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Trust questions and advice (finance)

SynapseSynapse Registered User regular
edited December 2009 in Help / Advice Forum
My grandmother died several months ago. I've known for some time that i would be receiving a large sum of money from her trust once it went into effect/was organized properly. I received the first check this Christmas as planned; $50,000.

I'd like to know what kind of taxation to expect on this, as I was told it would count as income rather than a gift or straight inheritance. I plan to first put it into my Bank of America checking/savings account (how long should I expect to wait for a large check like this to clear?), then open a hi-yield ING direct account to store the next chunk and accumulate some interest. I don't plan on investing anything yet, but will buy property by the end of the year (currently doing as much research as possible on local real-estate).

I have several expert resources available to me as far as financial planning and investment go, but I thought I'd get as much input as possible from others who may have had experience with something like this (I've always received good advice & answers on this board) and who are in my age range (25). I don't plan on wasting my grandmother's life changing gift.

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Posts

  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    It's generally a good idea to set aside a third of any windfall like this.

    Though, if you haven't maxed out your 401(k) or IRA contribution yet this year, that would be an excellent way to use this, as it would cost you around $0.70-$0.80 on the dollar.

    Thanatos on
  • SynapseSynapse Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I actually have neither of those. I've been working freelance for a while now. Seems like a good time to set up some sort of retirement plan.

    Synapse on
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  • ShogunShogun Hair long; money long; me and broke wizards we don't get along Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Roth IRA, and purchase your first home if you haven't done so yet. Now is a good time to purchase as well. My older brother just closed on a 5BR/3BA for $50/sq ft. If you're unsure of what that it means it means awesome.

    Shogun on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Gah, I'd love to buy a house and I could swing it too within a year.
    How long should I plan on living some place to say "yea, buy buy buy"?

    Improvolone on
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  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Shogun wrote: »
    Roth IRA, and purchase your first home if you haven't done so yet. Now is a good time to purchase as well. My older brother just closed on a 5BR/3BA for $50/sq ft. If you're unsure of what that it means it means awesome.
    Normally, I'd suggest a Roth IRA, but you're going to be getting a windfall along with your standard income this year, so a standard IRA might be a better way to go. Talk to a financial professional.

    Thanatos on
  • ThanatosThanatos Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Gah, I'd love to buy a house and I could swing it too within a year.
    How long should I plan on living some place to say "yea, buy buy buy"?
    If you're planning on living there for a long time, and can buy a place with reasonable payments you can afford, anytime is the best time to buy.

    Thanatos on
  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    4 years or 10 years, its all goood?

    Improvolone on
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  • The Crowing OneThe Crowing One Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Thanatos wrote: »
    Gah, I'd love to buy a house and I could swing it too within a year.
    How long should I plan on living some place to say "yea, buy buy buy"?
    If you're planning on living there for a long time, and can buy a place with reasonable payments you can afford, anytime is the best time to buy.

    This, primarily.

    The longer answer is "who knows?" Prices are still rather deflated, and a motivated seller is often willing to dip a little below value. What, exactly, value is is another question entirely.

    If you can afford a good downpayment you immediately put yourself into a good situation allowing the home to be "flipped" (sold quickly) if necessary. This is, of course, not a solid plan in this market. That said, the biggest issue with homeownership and finance come when you're stuck without equity. Even an unaffordable mortgage payment can be remedied by selling a property, on the assumption that you have the equity to make it worthwhile.

    The biggest answer to your question depends on the financing you set up. aside from an initial investment of 20-30% down, the fastest way to build equity is to purchase smaller than your budget, and make the difference (if you can afford a $1200 mortgage, look for $900) as payment to principle. In the parenthetical example, you'd toss an extra $300 per month into the equity, netting you $3600 off the balance each year.

    This is due to the way that mortgage loans are amortized (how the payment is calculated). Assuming a 30 year mortgage, you generally pay a portion of both principle (payment to loan balance) and interest (payment to, well, interest) which totals your mortgage payment. During the first 10-ish years of a mortgage, the majority of payment will be to interest (usually around 75-80%). Which, in short, means that paying your mortgage and only your mortgage begins to seriously build wealth on a scale with increasing returns. The less time you have left, the bigger the payment to your actual principle balance.

    So the "trick" is to make direct payments to your principle balance. While $4,000/year doesn't sound huge, that's $20k in the first five years. The other benefit? the lower your principle balance, the higher percentage of the payment (generally) goes to principle.

    I'd quote somewhere around 5 years as the minimum residency in order to look at turning a profit by selling. This, of course, assumes a flat market. By most estimates and projections we'll eventually see more growth in the real estate sector. In addition, it simply gives you options. When you have a nice chunk of equity you can easily cash-out refi for repairs/improvements (which increase property value), sell for profit, rent for profit and continued equity, etc.

    The Crowing One on
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  • ImprovoloneImprovolone Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    My apartment lease is up next October, I'll probably bite the bullet then.
    Wow, this is like... adult hood.

    Improvolone on
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  • DockenDocken Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Synapse wrote: »

    I'd like to know what kind of taxation to expect on this, as I was told it would count as income rather than a gift or straight inheritance. I plan to first put it into my Bank of America checking/savings account (how long should I expect to wait for a large check like this to clear?).

    (I am a Trust Lawyer)

    It's income. Depending on how the Trust is set up (its likely some sort of unit trust, though it could possibly be a hybrid discretionary trust of some form), you're receiving a distribution from the Trust, which counts as income and you are taxed accordingly (ie it forms part of your taxable income for that fiscal year).

    The cheque should take 3 days to clear at most. $50K is a lot to an individual, but not to a bank.

    Docken on
  • useless4useless4 Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    One thing you will find while trying to deposit a 50k check in a standard bank with a standard account is people from those little offices on the side come scurrying out with quickness to offer bank services to you.

    If you feel comfortable with your bank, they might have something to offer but yes I would talk to a tax accountant before I talked to anyone else.

    Trusts make your life interesting I have since learned.

    useless4 on
  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Synapse wrote: »
    I'd like to know what kind of taxation to expect on this, as I was told it would count as income rather than a gift or straight inheritance. I plan to first put it into my Bank of America checking/savings account (how long should I expect to wait for a large check like this to clear?), then open a hi-yield ING direct account to store the next chunk and accumulate some interest. I don't plan on investing anything yet, but will buy property by the end of the year (currently doing as much research as possible on local real-estate).

    If you do not need this to live, definitely invest some of this money. Hell other than buying a house/apartment, invest this money and forget it exists for 5 - 10 years.

    Deebaser on
  • Chases Street DemonsChases Street Demons Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    I echo what Deebaser says. I have a close friend who recieved in excess of 150K upon the death of his father. He wasted it. It makes me genuinely angry to think about it, actually. Do yourself a favor, if you don't need this for living money, invest it all.

    I suggest you contact a financial management group. They typically won't take you on as a full client with less than 300k but they may be willing to offer a one time consultation with general advice. They'll see you as a potential long term account if they're smart, if they do right by you now they know you're likely to become a client when your money matures.

    Chases Street Demons on
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  • DeebaserDeebaser on my way to work in a suit and a tie Ahhhh...come on fucking guyRegistered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Also, what sort of work are you doing freelance? It might be a good idea to go corporate if you can find a job that does matching 401k, has FSAs, transit checks, and anything else you can max out for tax benefits.

    Deebaser on
  • SynapseSynapse Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    This is all fantastic advice, thank you everyone.

    I do freelance design, illustration, and motion graphics. I'm going to spend a chunk of the money immediately in order to pay off a few outstanding bills and buy a few odds and ends, otherwise I will sit on the large majority of it until I find the right property. Investment will come a few months from now, when I'm more comfortable with the real estate market and it's inner workings (I live in west LA, and there's a lot of property to look at).

    I'd like to get a full-time position somewhere, but it's a bit more difficult in my field. As for my bank, I don't plan to take them up on any services, I just wanted to process the check first, then I plan to move around the money to my Merrill Lynch/USAA/ING accounts.

    I refuse to waste this money, as that would be a big middle finger to my grandmother and family in general.

    Synapse on
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  • SynapseSynapse Registered User regular
    edited December 2009
    Deebaser: How did your friend waste it?

    Synapse on
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