Successor trustee fees are either dictated by the terms of the trust agreement or by state law. These laws usually provide guidelines as to what is considered a “reasonable fee” based on how complex the trust is, how much time it will take to administer and settle and whether the trustmaker’s estate is subject to estate taxes. The laws also take into consideration whether the validity of the trust or the choice of the successor trustee is likely to be or has been challenged by the trust beneficiaries....

The new deadline was automatic for all taxpayers, who also had until July 15 to pay any taxes that would have been due on April 15. Payments could be deferred without penalties and interest, no matter how much was owed. With unprecedented business closures and stay-at-home orders in effect in most U.S. states, joblessness surged amid an economic collapse triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. The Tax Day extension was one of a number of government relief measures, including expanded unemployment insurance and stimulus checks for most Americans....

In case you’re tempted to throw them away, the IRS specifically said this week that you shouldn’t do that. The agency said that taxpayers should keep the letters, which contain information about two types of payments, advance child tax credit payments and stimulus payments, to use when preparing their 2021 tax returns this year. It might seem odd that the IRS is sending you information you’ll need to include on tax returns you’re going to file right back to the IRS, but the seemingly extra step may also help you identify if the agency made any errors....

How Annuity Arbitrage Works Annuity arbitrage involves the purchase of a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA) and a Life Insurance policy at the same time. The structure of the annuity can be single-life or joint with a spouse. It’s important to structure both the annuity and the life insurance policy for maximum benefits, so it’s important to fully understand each. What Is a Single Premium Immediate Annuity (SPIA)? The oldest form of an income annuity provides the highest contractual payout of any annuity type....

Subpar answers can make you seem unprepared, uninterested in the job, or lacking the necessary qualifications to get the work done well. That’s one big reason it’s so important to prepare for interviews in advance and practice your answers to common interview questions. Doing this will make you come across as confident and qualified, making you an appealing applicant to interviewers. Examples of Bad Job Interview Answers Take a look at some examples of the worst types of answers to interview questions, so you can be sure to avoid giving these responses during your next interview....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage inched down to 5.86% from 5.87% the previous business day, while the average for a 15-year mortgage fell to 5.12% from 5.26% the previous business day. The averages haven’t been higher than 5.87% and 5.26% since at least 2019. (Our daily mortgage rate data only goes back to April 2021, but our data on yearly highs and lows date back to 2020, so we know rates weren’t higher in 2020....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 5.31% from 5.11% the previous business day, while the average rate for the 15-year leapt to 4.34% from 4.21% the previous business day, hitting their highest in more than two years. (Our daily mortgage rate data only goes back to April 2021, but our data on yearly highs and lows dates back to 2020, so we know they hadn’t been higher in 2020....

The average rate offered to homebuyers using a conventional 30-year fixed mortgage jumped to 4.62% from 4.51% the previous business day, and the average for a 15-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.77% from 3.65% the previous business day. Both have risen about 30 basis points in the past week, reaching their highest points since 2020, when the 30-year got as high as 4.71% and the 15-year reached 3.99%. Fixed mortgage rates tend to track the direction of 10-year Treasury yields, which usually rise with heightened inflation fears (and fall when those fears subside)....

In this article, we’ll take a look at what German bunds are and how investors can use bund spreads to monitor the health of various eurozone economies. Bunds and Bund Spreads German bunds are simply sovereign bonds that are similar to Treasuries in the United States (the term “bund” is German for “bond”). These bunds are commonly sold in two-year, five-year, ten-year, and thirty-year increments, as in many other developed Western countries....

President Donald Trump signed the $900-billion bipartisan COVID-19 economic relief bill Sunday night, just one day after two pandemic unemployment programs expired and less than a week after the president called for larger stimulus checks. In a video on Twitter Tuesday night, President Trump asked Congress for $2,000 stimulus payments, as opposed to the proposed $600. Congress did not increase stimulus payments prior to the president signing the bill Sunday night, however....

Types of Loans and Their Requirements Loans are offered by private lenders but insured by the Federal Housing Administration, which requires mortgage insurance on all FHA loans. You’ll pay mortgage insurance upfront and as part of your monthly payment. You can roll the upfront mortgage insurance cost into your mortgage, but it will increase your monthly payment. USDA Loans The U.S. Department of Agriculture offers loans similar to an FHA loan, but USDA loans are designed for homebuyers with little income or savings who are purchasing a home in a rural area....

Definition and Examples of Critical Success Factors Critical Success Factors are those variables or circumstances necessary to enable a positive outcome for a business program or strategy. The CSFs are the expected causal variables of a particular desired result. Examples include: A project team identified the need to train in Agile methodologies to replace their reliance on the traditional critical path project approach as a critical success factor with the complicated new software development initiative....

Initial claims for unemployment benefits dropped 26,000 to 360,000 in the week through July 10, the lowest level since the COVID-19 pandemic began in March of 2020, according to seasonally adjusted data released Thursday by the Labor Department. Uneven progress so far this summer stopped the momentum built in the spring, which nearly halved the weekly volume of claims after they’d stayed stuck at about four times pre-pandemic levels for many months....

The biggest contributor was the 2012 presidential election. It was a very close race between two candidates with radically different approaches to stimulating economic growth. The race itself slowed growth, as businesses waited to see what direction the country would take. The second-largest contributor was from the ever-pending fiscal cliff. Uncertainty over future tax rates kept $1 trillion of corporate expenditures on the sidelines, waiting for a resolution before it could be safely invested....

To put the numbers in perspective, filling the gap and keeping up with demand would take building more than 2 million homes a year for the next 10 years or 1.78 million for the next 20 years, the researchers estimated—far more than the current trajectory. Builders were on pace in May to break ground on 1.57 million homes over the course of a year, including 1.1 million single-family homes, according to the Census Bureau’s monthly report on new residential construction released Wednesday....

Self-Discipline Of all the traits you need as a trader, self-discipline is one of the most important. It’s required to implement a strategy effectively and keep you from trading when your plan dictates you shouldn’t. Self-discipline is created and strengthened by excising self-discipline. There is no short-cut, and it isn’t something you have or you don’t. Anyone can create self-discipline by sticking to a plan. Each step of the trading process–from creating your trading plan to executing it and monitoring performance–all require self-discipline because your mind will be constantly distracted by other things....

The stronger your communication skills, the better your chances of getting hired regardless of the job for which you’re applying. You’ll do better during the interview, as well as on the job. What Are Verbal Communication Skills? Effective verbal communication skills include more than just talking. Verbal communication encompasses both how you deliver messages and how you receive them. Communication is a soft skill, and it’s one that is important to every employer....

Every day, we do thousands of things that we don’t consciously control. That is usually good, as we’d never get anything done if we actually had to think about taking each breath, walking, or moving our facial muscles to smile. However, the same auto-pilot programs that help us navigate the outside world can actually harm us when it comes to trading. We can’t turn these programs off, but we can become more aware of our mindset and take steps to re-program any harmful habits....

A person’s ability or inability to perform ADLs is one factor insurance companies look at when deciding whether they’re eligible for long-term care insurance benefits. It also plays a role in determining whether applicants are approved for certain types of insurance. Bathing: The ability to get into and out of the shower or bath and wash oneself sufficientlyContinence: The ability to control one’s bladder and bowel movements, or manage a colostomy bag or catheterDressing: The ability to put on and take off one’s clothing, and any necessary braces, artificial limbs, etc....

What Are Angel Investors Looking For? A Solid Return: Angel investors are looking for a higher return on their money than they would receive on the stock market, but this desire coincides with a high degree of risk. Only 40% of angel investment exits in 2017 provided investors with more money than they contributed. “For every dollar that an angel puts into a company, he or she would like to take seven dollars out, after taxes, in seven years," Allan Riding says, a leading expert on angel investing and professor at Carleton University....