Author: Press Room

Nobody likes to get letters from the IRS, much less statements involving fines. Both are easily avoided. The IRS provides multiple ways to file before the April 18th deadline this year. Here’s what you need to know: * Eligible individuals and families who earned $73,000 or less in 2022 can use IRS Free File, available only on IRS.gov, to electronically file their taxes. * All taxpayers, regardless of income, who need more time to file a return can use IRS Free File as an easy and quick way to electronically file for a six-month extension before April 18, 2023. An…

For most computer literate elders, online shopping is a great convenience and is usually fine — until something goes wrong. With an aging parent who is a little confused, or who has memory problems, online purchases can become a trap. While most purchases go as planned, one can understand that sometimes the wrong thing is delivered or what is paid for doesn’t arrive. Sometimes all too much arrives and no one stops it. The aging parent who has a little trouble keeping track of things will not know how to address these things successfully. They may be baffled by return…

A short grantor trust walks into a bar. After a few too many drinks he starts flirting with a pretty beneficiary, promising her a step up in his assets. But before he seals the deal, the bartender pulls the stool out from under him, shouting, “Get out! You’ve got no basis stepping up here.” “Based upon the detailed discussion that follows, we have concluded that there is a solid argument that there is a basis adjustment to the fair market value of the assets of a grantor trust on the death of the grantor.” EXECUTIVE SUMMARY: It is the duty…

We’re in an interesting time, financially speaking, with a unique set of financial circumstances. There’s likely an inverse relationship between your cash accounts and your mortgage. A decent, high-yield savings account is somewhere around 4% APR, and if you were able to lock in a low interest rate years ago, you may have a rate as low as 3.125% or somewhere in there. It’s an unusual environment where savings accounts are yielding a better return than a 30-year mortgage. This was the beauty of those low interest rates a few years ago, it allowed many to take advantage and lock…

A Westport home located between the beach and downtown was reimagined by a design and build team. They transformed the turn-of-the-last-century Dutch Colonial into a modern farmhouse with luxurious updates while retaining the original charm. The team of designer Bob Costanza, architect Doug Cutler and builder Oscar Leal of Beachwalk Homes worked together to keep the original foundation and curved roofline, and added modern wings to the footprint, expanding the home to 5,400 square feet. An oversized porch wraps around the main level, with a foyer that leads to a large great room with a gas fireplace and 20-foot cathedral…

Mortgage rates fell for a fourth straight week, according to weekly data compiled by Freddie Mac. The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 6.28% as of April 6, down from 6.32% recorded last week. One year ago, the 30-year FRM averaged 4.72%.Meanwhile, the 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 5.64%, up from last week when it averaged 5.56%. At the same time in 2022, the 15-year FRM averaged 3.91%. “Mortgage rates continue to trend down entering the traditional spring homebuying season,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s Chief Economist. “Unfortunately, those in the market to buy are facing a number of challenges, not the…

Wall Street wrapped up the short but volatile week on a modestly upbeat note ahead of Friday’s monthly jobs report. Stocks had been wobbly earlier in the week in response to signs of a slowing economy, including weak data on private payrolls and job openings. That marked a change from previous sentiment when investors cheered weak economic numbers in the hope that the Federal Reserve might ease up on its campaign of interest rate hikes. Now the market seems to be struggling to decide whether recession worries or rate hike worries are more meaningful to stock prices. With the exception…

Zara’s owner Inditex is looking to the U.S. as an engine for growth. If American shoppers can be tempted to spend more on its fast-fashion outfits, investors should find the shares are a good fit.  Inditex’s (ticker: ITX.Spain) expansion in the U.S. has been cautious. It only has 101 U.S. stores, having opened its first in New York in 1989.  That could change under CEO Oscar Garcia Maceiras, who has been in charge for just over a year. Over the next two years the company plans 30 projects—including new stores, relocations and enlargements—in major American cities.  That will include new…

China has launched military manoeuvres around Taiwan in retaliation against President Tsai Ing-wen’s meeting with senior US lawmakers including House Speaker Kevin McCarthy in California this week.The People’s Liberation Army on Saturday announced three days of drills, saying it would “conduct Taiwan encirclement combat readiness, patrol and joint sharp sword exercises” in the Taiwan Strait and waters and airspace north, south and east of Taiwan until Monday.The manoeuvres began after Tsai returned late on Friday from a 10-day trip that culminated in talks with McCarthy, the most senior elected US official to meet a Taiwanese president on American soil.According to Taiwan’s…

In his yearlong battle with Disney, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has repeatedly leaned on the element of surprise in his attempts to outmaneuver the entertainment giant and its army of executives, high-priced lawyers and politically connected lobbyists. “Nobody can see this coming,” DeSantis told a top Republican legislative leader as they planned a move against Disney last year, he recalled in his new book. But when Disney finally struck back and thwarted, for now, a DeSantis-led state takeover of its long-standing special taxing district, it was the Republican governor who was seemingly caught off guard. The same February morning Disney…