When it comes to lotteries, the odds of winning are vanishingly small. In fact, the odds of winning the Jackpot in the Mega Millions lottery is 1 in 302,575,350. It is often said that you are more likely to be struck by lightning, and although the odds for lightning strikes vary over the country, the…
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Recessions
Dear Garden State Trust: My head is still spinning from the explosion in prices, and now I’ve been reading that many CEOs are expecting a recession, perhaps this year. Is a recession really very likely? —Nervous About the Economy Dear Nervous: As a wise man once said, it’s tough to make predictions, especially about the…
Planning Ahead For the Digital Estate
When we think of property, we generally think of tangible things. Land. Stocks. Paintings. However, in our new digital age many of the things we own are digital as well. Intellectual property. Cryptocurrency. NFTs. These properties need to be valued and accounted for in estate planning, so they can transition in an estate just like…
Delaying Retirement
Dear Garden State Trust: I was planning on retiring later this year, but I’m having second thoughts. My 401(k) has gone down in value, just when the cost of living is going up at rates I haven’t seen since I entered the work force after college. What do you think? —Reconsidering the Retirement Date Dear…
Incentive Trusts
An incentive trust is a trust that includes provisions requiring beneficiaries to meet certain conditions before the trustee can distribute funds. This means that the funds can only be accessed in specific situations or for specific needs. Some incentive trusts give the trustee the authority to spread distributions out so the beneficiary doesn’t receive them…
Warren Buffett On Inflation Response
Dear Garden State Trust: The recent record inflation is frightening. What stocks should I be buying to protect my portfolio? —Worried Investor Dear Worried: As it happens, a Berkshire Hathaway shareholder posed that exact question to Warren Buffett and Charlie Munger at this year’s shareholder meeting, held in Omaha on April 30. She observed that…
Should I Retire To the Sea?
As retirement approaches, we may wonder about downsizing our living space, or even moving to a new area entirely. The perfect retirement has many elements, and is more than just having enough money to make work an option instead of a requirement. One of the hardest things is realizing that you are the leader of…