Assets are everything that you own that can be used for the payment of debt. Assets could include cars, a house, land, bank accounts, stocks and bonds, even items like furniture, clothing, jewelry and collectibles. To calculate net worth, subtract everything you owe from the sum total of your assets. Learn more about your assets and what they mean in different transactions on this page.
Leaving an Abusive Home: How to Protect Your Assets
Leaving an abusive home: How to protect your assets when you fear for your safety but rely on the ownership interest for your financial future. Q: I pay half the mortgage on the home that I own with my boyfriend. I live there with him and our son. The title of the house is in [...]
How Do I Protect My Assets When Facing A Potential Liability Lawsuit?
When facing a potential liability lawsuit, it’s important to take immediate action to protect the rest of your assets. Here’s where to start. Q: My brother and I have owned a rental property together for more than 15 years. There is a current mortgage, and both of our names are on the mortgage and on [...]
Objectivity Helps Divide Assets During a Divorce
During a divorce, it helps to stay objective. An emotional attachment to your assets isn’t always worth the financial burden of fighting to keep them. Q: I am a 60-year old female with a part-time minimum wage job and I just got served papers for the dissolution of a 17-year marriage. We have a beautiful [...]
Will Selling My Mom’s House Affect Her Medicaid?
Medicaid can penalize you for selling assets, like a second home, for less than they're worth. An attorney can help find the best solution for you and your family. Q: My parents own two homes, one is their primary residence, and the other belonged to my mother’s parents which she received upon their death. Both [...]
What is a Blind Trust? Why Won’t Donald Trump Use One?
I received this email from a long-time reader of my nationally-syndicated column, which she reads in the Columbus dispatch every Sunday. I think it's a question a lot of readers have, so I'm answering it here. Q: I have a question for you. Since Donald Trump won the election and became president-elect, I hear a [...]
How to Have a Financial Discussion With Aging Parents
Family and money—the combination can be tricky, and when it comes to talking about finances with aging parents, years of communication and family culture can often get in the way. That’s why many financial professionals say that using a sensitive, respectful, and tactful tone with adult parents may make financial conversations easier. “It is a [...]
How Does Probate Work Without A Will?
Q: What happens, if a person passes away and no one files probate because the estate has no assets? Do any of the deceased relatives become liable for taxes owed by the person that died? Would the relatives have to pay off the debts to the dead person’s creditors? A: When a person dies, the [...]
Property Seizure by Medicaid to Pay Medical Bill
Property seizure by Medicaid to pay medical bill is possible if homeowner is delinquent on payments with no other assets. Medicaid can seize property to pay medical bills. Seniors needing assistance to pay medical bills may receive Medicaid coverage. Seniors with funds are expected to pay medical bills or face property seizure for Medicaid. Medicaid can seize property and other assets to pay for outstanding medical bills.
Avoid Probate With Transfer On Death (TOD) Deed
A Florida homeowner asks how to avoid probate for her estate. She wants to leave her condo to her son but does not want him to pay probate costs. Can she set up a transfer on death deed so that her son avoids probate? Probate laws vary by state and so she should consult an estate attorney to better understand Florida probate laws.
Power Of Attorney Does Not Control All Assets
A woman tries to reclaim assets after her father's death. Before dying he lived with his mother and gave her power of attorney to handle his affairs. The woman says her grandmother passed on a car and house when the father left them to her (his daughter). What can the woman do to get the car and the house back? What rights did the power of attorney give to the grandmother?