Do I Need Professional Help to Prepare a Will?
Whether you need professional help depends on the size of your estate and the complexity of your wishes for how to distribute your assets. Generally speaking, however, it makes sense to hire legal help to create your last will and any related trusts, as often times the cost to doing so is less than the cost of probate court and duress to your heirs in settling the estate themselves. What is a Living Will? What is the Difference Between a Will and a Trust? How Much Does it Cost to Prepare a Will? Continue reading...
What is an Income Statement?
An income statement is a business’s financial statement that gives the income results from operations and non-operations activity. It is also called a profit and loss statement or a statement of operations. It is one of the major financial statements in the world of corporate accounting. The others are the balance sheet, the statement of cash flows, and the statement of shareholder’s equity. The income statement will included revenues and gains from investments and “secondary operations”, but it will not include cash flows in or out which may stem from other accounting periods. Continue reading...
What is a Mortgage Company?
Most mortgage companies today are brokerages that do not underwrite or fund the loans themselves. They help to place customers with the most competitive loans that make sense for their situation and personal finances. Many small mortgage companies went bankrupt in the housing bubble of 2008. Mortgage companies are known as loan originators since they pair customers with loans that suit them and get the process started. Some companies also fund mortgage loans, but most are basically brokerage services that do not lend the money themselves. Continue reading...
What is IRS Publication 529 on Miscellaneous Deductions?
IRS Link to Publication — Found Here Publication 529 describes the possible deductions which can be taken in an itemized way on an individual’s tax return. Miscellaneous deductions can be filed using Schedule A of Form 1040. Someone should only take the time to fill out this form if they believe their total deductions will exceed the standard deduction amount, which is nearly $13,000 for a married couple filing jointly. Continue reading...
What is Acquisition Accounting?
Also known as Business Combination Accounting, there are specific guidelines and bits of information that must be documented on the books during an acquisition. Acquisition Accounting is a standardized way to account for the assets and liabilities of companies who are part of a merger or acquisition. International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) stipulate that even in a merger where a new company is formed, one company must play the role of acquirer and the other of acquiree, but that rule really only applies outside of the US. Continue reading...
What is currency convertibility?
Currencies may work fine in a particular country or region, but it may happen that certain currencies are not convertible into other currencies or gold. Sometimes this is by choice, such as was formerly the case with closed economies like the People’s Republic of China, Soviet Russia, Cuba, and others. Most currencies are convertible into other currencies. Banks, at least the central banks of countries, tend to have reserves of most foreign currencies with their citizens do business. Continue reading...
What is currency risk?
Countries, investors, and international businesses have to frequently assess currency risk, which is the chance that exchange rates will change unfavorably at inopportune times. An investment in a foreign security or company, or income payments coming from foreign sources, can be at risk for exchange rate changes. If an investor or company has financial interests which are based in another currency, or if the investor engages in Forex trading, currency risk looms over the future value of the holdings, on top of any typical market risk. Continue reading...
What is an Illiquid Security?
An illiquid security is one that cannot easily be sold or exchanged for cash on a timely basis. The lack of ready buyers tends to create a fairly sizable discrepancy between what a seller wants and what a buyer is offering, versus an orderly market where assets change hands at high volumes and therefore have high liquidity. An illiquid security should generally be held only if the investor/owner has a long-time horizon, and therefore can handle the risk of not being able to offload the asset easily. Continue reading...
What are some Good Books on Investment?
The investing section in your bookstore has shelves packed with titles hoping to earn a five-star rating from you, but not all of these are going to be worth your time. There are thousands and thousands of books written about investments, stocks, Mutual Funds, retirement portfolios, and so on. By the time most of them hit the market, the information in these books has long become irrelevant. The classic treatise on investments is Ben Graham’s “The Intelligent Investor.” Try to avoid books with titles like “12 Steps to Financial Prosperity,” and “How to become a Zillionaire.” Continue reading...
AI Robots: Instructions
With AI Robots, you can view bought and sold trades with potential profit and stop loss in real-time. Receive timely alerts with each trade. Here are the steps: Step 1. Review AI Robots' past performance for free. Step 2. Select an AI Robot you might be interested in based on their customization and statistics. Step 3. Subscribe and follow one AI Robot and get a monthly $60 credit to purchase other products. Step 4. Subscribe and follow two or more AI Robots and get a monthly $120 credit to purchase other products. Step 5. Sign up for 1-on-1 sessions or webcasts. Continue reading...