Read Doug’s articles originally printed in The Jerusalem Post.
Profile Perspectives
Proper financial planning can change your relationship with money.
What is the Best Way to Transfer Dollars to Israel?
When clients ask to transfer dollars from their U.S. investment account to their Israeli bank, the details they must provide sometimes take them by surprise.
Living in a different country from your assets means that money transfers are necessary to meet your cash-flow needs. Following procedures properly can expedite the process…. Read more
When is the Right Time to Claim Social Security?
American citizens living in Israel can claim Social Security benefits if they put enough “quarters” into the system. At what age should American-Israelis claim Social Security?
Waiting may be worthwhile
The youngest age to claim Social Security is 62. While retiring early and claiming benefits may seem tempting, the monthly payments received at age 62 are significantly lower than if you claimed at full retirement age (around 66)…. Read more
What You Need to Do After You Inherit an IRA
If you receive an inheritance, it might come in the form of property, a bank account, or brokerage account. But what if you receive an inheritance from someone’s individual retirement account (often called an “IRA”), known as a beneficiary IRA?
IRAs are different from regular brokerage accounts
A regular brokerage account is normally structured as either an “individual” or a “joint” account,… Read more
When Should You Give Trading Authority to Your Children?
Recently, one of my clients had a serious fall at home, breaking his hip, and ended up in the hospital. As a result of his injuries, it was clear that he could not deal with his finances for the foreseeable future and had to hand over trading authority to his daughter…. Read more
How Quickly Should You Invest the Money You Inherit?
Though I often advise people to wait before investing an inheritance, sometimes you must move quickly.
When do you need to act?
If you inherited a risky position, you should consider liquidating it. For example, the grandfather who always managed the stock portfolio passes away, leaving large amounts of money invested in a few individual stocks…. Read more
Don’t Leave Tax-Loss Harvesting to the End of the Year
Ever think about lowering your taxes with the strategy of tax-loss harvesting?
Tax-loss harvesting is the practice of selling an investment at a loss and matching the loss against a gain of different security that you sold. By offsetting losses against gains, capital gain taxes are only paid on the net profits…. Read more
How to Make the Most Out of Your Parents’ Stocks
What should you do if you inherit a portfolio of stocks from your parents?
Should you sell inherited stocks?
To answer the question of whether you should sell inherited stocks, start by asking yourself whether you would buy these stocks if you had extra cash.
You have no moral or legal obligation to keep the positions just because your parents owned them…. Read more
Are you a victim of “Inheritance Loyalty Syndrome?”
It is common to feel emotional angst after receiving an inheritance. Inheritors may have doubts as to whether they are “allowed” to use the assets as they wish, or whether they somehow have to use them in a way the benefactor would have chosen to use them.
There are two ways to approach a sudden influx of money into your control:
1…. Read more
Do All Married Couples Need to Share Their Money?
What’s the ideal way to handle your money?
In a perfect world, married couples merge their lives as well as their finances, and have joint accounts. However, sometimes a couple can be connected at the heart but have separate bank accounts. While partners should look at their overall assets together,… Read more
Are You Getting the Social Security You Deserve?
The “Greenberg Settlement,” the resolution of a class-action lawsuit brought against the Social Security Administration (SSA), changes the way American olim receive their American Social Security payments.
Under the SSA’s Windfall Elimination Provision, if you receive a foreign earnings-based pension, your American benefits are reduced. Until now, claimants of Social Security living in Israel who also received Bituach Leumi old age pension had their payments from Social Security reduced under the Windfall Elimination Provision (WEP). … Read more