Ask Terry Archives

Terry, Can you get rejected for Obamacare cause of your income because my son in the process of investigating his health care options on the .gov website was told that his income was too high plus he works for a small trucking outfit (less than 50 employees). What was the main reason? Is Obamacare based…

My husband (who is disabled with younger onset Alzheimers) inherited, by trust, 2 farms with his 3 siblings. We have copies of the Trustee' Deed - Illinois Statutory. If my husband dies, does his portion go to his siblings? Is there a way to get it put in his living trust, for his portion to…

I am 24 turning 25 in six months, i have life insurance through my employer but only for 30k. I have recently been thinking about getting life insurance but unsure if I should go with 20/30yr or permanent life insurance. What would you recommend for me to do? I am not a mother yet but…

My husband got life insurance and beneficiaries are me and his 2 adult kids that don't live here. Should it be changed to only me so I can pay off the house we live in?

My mother-in-law has a trust brokerage account along with my brother-in-law. He just died and she has been certified with dementia. Brokerage firm wants both off the account and the successor trustee to supply her social security number for account. Problem is SS and VA checks etc. of mother-in-law automatically deposited to account to provide…

In 1993, my husband and I had a Family Revocable Trust written up with a revision made in 2004. Then my husband passed away in 2008 and I wanted to make some changes to the beneficiary list which is linked to the Trust. I wanted to remove several people that had died, change amounts bequeathed,…

At the end of this year our dental office, 10 employee, and a C Corporation offered a group plan to all employees. All declined coverage except the dentist, owner of the business. BCBS has offered us a plan but when I asked the accountant to take the premium from the dentist's salary check on a…

Have been advised to take out 'perverse' mortgage' to pay for 1/3 of house stuck in trust... have apprehension want some objective information about these ....

Hi Terry. I am a recent graduate with no debt (thankfully). What are the first things I should do to be successful with my finances? I have been hearing about Roth IRAs and other savings plans but not sure what should be done first. Thanks

Hi terry my mom and father were married but been separated for over 20 years my dad passed away on 11/2016 the both of them has all together 6kids with each other my father didn't tell us anything about beneficiary but now he's gone. What's a way we can find out about who's his estate…

Hi, Ms. Savage, I have a medical collection that I have been trying to get rid of for quite a while. I've tried to set up payment plans that would work with my financial situation but they wanted more. Just recently the debt collector got a wage garnishment ruling against me. However I talked to…

Hi Terry, Do to illness, I behind on several credit cards and receiving phone calls for payment. However in a few months, I am to receive an inheritance which will be enough money to pay these off. Per your statement regarding collections calls, is paying directly to the Credit Card Company will help my credit…

My husband retired at 60, I'm still working and am 58. He has a pension for life. If he dies I will receive 75% of his monthly pension! We have enough to cover 2 years until he gets ss. But we need to payoff cc debt and a loan so we will be able to…

My mother has been conservatively investing in the Treasury Money Market for many years in the Vanguard IRA. Very little return from the $90k in that fund. She does not need the money for any use and the forced distribution each year only ends up in a savings account at the local bank. In your…

I understand I can give an amount each year to nieces and nephews without (inheritance or gift tax) and without them having to wait until I pass away. Do I have to make any notification to IRS before moving money to their savings accounts? (Amount $14,000 each?)

Terry, in your column in today's Chicago Tribune you state the "The total value of life insurance and retirement policies are included in the asset value of the estate of the person who died while owning the account or policy." Did you mean only the cash value of the policy would be included in the…

I contributed to a company tax deferred plan. I retired & I am 62 yo. In 2016 I withdrew 12,000 but had no other income coming in. What will I have to pay on taxes for taking this ? I am single.

You were one of the very first financial experts to call attention to the underfunding of the IL State Teacher Retirement system. What do you think is the most likely outcome for teacher pensions in Illinois ? Will current retirees lose their COLA ? Will they have their retirement recalculated downward ? Could the state…

Retired. Have hi yield bonds in vanguard also inflation protected securities bonds. Should I remain in these bond funds? I just opened the inflation protected bond fund but am now thinking I should get out. Need your opinion. Thank you so much, Jan

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