Category — (Death and) Taxes

But I need to write a will. Writing a will has been on my “short” list of things to do for the last 2 years, but I’ve never taken the time to do it. Every time I think, I need to do this, a projector is flipped on in my head and the “Bring Out Your Dead” scene from Monty Python’s Holy Grail starts playing:

CART MASTER:
Bring out your dead!
[clang]
CUSTOMER:
Here’s one
CART MASTER:
Ninepence.
DEAD PERSON:
I’m not dead!

Great movie; stupid excuse. So this weekend I’m going to bite the bullet and write up my will. I have to right? I blogged about it.  Ah social pressure.

Right now I’m reading through a number of great resources at NoLo to prepare.  I have a pretty simple estate, so I’m not planning to have a lawyer review it. So total cost to me for drawing up my will? $0. No excuse for not having done this sooner.

Do you have a will yet?

Are you expecting a rebate under the proposed Economic Rebate Stimulus Package? This calculator can help you determine how much of a refund (if any) you can expect. This calculator is courteous of the Online NewsHour @ PBS.

Whenever I have a a refund coming from the IRS there’s always an internal struggle against what I know I ought to do (save it) and what the evil voices in my head tell me to do (spend it). Here’s a relatively simple hack to help fight the evil voices: Have your refund sent directly to savings. With Form 8888, Direct Deposit of Refund to More Than One Account you can specify up to 3 different accounts to have portions of your tax refund deposited into. So you can automatically have some of your refund directed into your Roth-IRA or other savings/brokerage accounts. You’ll want to check with the financial institutions in question to make sure there aren’t any fees associated with an electronic deposit.

One word of warning when using this form or the standard account direct deposit option on your tax forms: Make sure you enter the correct account information. If the refund is somehow deposited into an incorrect account, you are very likely out of luck. Banks are generally prohibited from disclosing account holder information and the IRS can’t disclose details about individual taxpayers.

This is a great way to get a jump on your investment goals for 2008 though if you are due a refund this year.

Normally, determining if you can claim a child as a dependent is relatively easy when filling out your IRS tax forms. But like most things tax related, the answers aren’t always simple. In my case, even though my son spends more than 6 months a year living with me I won’t be claiming him as a dependent this year on my tax return. As part of my divorce settlement I agreed to allow my ex-wife to continue to claim our son as a dependent on her taxes. However, the divorce decree alone is insufficient to allow my ex to claim this exemption. To do this my wife also needs me to complete a copy of “Release of Claim to Exemption for Child of Divorced or Separated Parents” otherwise known as IRS Form 8332.

Currently congress is debating an economic stimulus package which centers around an $800 (individual) or $1600 (married filing jointly) rebate. The intent being that taxpayers will take this rebate and put it back into the economy.

So we at 60 Second Finance have two 800 dollar questions for you:

1. What will you do with the $800 of your own money the government is so graciously giving back to you?
2. If giving back $800 they took in taxes is good for the economy, why did they take it in the first place?

I’ll answer this question for myself in the comments section below. Please leave your thoughts as well.

As parents we want the best for our kids. We want them to grow up to be happy, successful and well adjusted. We spend money on clothes, food and activities for our kids every day. But how many of you are investing on your children’s behalf today? The laws of compounding interest make this one of the best things we can ever do on our child’s behalf. By investing early we give them a running start at a sound financial future.

Ignoring tax implications for a moment, did you know that if you invested $2500 for your child the day they were born and it achieved a 10% annual return on investment that at age 65 your child would have over $1.2 million? That’s without you or them ever having invested another dime towards their retirement. [Read more →]