Estate Planning for Pets

In my book, Flipping a Switch, I have a chapter titled “Green Bananas, ROLE Calculations, and Lasts.” A key take-away is, as people age, their time orientation changes. 

Sometime in her mid-70s, my Mom started using the phrase “People my age don’t buy green bananas anymore.” While the green bananas analogy is an extreme example, people do start performing return on life expectancy (ROLE) calculations as they age. In other words, “mental math” comparing how long things might last in relation to their age and life expectancy.

                                   

There is, perhaps, no better example of ROLE calculations than the decision to get a pet in your 60s and beyond. Unlike young adults, who fully expect to outlive one or more pets, older adults often stop to ask “what if the pet outlives me? What happens then?” Without advance  planning, when pet owners pass away, their pets often end up in an animal shelter and, unfortunately, many healthy pets who are not adopted are euthanized. 

What to do? I recently attended a class, Estate Planning for Pets, where I learned that pets are considered property and have no legal rights. Thus, it is up to pet owners to plan for their four-legged friends’ future. Below are five key take-aways:

Learn About Pet Life Expectancies- Average life expectancy for dogs and cats is 10-12 years and 10-14 years, respectively, but there are caveats. Larger dogs live for a shorter period of time than smaller dogs and spaying and neutering a puppy can increase lifespan. Indoor-only cats live longer than those who spend significant unsupervised time outdoors.

Consider Adopting an Older Pet- Older adults who want a pet often take a big gamble when they get a puppy. An alternative strategy is to visit a local animal shelter or pet rescue agency and adopt a dog or cat that is, say, 3 to 5 years old. This way, the pet’s remaining life expectancy will be more in synch with its owner’s.

Designate a Pet Guardian- Talk with friends/family about concerns for your pet’s future and identify someone to care for your pet if something happens to you (e.g., injury, death). Also designate a “Plan B” pet caretaker in case the primary pet guardian is unable to step up. Make a list of your pet’s favorite foods, medical issues, vaccination records, and exercise routines.

Create a Pet Care Fund - Set aside money for surrogates to care for your pet. Consider creating a pet trust fund based on pets’ actuarial life expectancy. The trust will include funding for pet caregivers to use for pet food, vet bills, etc. and also include a residual beneficiary to receive remaining funds, if any, after all pets named as trust beneficiaries pass away.

Don’t Assume- Some people do not make any contingency plans for their pet. Instead, they just assume “my family will take care of my pet.” Sometimes, however, family members cannot. If you assume someone will care for a pet, it is a hope- not a plan. That said, it is not uncommon for family or neighbors to temporarily take care of pets until a permanent solution is put into place including transferring a pet to a prepaid pet lifetime care facility.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

 

Income Tax Math

 Tax season is winding down. We’ve all heard the saying “In this world, nothing is certain except death and taxes.” The quote is attributed to one of America’s founders, Ben Franklin. There is also one thing that is certain about income taxes. They involve math calculations.

Below is a description of seven income tax features that involve mathematical calculations:

Tax Deductions- About 90% of taxpayers take the standard deduction and the rest itemize deductions when they are larger than their standard deduction. Either way, these calculations require subtraction. First, adjustments to income are subtracted from total income to get adjusted gross income (AGI). Next, deductions are subtracted from AGI to get taxable income.

Extra Standard Deduction- Older adults use addition to increase their standard deduction as per annually inflation-adjusted IRS regulations. In 2025, single individuals can add $2,000 to the $15,000 standard deduction for all taxpayers ($17,000 total) and a couple, both age 65+, can add $1,600 each to the $30,000 standard deduction for all taxpayers ($33,200 total).

Effective Tax Rate- This is the tax rate that you pay on your total income, reflecting the fact that different tiers of income are taxed at different tax rates. This calculation requires division. To calculate your effective tax rate, divide your tax bill (i.e., the amount owed) by your taxable income. For example, $12,000 owed on a $85,000 taxable income = 14.1%.

Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)- RMD calculations, which affect older adults at age 73 or 75 (depending on year of birth), also require division. They are mandatory withdrawals from retirement savings accounts (e.g., 401(k) plans). The year-end balance in a tax-deferred retirement account is divided by an age-based divisor (e.g., 26.5 for age 73). For example, a 73-year old with a $150,000 account balance must withdraw $5,660.

Refund or Overpayment- This calculation involves subtraction and the result will be a positive or negative number. If total tax payments from payroll withholding are greater than total tax owed, taxpayers get a refund. If tax payments fall short of the amount owed, taxpayers must make a payment to the IRS by the tax filing date, typically April 15.

Business-Related Mileage- Self-employed taxpayers and business owners are eligible to deduct business-related mileage. Employees are unable to do so. This calculation involves multiplication: i.e., multiplying the number of miles driven by the annually inflation-adjusted business mileage rate (67 cents per mile in 2024 and 70 cents per mile in 2025).

Tax Computation Worksheet- This form is used to calculate tax owed on taxable incomes over $100,000 and involves both multiplication and subtraction. First, taxpayers multiply their taxable income by their marginal tax rate (i.e., 22% to 37%). Next, they subtract a designated amount for taxes paid on income taxed at lower rates. The result is the amount of tax owed.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.

What to Do With a Windfall: March 2025 Edition

Windfalls are unexpected and often sudden sources of income. In other words, a stroke of good financial luck. Common examples include receiving an inheritance or bonus and winning the lottery. 

Each year, by late March, millions of Americans have received a windfall from income tax refunds. This year, as a result of the Social Security Fairness Act (SSFA), about three million Americans (myself included) also received a retroactive payment and benefit increase as a result of the elimination of the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP) and Government Pension Offset (GPO). 

Suffice to say, millions of Americans currently find themselves flush with cash received from income tax refunds and/or SSFA payments. This begs the question: what to do with this money? Below are a dozen solid suggestions to handle a one-time chunk cash:

1. Pay off high-cost debt (e.g., credit card bills and loans) and overdue bills.

2. Start or replenish an emergency fund with a target goal of 3 to 6 months’ essential expenses.

3. Start or increase deposits to tax-deferred employer retirement savings (e.g., a 401(k) plan).

4. Fund a traditional or Roth individual retirement account (IRA). 

5. Start or increase deposits to a 529-college savings plan for children or grandchildren.

6. Make extra principal payments on your mortgage to shorten its term and lower the total interest cost.

7. Invest in your home with improvements that have a high payback, such as landscaping and bathroom or kitchen upgrades.

8. Buy needed “big ticket” items (e.g., furniture, electronics, or a major appliance), for cash instead of using a credit card.

9. Purchase a few hours of a certified financial planner’s time to get advice and a financial check-up.

10. Take action to achieve goals on your “financial bucket list” (e.g., travel and a new car).

11. Invest in your human capital (think certification courses, college classes, and professional conferences).

12. Make gifts to family members and qualified charities.

Also remember that windfalls can have a downside. Lower income windfall recipients can be disqualified for public benefits such as housing subsidies, SNAP, utility assistance, and Marketplace health care plan premium subsidies. 

Higher income recipients could find themselves in a higher tax bracket, paying increased taxes and, for older adults, the IRMAA surcharge on Medicare premiums. 

It is wise to double check your tax withholding for 2025 if you are the recipient of a substantial windfall.

Barbservations From Another “Teaser” Seminar

This is not my first post about attending a seminar or webinar with the stated objective of addressing attendees’ concerns about required minimum distributions (RMDs) and income taxes in retirement. I have gone “undercover” several times before to check out seminar venues as well as the accuracy of content being presented and how well seminars adhere to their marketing messages.

Once again. I was disappointed. A seminar held at my 55+ community targeted me and my fellow residents with a series of Facebook ads. After registering, I received an e-mail confirmation that included this paragraph: “This workshop is not a sales pitch in disguise. Our primary objective is to help you get your questions answered so you can live a healthy and wealthy retirement.” 

Sadly, this was not the case. Within four minutes of the seminar’s start, the presenter started describing his company’s services and encouraging attendees to “come sit down with us” to discuss their finances. He also used the phrase “what we do” at least several dozen times. Below are some additional Barbservations from someone who has been a professional financial educator for 47 years:

Lots of Unexplained Terms- The presenter used many financial terms without explaining them and I wondered if many participants understood what he was saying. Case in point: effective tax rate. He never explained that this is the percentage of tax owed on a person’s total taxable income and is calculated by dividing taxes owed by taxable income (e.g., $7,000 ÷ $50,000 = 14%). 

Very Small Font Sizes- Whether this was intentional or not, the slides that were presented were very difficult to read. Any seasoned financial educator would never make this mistake. I was always taught to follow the 6 x 6 rule when preparing PowerPoint slides: limit each slide to no more than six bullet points and limit each bullet point to no more than six words.

Scary Stories- Designed to get people to hire his company, the presenter told stories about the “widow’s tax” (i.e., the change in tax filing status from married filing jointly to single after a spouse passes away) and the “kiddo’s tax” (i.e., the requirement that non-spouse beneficiaries of tax-deferred retirement savings deplete the account and pay taxes on their inheritance within ten years). The speaker implied that only a financial advisor could help people navigate these challenges.

Correct Information- In between sales pitches were nuggets of solid personal finance information:

• The biggest fear of older adults is running out of money during their lifetime

• Common reasons that people run out of money are taxes, market risk, and long-term care expenses

• Proactively managing taxes is preferable to a passive “I’ll just take my RMD” approach

• If there are things you want to do in life and you have the money, do it now and don’t procrastinate

• Risk tolerance is feelings about investment risk; risk capacity is how much you can afford to lose

• People don’t necessarily need long-term care (LTC) insurance products but they need a LTC plan

• There can sometimes be decades between when people create estate plan documents and when they use them; it is important to review your documents periodically and update them as needed

Tips to Manage Paper Financial Records

With tax season well underway, many people are knee-deep in paper financial records (e.g., W-2s and 1099 forms, receipts, etc.). This makes now a perfect time to review strategies to manage and organize “financial paper.” Below are eight tips that I shared at a recent class:

Create a “Financial One-Stop”-  Designate a central storage area for paper financial records (e.g., bank and brokerage statements, insurance policies, credit card statements, copies of legal documents, Social Security correspondence, copies of tax returns, warranties, and health insurance records). The “one-stop” can be desk drawers, a filing cabinet, or a fireproof lock box. 

Sort and Categorize- File documents in categories such as those listed above and use labeled file folders or accordion files to easily retrieve paper records. There are also a variety of home records organizer kits available for sale online (e.g., Amazon) that include a table of contents, pre-printed tabbed page dividers, and/or a plastic tote box.

Shread Sensitive Data- Use a high quality crosscut shredder that cuts paper into small confetti-like pieces to dispose of sensitive documents that are no longer needed. Examples include old bank, brokerage, and credit card statements and tax returns and supporting documents after seven years. Shredding helps to reduce the risk of identity theft.

Go Digital- Consider changing the settings on financial accounts to request digital statements instead of paper ones, with text notifications every time that a document is ready. In addition, use a scanner to create digital copies of important documents and store them in a cloud server, external hard drive, and/or with trusted people.

Set Up a Schedule- Create a document retention schedule for how long to keep certain documents before shredding them. For example, credit card statements and utility bills for one year and income tax records for seven years. Records related to capital assets (e.g., a house, investments, and valuable collectibles) should be held for as long as you own the capital asset plus seven years. 

Prepare Annual Summaries- Make a master list of month-by-month payments for utilities such as water, sewer, electric, oil, and natural gas before discarding monthly paper statements. The list will provide a useful history of past payments and monthly fluctuations due to weather, water usage, etc.

Handle Your Mail Once- Decide immediately whether something that comes in the mail should be filed, acted upon (e.g., making a payment), or discarded (i.e., in a “circular file” wastebasket or with a shredder). Efficiency experts warn about making paper piles that have revisited later.

Communicate, Communicate, Communicate- Make sure that trusted people are aware of your financial record-keeping system and could access records in an emergency, if needed. This includes knowing how to unlock a locked desk drawer or file cabinet and accessing digital records.

This post provides general personal finance or consumer decision-making information and does not address all the variables that apply to an individual’s unique situation. It does not endorse specific products or services and should not be construed as legal or financial advice. If professional assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought.