Your emotions are running deep, and all you want to do is grieve. Yet there are decisions to be made; financial matters to tend to. Where do you begin? First of all, take a breath. Little can be done until you receive the death certificate, which can take weeks, and many issues are not urgent. [...]

The Use of Wills, Trusts, Contracts and Titling to Transfer Assets What’s a living trust? Do you need a trust? What’s a living will? What’s the difference between a will and a living will? Do you need a will? Or a living will? What’s a TOD account? POD account? A living trust is a revocable [...]

View the form here

Focusing on the occupation of your choice, take a couple of minutes to identify skills you need to develop, knowledge and experience you need to acquire and education you need to obtain. Once you have assessed your skill, knowledge, experience and education gap you can translate this information into a career action plan. View the [...]

Do you feel as if you’re sleepwalking through your usual work day? Do you find your job doesn’t excite you anymore? Do you feel that you’re probably too old, too stuck to make a change? First of all, kudos to you for paying attention to your feelings about your current job before you become de-motivated [...]

Returning to the workforce after an absence to raise a family can often be challenging, to say the least. Much like Marla in Starr Cochran’s novel, you may not know where to begin. Here are a few suggestions to get you started. Identify Your Skill Sets What are your skill sets? Sit down and make [...]

An option is a contract that gives the buyer the option but not the obligation, to buy or sell an investment such as a stock at a certain price and on or before a certain date. And the buyer pays a price for the option. The easiest example of how options work is with real [...]

If purchasing a home is your dream you’ve got lots of company. The vision is shared by millions of Americans. And if you didn’t know where to start, you’ve come to the right place. The following is a step-by-step guide from dream to reality. Get pre-prequalified/pre-approved The first part of your interaction with a lender [...]

No doubt the mortgage fallout has changed the world of lending. The good news is that lenders have money to loan and want to lend it out. The bad news is that it’s not as easy to get as it was at one time. What is the residential or commercial lender looking for from a [...]

Jade’s financial ratios didn’t meet the bank’s criteria for either a residential or commercial loan, and she didn’t have the money for the down payment, but driven by experience in real estate and her comfort level with accepting that level of risk, she looked for an alternative way to buy and finance the Atwood house. [...]