Investment and Finance

A gift made pursuant to the Federal Estate and Gift Tax exclusion for gifts of $14,000 per year per person does create a period of ineligibility for Medicaid. You may make a gift of $14,000 or less per year to any person without creating a gift tax but the gift would still create a period of ineligibility for Medicaid which will be determined by utilizing the following formula. The dollar value of the asset transferred and dividing it by the average monthly cost of a nursing home as determined by the Department of Social Services for your area. This is not the actual average monthly cost of a nursing home in your area but the rate as established by the Department of Social Services. The actual cost is probable significantly higher. Speak to your local CPA or elder law attorney for more information on a gift or transfer and Medicaid.

Any transfer of assets to an Inter Vivos Irrevocable Trust will not automatically create a 60 month period of ineligibility for Medicaid. When a transfer to a trust is made the period of ineligibility will be calculated by taking the dollar value of the asset transferred and dividing it by the average monthly cost of a nursing home as determined by the Department of Social Services in your area. Not all transfers to a trust will automatically create a 60 month period. There can be transfers made to a trust which create periods of ineligibility of less than 36 months. Speak to your local CPA or an elder law attorney for more information on trust transfers and Medicaid.

You can sell a stock on December 31 and still take the loss, even though the settlement date is in the following year. Of course, if December 31 is a Sunday, you better sell that stock on December 29th since the market is closed!

You have probably heard that your bank deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). You may be surprised to learn that, while your money market deposit account is insured, your money market mutual fund is not. The SEC does not guarantee mutual funds. The FDIC does not guarantee mutual funds either, and this is true even if you purchased your mutual fund at a bank. In fact, when you purchase a mutual fund at a bank they are required to tell you that your investment is not FDIC insured and that your investment is not guaranteed by the bank.

A money market fund is a kind of mutual fund that invests only in short term securities such as bankers' acceptances, commercial paper, repurchase agreements, and government bills.

Yes. You can check risk ratings and portfolio allocations in Morningstar Mutual Funds at http://www.morningstar.com

As of January 1, 2012, paper savings bonds will no longer be sold at financial institutions. This action supports Treasury’s goal to increase the number of electronic transactions with citizens and businesses.EE Bonds are reliable, low-risk government-backed savings products that you can use toward financing education, supplemental retirement income, birthday and graduation gifts, and other special events. Series EE Bonds purchased on or after May 1, 2005, earn a fixed rate of return, letting you know what the bonds are worth at all times. EE Bonds purchased between May 1997 and April 30, 2005, are based on 5-year Treasury security yields and earn a variable market-based rate of return.

Federal EE and I bonds earn interest for 30 years. The interest rate is reset every 6 months for each bond. You do not have to report the interest earned as income on your tax return until you cash the bond in or it reached its final maturity, whichever comes first.

The maximum amount of I bonds an individual may buy each year is $10,000 in electronic bonds and $5,000 in paper I bonds. Federal I bonds cannot be exchanged for Federal HH bonds like Federal EE bonds can be.