Posts by Robert Pagliarini

How would you respond to sudden financial demands? We all define “emergencies” differently, but we are not immune to them. How can we plan to stay afloat financially when they occur? Most households are not financially prepared for an emergency – not even close. A recent study from the National Foundation for Credit Counseling found…

Robert Pagliarini, an expert in wealth management, inheritance planning, financial planning, and sudden wealth™, writes a financial column for CBS News MoneyWatch that is also syndicated in newspapers across the country. The following is a column Robert wrote for CBS: Last week I gave a presentation to a group of a few thousand people on…

A big payout leads to a big question. If you are taking a lump sum pension payout from your former employer, what is the next step for that money? It will be integral to your retirement; how can you make it work harder for you? Rolling it over might be the right thing to do.…

HOMEBUYING DECREASES IN DECEMBER Last month, existing home sales slumped 1.0% and new home sales tumbled 7.3%. Year-over-year numbers, however, remain hugely positive. Residential resales improved 12.8% in 2012, with December’s median single-family home price up 11.5% from a year before to $180,300. New home sales rose 19.9% last year, representing the first annual increase…

Global investors watch America anxiously. In late December, the U.S. technically reached its debt ceiling of approximately $16.4 trillion, with the federal government taking what Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner called “extraordinary measures” to avert a default. Even as House GOP leaders announced plans Friday to approve a three-month increase in the federal debt limit, tension…

Robert Pagliarini, an expert in wealth management, inheritance planning, financial planning, and sudden wealth™, writes a financial column for CBS News MoneyWatch that is also syndicated in newspapers across the country. The following is a column Robert wrote for CBS: How make money? How start business? How get job? No, my editor is not on…

Give & receive a tax break. Schools, hospitals and other non-profit organizations are welcoming the return of the charitable IRA rollover – an opportunity that lets a traditional IRA owner aged 70½ or older donate up to $100,000 to charity with a tax perk attached. This donation can accomplish two very significant things: the IRA…

Time to boost your IRA balance. In 2013, you can contribute up to $5,500 to your Roth or traditional IRA. If you will be 50 or older by the end of 2013, your contribution limit is actually $6,500 this year thanks to the IRS’s “catch-up” provision. The new limits represent a $500 increase from 2012…

NEW YEAR, NEW LAWS AFFECTING YOU  Singles earning more than $200,000 and couples earning more than $250,000 will face a 3.8% Medicare surtax and a 0.9% increase in Medicare payroll tax. Tax rates on dividends and long-term capital gains remain at 15% for most, but have risen to 20% for the wealthiest. A scheduled 2%…

At some point, someone you love may make the transition from living at home to residing at an assisted living or nursing home facility. When should that transition occur, and what factors must be considered along the way? And what don’t these facilities tell you about? When is it time? If an elder is a)…