Do Not Allow Your College Plan to Blow Up Your Estate Plan

Have you ever considered the interrelationship between different types of planning? There is a direct relationship. One aspect of planning affects the other. Here are some examples:

Estate Planning vs. Financial Planning. With estate planning you plan your estate for the benefit of your heirs. But, if your financial plan goes awry (more debt, less income, and/or less savings) it could easily affect your strategy. For example, if your estate plan includes charitable giving as a part of your strategy (if you have a charitable remainder trust, as an example) a decrease in the amount of your available assets could affect the amount you can practically give. In other words, with the recent market turmoil, you might now be "giving beyond your means."

Also, if your financial and investment plan is hugely successful, you may have estate or inheritance tax issues which you might not otherwise have.

College Planning vs. Retirement Planning. As Deborah Fox recently wrote in the January 2009 issue of Financial Planning magazine, "college planning is retirement planning." Every cent plus future never-realized appreciation which you spend on college is taken away from retirement. Thus, if you sink $100,000 into college for your children the future value of that amount in 25 years, even at a modest 4% rate of return, would be well over $260,000. Of course this is highly simplistic, because college funds do not (poof!) appear out of the air, but are saved over a substantial period of time. That means that there is a potential for even more never-realized income.

So, what do you do? Here are just a few suggestions:

• Get a financial planner. Many don't do this, but consider getting professional assistance.
• Get an estate planner. So many people decide to "save a buck" and do their own estate planning. Often this is with less than desirable results. It's hard to integrate your strategies when there is no strategy.
• Integrate saving and borrowing into your college planning. I will admit: There are many disputes on this score between planners on this issue. Many planners find borrowing an anathema, while others embrace it. Consider this, however: Your children (or, potential children) have a much greater number of earnings years than you do as parents.

Also, consider this analogy: the logic behind a city borrowing to pay for a public improvement is that the resurfaced street, for instance, is to be used for many years by many taxpayers and motorists. It would not be fair to saddle the present taxpayer with all of the cost, but to spread it out over time. The same could be said for college borrowing.

I suggest postponing borrowing as long as possible by using savings, but recognize that careful borrowing (especially through the federal student loan program) is a perfectly appropriate way to go.

These are just a few suggestions. However, the first step in moving forward is...taking the first step.

Disclaimer: The information in this article is not legal advice, and the use of it does not create an attorney-client relationship. Any liability that might arise from your use or reliance on this article or any links from this article is expressly disclaimed. This article is not to be acted upon as if it were legal advice, and is subject to change without notice, or may include obsolete or dated information, or information not relevant to your jurisdiction. If you require legal services, you should consult with an attorney.

As a a licensed attorney located in the Los Angeles San Gabriel Valley, Larry Stratton is in a position to coach and advise you, and to help you plan for your future. The Law Offices of Larry D. Stratton specializes in estate planning, business formation and appellate practice. Larry Stratton also blogs on estate and financial planning issues at Planner's Thoughts.

Larry Stratton is a graduate of Whittier College School of Law, which is a member school of the ABA and the AALS. He has represented numerous clients in the California Court of Appeal, and is admitted to practice in all California courts, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal, and also the United States Supreme Court. From 1983 to 1984, he was a member of the Whittier Law Review.

Larry Stratton is also a Registered Investment Advisor, and currently speaks on estate and financial planning topics in Southern California.

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I Found Banks Without Chexsystems! Advice From a Chexsystems Victim

Finding banks without Chexsystems was NOT an easy journey for me, and in fact it was quite the opposite of that. I was put into to Chexsystems about 2 years ago and little did I know that it would be such a tough road to find another FDIC insured bank that would accept me for a free checking account and give me all the usual benefits like online banking, debit card, checks etc...

What I did find very easily however were plenty of people out there who decided that they were going to make a quick buck off of me...and in some cases...a lot of quick cash off of me. In short I was scammed out of about $320 just from two list providers, and I was put into some VERY embarrassing situations when I took the word of some free list providers and went into a couple of banks on their list to open up a checking account.

Since the entire reason behind why I started my guide for Chexsystems victims in the first place is all based around making sure that you don't have to go through what I went through during my 2 years without a checking account, I want to give you some free tips right here and right now that should keep you out of trouble, your hard earned money safe, and out of a very embarrassing situation at a bank.

Things to look out for when trying to find banks without Chexsystems...

1. Always ask to see proof of some ones claims! - What I mean by this is that many websites and many people out there claim to know the exact troubles that you are going through right now. They also claim that despite their troubles that they were able to find great free checking or second chance checking accounts in their area. If they were able to find banks without Chexsystems...then surely they could cough up some sort of proof of their accomplishments right?

2. Free list sites are sometimes the most horrible way of looking for a new non Chexsystems account. Why do I say this? It's not because I sell my guide, but because I know for a fact that their lists are not only out dated...but so inaccurate that it's not even funny. Notice all those ads on their site? How about those banners to all those online banks? They're looking to get paid on their ad clicks or affiliate programs, and have no interest in actually helping you...simple as that.

3. Don't overpay for a paid list. So many people out there are selling ripped off lists that they just stole from the crappy list sites to begin with, and what's worse is that they're charging out of this world prices for them! I kid you not...5 minutes before I sat down to write this article for you guys, I just came across a brand new site trying to sell a list of banks without Chexsystems with only a couple banks for $99.95! Are you serious? I say get lost!

My fellow Chexsystems victims...please...please...take these tips seriously. They'll keep you out of trouble, your head above water, and will make your search for banks without Chexsystems much quicker, cheaper, and easier. :)

Please don't let Chexsystems or Telecheck get in the way of living a normal and happy life. It doesn't have to be that way; there are many banks that offer checking and or savings accounts regardless of your situation in these systems. I'm still in Chexsystems and have two checking and savings accounts with the works at real FDIC insured banks. Let me help you out of this situation that I was once in too and help you find banks without Chexsystems in your area. http://www.getnonchexsystemschecking.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ilya_Feynberg

Banks Without Chex Systems - They CAN Be Found in Your Area! - Advice From a Chex Victim

According to Wikipedia, some 80 percent of the banks here in the United States do indeed use Chex Systems...not the most pleasant statistic to hear if you're still stuck in Chex Systems like myself and millions of other Americans. But there's something that isn't being closely looked at within that statement....

20% of banks in the states are still banks without Chex Systems!

And that's HUGE!!!

A lot of people out there that are just trying to push their affiliate program or online banking scam will try and tell you otherwise. They'll try and scare you in to thinking that your chances of getting a real checking account with a real FDIC insured bank in your local area is basically impossible. What a huge freakin load of lies!!

I've been stuck in Chex Systems now for about 2 years, and yet I still have two checking accounts with banks just down the street from me that are real and FDIC insured. Did I also mention that my accounts are totally free checking accounts and I have debit cards, checks, online banking...the works?

How can that be? Because thankfully we live in a free market which allows banks and credit unions to choose which systems they want to use, and how they want to conduct their business. This is an important little tidbit here, because this opens up a massive opportunity for you to get a checking account with banks without Chex Systems.

Now that you understand that it's time to actually find those banks, and that's where things get tricky and VERY time consuming to say the least. Do they exist in you area? Of course they do! But you have to know how to find them and where to find them. It's because of that, that the research to find banks that don't use Chex Systems takes so long, and so much effort. Banks also don't like telling you this information right up front, so it sometimes takes a little bit of asking.

So to wrap it up here...can you really indeed find banks without Chex Systems? You bet ya! And I'm proof of that!

Please don't let Chex Systems or Telecheck get in the way of living a normal and happy life. It doesn't have to be that way; there are many banks that offer checking and or savings accounts regardless of your situation in these systems. I'm still in Chex Systems and have two checking and savings accounts with the works at real FDIC insured banks. Let me help you out of this situation that I was once in too and help you find banks without Chex Systems in your area! http://www.getnonchexsystemschecking.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Ilya_Feynberg

Children's Savings Accounts

Although the world has moved on since the days of the old-fashioned piggy-bank, it seems that it is harder than ever to encourage children to save on a regular basis or even to get across the message that saving is a sensible thing to do. As the child grows up, hands-on experience of running their own finances will have proved a very valuable lesson and taught them that one of the ways of keeping up with ever-increasing costs is to maintain a healthy savings account.

Fortunately, there are now very many alternatives to the simple piggy-bank, which teach young children not only the discipline of saving, but the rewards that careful management of their money can bring. There are savings accounts specifically designed with children in mind, yet which echo and reflect the principal kinds of account to be found in the adult world. In other words, there are easy or instant access accounts, notice accounts, and fixed term accounts or bonds.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the most popular and common type of account for children is the easy access account, where money saved can nevertheless be instantly available for withdrawal, without attracting any penalty. As with adult savers' accounts, a higher rate of interest will be available on accounts that require a given period of notice before making a withdrawal, unless some form of penalty is incurred. The third main type of account - the fixed term or bond account - generally offers the highest rate of interest, but the money invested has to be left in the account for an agreed number of years in order to achieve the maximum gains. The agreed term of such savings bonds could be anything from one to five years, or will sometimes run the whole period until the child has reached a certain age.

No minimum age

There is no minimum age for opening a children's savings account - indeed, it has not been unknown for enterprising branches of banks and building societies to scan the births columns of the local press and send congratulatory messages to the proud new parents - together for an application form for opening a savings account for the new arrival. Reasonably enough, most account providers will expect a parent or guardian to open and operate the account until the child has reached the age of around seven-eleven years of age. Most children's savings accounts will stay open until the child reaches the age of 18, when unless anything otherwise is agreed, the account will be converted to an ordinary adult savings account.

Most banks and building societies recognise the importance of teaching children to save regularly and, as an incentive, will often offer a gift, posters, vouchers or "savers' club" membership. Whilst the gift might be useful in encouraging the child to save, it is clearly more important to take a dispassionate look at the savings account on offer and consider what rate of interest is being offered on your child's savings.

So, when choosing an account for your child, remember:

• it is important to start children off on the right path to savings when they are young
• with over 150 children's savings accounts to choose from, there's no shortage of options
• when choosing between, instant access, notice and fixed term bonds, the critical deciding factor will be whether easy access to the savings needs to be maintained
• "free" gifts or vouchers from the bank or building society will be appreciated by the child, but make sure that the savings account offers a rate of interest that is all it is cracked up to be.

Examine your savings at http://www.confused.com/savings Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_John_Martin