proper size and scope of government spending, taxes, deficits and debt. After three years of the Obama presidency, the Republican presidential candidates are offering ...
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IRS Clarifies Estate Rules
WSJ.comThe Internal Revenue Service last week clarified a provision of the estate tax affecting people who die in 2011 and 2012. The good news: The paperwork process is now clearer for surviving spouses. But the new rules could pose problems for ...
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Crummey Trusts Still Smart, Say Advisers
WSJ.comThere's nothing crummy about a Crummey trust—even in a period of higher exemptions for estate and gift taxes. The trusts, which got their name from a Methodist minister who won a fight with the Internal Revenue Service in the 1960s, are ...
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How the Death Tax Hurts the Poor; It encourages the rich to pick extra fruit, leaving the trees a little barer for the rest of us.
WSJ.comI'm sure there's a lot to be said for rich people, but they sure do consume a lot of resources. I wish they'd leave more for the rest of us. That's why I oppose the death tax.
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Wills: How to Give One Child Less
WSJ.comIt is one of the toughest questions parents face when drawing up a will: Should they leave an equal share to each child? No two members of a family are exactly alike—and parents may well take that into account when drawing up an estate plan. ...
Tax Tips for Harvey Golub (and Other Millionaires); The former CEO says he is paying more than 80% in taxes. We can fix that, writes Brett Arends.
SmartMoney.comHey, Harvey Golub -- I'm sorry to hear about your tax problems! In a rebuttal to Warren Buffett's call for higher taxes on the super-rich, you wrote in Monday's Wall Street Journal: "Of my current income this year, I ...
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The Quest for the Right Bequest
WSJ.comMany people want to use part of their estate to help charities they believe in—leaving a legacy of helping out the less fortunate, nurturing the arts or supporting other important causes.
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Gained in Translation
Barrons.comHere's to you, Mrs. Gallenstein, for showing that neither the tax code by itself, nor the code with the official regulations and other pronouncements of the IRS, are always reliable guides to tax obligations.
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When Estate Plans Fail; Many People Overlook Arcane Issues, from Pets to the Unborn
WSJ.comIn the rush to button down an estate plan, people often spend most of their time focusing on the big questions and overlook small—but increasingly crucial—details.
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The Five Biggest Ways To Bungle a Trust
Barrons.comTrust and estate planning often comes down to three questions: Who gets what? How do you minimize taxes? And, once a trust has been set up, who is in control? Unfortunately, it's easy for a family to bungle any one of the three. ...
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California Court Gives 'Rogue' Wills More Validity
WSJ.comCutting somebody out of a will may just have gotten a little easier. (Or, depending on where you stand, contesting a will may just have gotten a little harder.)
The New Rules of Estate Planning; Best moves for getting your estate in order, after the Tax Relief Act of 2010.
SmartMoney.comYou have to hand it to Congress: It's doing its best to turn one of the more wearying parts of retirement planning -- getting your estate in order -- into something of a party. The challenge for you and me is to stay clearheaded.
How to Write a Will
SmartMoney.comToday is always the best time to compose your Last Will & Testament, because, well, you know what they say about tomorrow. According to a December 2010 survey from FindLaw.com, roughly 55% of Americans don't have a will, which ...
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Dynasty Trusts Make the Money Last Forever
Barrons.comThe idea of bequeathing a huge pot of money to multiple generations of your family has long been controversial. Warren Buffett, the world's third-richest man, has derided it as "the enemy of a meritocracy." But this approach ...
Downsizing Boomers Looking to Sell Their Stuff; Unloading their possessions is proving harder than they thought.
SmartMoney.comIt's 8:55 a.m. on a crisp Thursday morning in the exclusive New Jersey suburb of Bernards Township, and at 34 Emily Rd., more than 60 people are lined up impatiently outside the front door. Inside, owners Mark and Mary Tuller, who were ...
Can Same-Sex Couples Finally File Jointly?
SmartMoney.comLast month, the Obama Administration announced it would no longer fight constitutional challenges to the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) by same-sex couples who are legally married under state law.
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A Tough Call for Heirs
WSJ.comFor all the hoopla surrounding December's estate-tax overhaul, heirs and executors of people who died in 2010 are still struggling to make sense of the changes.
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Unholy Matrimony: How to Fight Back
WSJ.comIt is difficult enough to entrust an elderly parent's care to someone you hire. But what do you do when that worker secretly marries their charge—and claims a chunk of your inheritance?
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Would Your Estate Pay a Death Tax, Given a Choice?
WSJ.comDale Butland clearly does not appreciate the irony of his statement that the Ohio House Speaker "chose to eliminate a tax on the top 2% and require the bottom 98% to pay for it" ( Letters, July 12 ). The "it" he refers ...
How to Choose a Beneficiary
SmartMoney.comChoosing a beneficiary is the cleanest and clearest way of leaving someone money after you're gone. But the process also requires consideration of both the amount of money at stake and the beneficiary's ability to handle a ...
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How Volatility Eases Estate Planning
WSJ.comMarket volatility may be tough on the nerves, but it could be a boon for wealthy families looking to shelter assets from taxes while helping their children.
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Does Your Trust Need a Tune-Up?
WSJ.comFamilies can now shelter a far greater amount of their assets from estate and gift taxes. But they may need to revisit their estate plans. The tax law that Congress enacted in December upped the amount individuals can leave their heirs, or ...
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Amazon's Sales Tax Jungle Receives Little Sympathy
WSJ.comAs a staunch economic conservative and owner of a small Arizona online retail company, I find it unconscionable that Amazon continues to cling to a Supreme Court ruling, which was put into place during the earliest days of e-commerce, in ...
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Consider Keeping Life Insurance
WSJ.comChanges in estate taxes have prompted some families to consider dropping their life insurance. But for many, there are better options than allowing coverage to lapse.
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Paying Grandkids' College Bill
WSJ.comRecent tax-law changes are making it easier for families to help pay education bills for multiple grandchildren and even future generations. But grandparents have to make some tough decisions first.
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The Federal Estate Tax
WSJ.comQ: There was no federal estate tax in 2010. But in certain cases, when someone died in 2010, Internal Revenue Service Form 8939 was supposed to be filed on behalf of that person by the same date as the decedent's income-tax return ...
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Dynasty Trusts Under Attack
WSJ.comIt's official: A type of trust used by the wealthy to shelter assets from estate taxes for hundreds of years, or even forever, is under fire.
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Ohio Shows the Way on Death Tax Repeal; A 2008 study by the Connecticut Department of Revenue Services named the estate tax the primary reason wealthy residents left.
WSJ.comOhio Gov. John Kasich made good on a major campaign promise Thursday, killing the state's estate tax in the process of enacting the 2012-13 budget. He also managed to kill off an $8 billion deficit without raising taxes—a model for ...
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The 25 Documents You Need Before You Die
WSJ.comIt isn't enough simply to sign a bunch of papers establishing an estate plan and other end-of-life instructions. You also have to make your heirs aware of them and leave the documents where they can find them.
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Headaches for Same-Sex Couples
WSJ.comSame-sex couples can get married in five states and the District of Columbia—and in New York starting July 25. But the happily-ever-after part doesn't necessarily extend to their personal finances.
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Power Grab! Signing Over Power of Attorney to a Loved One Has Never Been Trickier. Here's What You Need to Know.
WSJ.comA time-tested method to protect assets as people age is starting to blow up on baby boomers. The "power of attorney," a legal arrangement that helps older people turn over management of their finances or other business matters to ...
Estate Tax Tips for Singles
SmartMoney.comThanks to the generous $5 million exemption for individuals who pass away in 2011 or 2012, the assets of relatively few people in the United States will be exposed to the federal estate tax over the next few years. To see if your estate (or ...
Make This Estate Planning Move Now; Failure to take this action can have dire consequences.
SmartMoney.comWith the current $5 million federal estate tax exemption, you may not be thinking much about estate planning. After all, there's no way your estate would owe the tax if you happen to die between now and 2013. So no worries, right? ...
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Insurance-Policy Bingo
Barrons.comWe were discussing the estate tax. My commuting friend, Henry, told me he had taken out a "second-to-die" life-insurance policy to help his children cover the taxes when he and his wife were both gone. This column was inspired ...
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The Sad Death of Ohio's Death Tax
WSJ.comOhio House Speaker Bill Batchelder and his co-authors Jack Boyle and Dick Patten omit a few important facts in " Ohio Shows the Way on Death Tax Repeal " (Cross Country, July 2), like how their primary rationale for repeal was ...
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How to Keep the Kids
Barrons.comMost financial advisors hope to build strong, trusting relationships with their clients over many years. Yet most fail to address the single most important thing to their clients: family.
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Beware the Beneficiary Form; Naming the wrong people or failing to update documents can create a mess for your heirs
WSJ.comThink your estate planning is done once you've gone to the trouble of making a will? Think again. All your hard work can be undone with a stroke of a pen when you open a bank, brokerage or retirement account.
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FINANCING YOUR FUTURE; Social Security Benefits for Kids; Weighing the 'family max,' disclaiming an inheritance, and taxes and remarriage
WSJ.comI am 61½ with children ages 10 and 9. I will continue to work full time until 70½ and had not planned to file for Social Security until then. Now I understand that the children can receive benefits until age 18 when I become eligible in six ...
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Real Estate Tax Rules
WSJ.comQ: My husband and I have owned a beautiful lakefront property in northern Wisconsin for over 17 years. It has no building on it. We would like to sell this property but have heard there are some stiff tax consequences: 30% on the increase ...
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The IRS Political Contribution Grab
WSJ.comAside from creating full employment for all CPAs, the Internal Revenue Service's latest initiative of applying "gift" tax regulations to donors of 501(c)(4) organizations is another example of an out-of-control government on ...
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A Matter of Trust: Giving Away a Home
WSJ.comDepressed real-estate values and changes in tax rules make this a good time for older homeowners to transfer property to their children using a specialized trust designed to save on gift and estate taxes.
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PINs That Needle Families
WSJ.comTaking 15 minutes now to jot down your online passwords could save your family hours of frustration after you are gone. As we all know, large chunks of our lives, both financial and personal, are lived online—bank statements, stock trades ...
10 Things Your Parents Won't Tell You; Good news: Mom and Dad are loaded. Bad news: They love your brother best.
SmartMoney.com1) "We're rich." Andrew and Warren K. Johnson knew their dad Warren W. collected coins, but it wasn't until after he passed away in April that they discovered the full scope of his hobby. Stored away in boxes on shelves ...
How to Avoid Taxes on Life and Disability Insurance; With some advance planning, you and your heirs can be better off.
SmartMoney.comHaving enough life and disability insurance should be a key element of your personal financial game plan. Hopefully, with some advance planning, you can collect life and disability insurance proceeds free of taxes. Here's how.
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Changes to Real Estate Tax Provisions
WSJ.comQ: Last year, I chose the standard deduction (for my federal income-tax return for 2009) because I could also add $500 as a partial credit for local real-estate taxes. I did it via Schedule L. But this year's Schedule L doesn't ...
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How Does Confiscation Encourage Wealth Creation?
WSJ.comRobert Rubin and Julian Robertson's "Bring Back the Estate Tax Now" (op-ed, Sept. 1) is similar to the view of many that our incomes belong to government and we are fortunate to be allowed to keep some of the fruits of our ...
Estate Taxes: The Worst Places to Die
SmartMoney.comWith the new $5 million federal estate tax exemption for 2011 and 2012, most folks are blissfully free of any federal estate tax worries (for now). That's the good news. The bad news: Twenty states and the District of Columbia impose ...
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Tax Wars; Washington Is Bracing for a Historic Battle Over U.S. Tax Law. Here's What You Should Do Now
WSJ.com(Please see Corrections and Amplifications below.) Not since the Great Depression has Congress had so much tax work to do in so little time. From the income tax to the estate tax, from the alternative minimum tax to levies on capital gains ...
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Family Businesses Catch a Big Break
WSJ.comIt is the gift tax that keeps on giving. Families now have the chance to pass a substantial stake in their businesses to the next generation—even before handing over the reins. But transferring ownership can raise complicated succession and ...
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What Will Happen to the Federal Estate Tax?
WSJ.comQ: In reading about what will happen to the Bush tax cuts in 2011, the federal estate tax is never mentioned, in my experience. Why so, and what should we expect?
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The $5 Million Tax Break; Congress has set sweet new terms for the gift tax, and families are tearing up their estate plans to take advantage. Here's what you need to know.
WSJ.comLargely lost amid all the political drama surrounding December's historic tax legislation was a sweet deal for families. For the next two years, the gift-tax exemption jumps to $5 million from $1 million for individuals and to $10 ...
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GGP, Howard Hughes Heirs Settle Las Vegas Payment
WSJ.comBankrupt shopping-mall owner General Growth Properties Inc. has agreed to pay the heirs of Howard Hughes $230 million for their remaining interest in a massive Las Vegas residential development called Summerlin, the final asset of the ...
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Will I Have to Sell Mom's House to Settle Debts?
WSJ.comQ. My mother died recently and I am her only heir. She didn't have very much money—barely enough to pay for the funeral—but she did have a modest house that was paid up. Given the poor real estate market, I don't want to sell it ...
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The Future of the Estate-Tax Law
WSJ.comQ: What is your gut feeling on what is going to happen to the estate-tax law for 2011? S.M., Yorba Linda, Calif. A: The murky outlook for the estate tax has grown even more murky lately.
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Bad U.S. Tax Policy Gives Nowhere to Hide
WSJ.comRegarding your editorial "Death Tax Ambush" (Feb. 8): The good news is that there are 50 states with different tax policies, and we have the freedom to move between states to avoid bad state tax policies. The bad news is that ...
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'Consumers Are Paralyzed' Over Tax Doubt
WSJ.comCongress halted plans to pass a major tax bill before the November elections, leaving taxpayers and financial advisers unsure of how to plan for the future.
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Death Tax Ambush; Many states now have crushing burdens.
WSJ.comHere's some free financial advice: Don't die in New Jersey any time soon. If you have more than $675,000 to your name and you die in the Garden State, about 54% may go to the IRS and the tax collectors in Trenton.
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Estate Taxes: How to Beat The Levy That Won't Die
WSJ.comAn elderly client recently asked Bruce Bettigole, an attorney with Gilmore, Rees & Carlson in Wellesley Hills, Mass., whether her children would inherit her considerable estate if she committed suicide this year.
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Why Your Adviser Should Make House Calls
WSJ.comEstate planning often takes place in the office of a lawyer or adviser, but those professionals can gain a big advantage when they make house calls.
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As Tax Cuts' Expiration Date Nears, Little Consensus
WSJ.com(Please see Corrections and Amplifications below.) WASHINGTON—President Barack Obama wants to extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class only. Many House Democrats want to extend them for that group, too, but perhaps only for a year ...
Negotiating Estate Tax Gridlock
SmartMoney.comWith its attention focused intensely on health care and financial reform, Congress failed last year to renew the estate tax, which taxed multimillion-dollar estates and expired at the end of 2009.
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Congress and Estate-Tax Revisions
WSJ.comQ: Who in Congress are the key leadership players on revising the estate tax? Is this a separate issue or part of overall tax reform? Is it possible they will deal with this prior to their August recess?
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No Escaping the Taxman; There is no common market for inheritance tax. Every European country has its own complicated rules.
WSJ.comThere is never a convenient time for death, taxes and childbirth, to paraphrase Scarlett O'Hara in Gone with the Wind. Except, that is, for the taxman as all three come neatly together under the heading "inheritance."
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The Certainty of Debt and Taxes
Barrons.comIT IS AGAIN TIME TO RENDER unto Caesar. As onerous as this April 15 may be to Americans -- at least the half of households that pay taxes -- they may be cheered by the realization that it will only be more painful starting next year.
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Reviving the Federal Estate Tax
WSJ.comQ: In 2010, there is no federal estate tax. Do you think Congress will act before the end of this year on the estate tax? If Congress does act, what do you think will happen?
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Beyond Estate Planning: Bankers Tackle Elder Care
WSJ.comIf you are looking for help caring for an older family member, you might try giving your banker a call. That might not seem like an obvious move. But private banks and trust companies say that they increasingly are helping older clients—or ...
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Congress Punts on Taxes; Democrats Put Off Showdown on Bush Cuts Until After November Election
WSJ.comWASHINGTON—Democrats abandoned plans to vote before Election Day on extending Bush-era tax cuts for the middle class while eliminating them for better-off Americans, spooked by protests from vulnerable incumbents and bleak prospects for ...
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Taxing Year Brings a Less-Taxing Year; Lawmakers Acted to Extend Cuts, Give New Breaks as 2010 Came to a Close; the Certainty Will Prove Fleeting
WSJ.comIn the normally staid world of taxes, 2010 was downright tumultuous. Never was so much done to so many by so few—and for such a short time. Lawmakers in December finally settled questions on income, capital-gains and other taxes that had ...
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Don't Kick the People Who Create Our Jobs
WSJ.comTime and again it is said that "Liberal Democrats believe higher earners have benefited the most from the economy's growth in the last 20 years" ("Estate-Tax Passage Is Likely," U.S. News, Dec. 9).
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Estate Planning: It's an Art, Not a Science
WSJ.comWhen someone dies, heirs can be surprised to learn what the estate holds for them. They aren't alone, either: Estates are often shrouded in some mystery even for the people who plan and manage them.
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Estate-Tax Rises Again as Issue on Trail
WSJ.comA move to end the estate-tax is luring new adherents in the 2010 midterm campaign, turning permanent repeal into a negotiating stance for future congressional wrangling over taxes.
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How to Invest for Retirement
Investing for retirement is more complicated than opening an IRA or maxing out your 401(k)
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How to Catch Up on Retirement Savings
Cut spending to make catch-up contributions and more.
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How to Cash Out in Retirement
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You May Never Wait on Hold Again
Kadet: New apps offer to wait on hold for callers -- and the end of phone rage may be near.
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The Cost of Living Longer -- Much Longer
SmartMoney Magazine: Number crunchers are dead set on figuring out how long you will live. For those saving for retirement, it's the $27 trillion question.
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![[sm0312tenthings]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PF-AB997_sm0312_C_20120209144120.jpg)
10 Things Baristas Won't Tell You
For starters, don't call them slackers or hipsters -- unless you want to get "decaffed."
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![[smperfectportfo]](http://s.wsj.net/public/resources/images/PF-AB818_smperf_C_20120110175353.jpg)
Perfect Portfolios: Your Next Move in This Market
After a strong start to the year, stocks slumped Friday on renewed worries over the Greek bailout. Here's what the pros are recommending to do next.