Queercents

Sometimes I think if I am confused and concerned by what little legal protections are available to me and my partner, I can only imagine how stressful it must be for LGBT couples with kids. Every time I hear a news story about this or that legal disaster that befalls a gay or lesbian couple who has kids it makes my head spin.

I recently received a copy of the book “Wear Clean Underwear” by Alexis Martin Neely. It is described as a “A Fast, Fun, Friendly - and Essential - Guide to Legal Planning for Busy Parents” and endorsed by a number of people I respect. While it is not specifically geared toward the LGBT family, in many of the examples the author does not assume parents are (or can be) married. And, you have to love her preface of terminology:

If you are in an unmarried relationship, either by choice or because the law does not allow your marriage, please know that I respect your circumstances, and substitute the word “partner,” “ex-spouse,” “life partner,” “baby-daddy,” “baby-mama,” or whatever other term you use, where appropriate.

Wow - validation in a mainstream book. That always makes my heart sing!

One concept I liked right off the bat was her re-framing of the notion of estate planning. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you know that as gay and lesbian couples, we’re denied access to the more than 1,100 federal benefits and protections available to married people? Do you want to understand how this influences our bank accounts?

With the April 15th just a week away, HRC kicked off a “7 Days to a Better Financial You” campaign to help the LGBT community learn a few things about getting our finances in order. HRC will address one of the significant issues facing same-sex individuals and couples everyday through April 15th.

Plus on Thursday, they’re doing a webchat with financial advisor and Advocate contributor Joe Kapp, Attorney Brenda Jackson-Cooper from Arnold & Porter LLP and HRC Legal Director Lara Schwartz. You can submit questions before the chat, by emailing HRC at webchat@hrc.org.

Webchat: Thursday, April 10th at 3:00 PM EST / 12:00 PM PST on www.hrc.org.

Finally, here’s some bonus material to bookmark: Joe Kapp recently co-authored a piece in the Journal of Financial Planning that every queer should check out: A Guide to Serving the Estate and Financial Planning Needs of Gay Men, Lesbians, and Same-Sex Couples.

Do you know what your current financial status really is? By that I mean can you easily answer the questions:

• What is my net worth?
• What is my FICO score?
• What are all the assets I own and their value?
• What are all my liabilities and their current payoff amount?
• How much do I earn?
• How much do I spend?
• Am I adequately protected from an insurance and legal standpoint?

Can you rattle off the answers or at least go to one central record keeping place in your files (electronic or paper) and find the answers? If you are in a relationship are you clear on your financial status individually and as a couple?

If you can’t answer the questions, find these questions creating more questions in your mind, or are simply overwhelmed by it all and would prefer to stick your head in the sand, now is the time to stop and take stock. If you don’t know where you are today financially, how can you ever determine where you want to go tomorrow (and why) and how to get there? Read the rest of this entry »

In 2002 it was reported that more people filed bankruptcy than graduated from all universities in the United States.

Something’s gotta give.

Recession.  Slow Down.  All the politicians talk about is what scares the most people.  All of the rhetoric, bickering, back biting, and posturing by all of the politicians in the U.S. does nothing for an individual locked in a struggle to survive and provide for their loved ones.

Some people have to just let the world keep spinning on its axis while they choose between food and medicine, clothing or heat, a roof over their head or pay their taxes, etc. Read the rest of this entry »

Did you ever see the Shawshank Redemption? Do you remember how you felt when you realized that the hero had tunneled his way out of prison with his rock hammer and only a poster to cover up his work?

Wow. What kind of tenacity did that take? Of course, he didn’t have much else to do, really.

We’ve all tuned into the motivational purrings of Dave Ramsey. Get rid of debt. Use the “roll down” technique. It’s simple. A moron could do it.

Except, it isn’t magic. For many people, the roll down technique doesn’t work. Many of us need more empirical evidence that what we are doing, the energy we are expending, the discipline that we are sustaining is really working. After all, we’ve all been fooled before. Read the rest of this entry »

In the last installment of Financially Organized we organized your bank statements. These gems contain the bulk of your financial information but they don’t list all the information you’ll need. Unfortunately, we have to keep receipts too. Those pesky slips of paper litter our wallets, purses, homes and lives.

Your receipts contain details of the transactions summarized on your bank statements. They are absolutely necessary in the event of an audit—your bank statements alone will not suffice. Your receipts provide item descriptions, the dates and amounts of your purchases. They also contain information about how you paid. Which statement will it show up on? Was it a cash payment or a debit/credit card transaction?

Keep track of all your money—in and out. Have a record of everything you spend and everything you earn (whether it gets deposited or not). This sounds tedious so I make a game of it. Read the rest of this entry »

The end of the 3rd quarter of this year is over. The calendar shows it yet I’m in disbelief. Halloween is Wednesday and that means October 31st! Scary thought, isn’t it! Many of us just filed our 2006 tax returns two weeks ago. Now another year has almost passed and many of us have disorganized financial records. Frightening!

The importance of record keeping has been a topic of conversation lately. We all know staying on top of our financial records saves us time and money. We just don’t always do it.

Take some time to get yourself out of the cycle of being behind! Over the next few weeks I’ll walk you through a simple way to organize your 2007 financial data and be on track. Imagine how great it will feel to start 2008 with a fresh, clean slate. Come January you can work on your resolutions–not organizing old money stuff. Read the rest of this entry »