Bank finance articles and tips

Tax liens have become a popular type of investment for some people. They offer another opportunity to invest in real estate without having to purchase property at the highest possible rate. The bottom line with these is that to make a wise investment, individuals need fully to understand what they are, how they work and how to make a profit using them. Every situation is a bit different and local laws can play a role in these investments. With experience, though, you can definitely learn to use these to make a nice profit for yourself without putting a lot of money out to get started.

When purchasing property in a self directed IRA, getting the right loan is key to making your IRA more profitable. If you have a self directed IRA, you can use it to purchase real estate in any form: residential, commercial, and even raw land....

As Benjamin Franklin said, 'the only things that are certain in life are death and taxes', a statement which has stood the test of time and Inheritance Tax touches on both of these issues. When you pass away, an assessment is made as to the value of your estate, including cash, property businesses and so on. If this exceeds the current nil rate band (set at £325,000 until 2014) then your family will have to pay 40% tax on all other assets.

This tax bill can be reduced through various methods, but you must consider the impact of these options and do an Inheritance Planning Review as there is rarely one solution which suits most people. For example the easiest way to avoid it is to gift your money away and live longer than 7 years so that the gift is completely outside your taxable estate. However there are obviously issues here regarding whether you would like access to this money again, whether it is wise to give your beneficiaries large amounts of money when they are young and so on.

When filing bankruptcy, a debtor can keep their car using several strategies. Let's take a look at a few:

If You Own Your Vehicle

If you own your vehicle and don't have a lease or loan attached to it, you can hold onto the car in Chapter 7 bankruptcy. As long as the vehicle is covered completely by the bankruptcy exemption allowances, Chapter 7 bankruptcy will allow a debtor to hold onto their car while discharging other unsecured debts. However, if the vehicle's value exceeds your bankruptcy exemptions then the bankruptcy trustee may ask you to sell the vehicle and distribute to creditors the amount which exceeds the bankruptcy exemption. Or, the bankruptcy trustee may allow you to pay cash for the amount that exceeds the exemptions. For example, if you have a vehicle worth $6,000 and an exemption for only $5,000, then you can pay the bankruptcy estate $1,000 cash and keep your vehicle.