Cents + Purpose

That's the situation one Ohio man found himself in after his father passed away in February. His dad had a revocable trust in place and had named him as the successor trustee, which sounds like a clean setup on paper. In practice, it meant inheriting fourteen accounts, a family that had stopped speaking, and a beneficiary designation on a 2014 retirement account that ...

It started as one year. Then two. Then somewhere in the middle of the avoidance, the problem became too large to look at directly and so he kept not looking at it. He knew it was serious. He didn't fully understand how serious until an IRS notice arrived a couple of weeks ago and he finally opened it.

The notice contained the IRS's own calculation of what he...

He bought a 2002 Honda Accord for $2,200 two months ago. A week after he got it, someone hit the car. Because he was still on his parents' insurance policy, he was able to file a claim and received just over $5,200 for the vehicle. He used that money to buy a replacement car he could afford either way, since he has a job and handles his own insurance payments.

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His brother hasn't asked for anything. That detail sits at the center of the whole situation. For nearly four years, he's been the primary caregiver for their 74-year-old mother, whose cognitive function has declined noticeably since a COVID infection. He's been managing her care, holding power of attorney, and doing it without a regular job or any financial support f...

Her mother had a stroke last summer and moved into a nursing home on full Medicaid. She has no remaining assets. The house she left behind has had a reverse mortgage on it since 2011, and based on what the family can piece together, the amount owed is significantly higher than what the property would actually sell for. On top of being underwater, the house is in poor ...