Saturday June 21, 2008, 3:05 am
Yes, the very rich will always leave something to somebody. But this financial analysis warns us not to look forward to too much when our elderly family members pass on. Good stuff.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 3:07 am
If I keeled over today, I would leave $10,000 in personal debt, an old Gibson guitar, a paltry life insurance, a small retirement fund and thousands of books. Not to mention reams of writings, songs, and box loads of eclectica. Not a killing in financial terms.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 3:31 am
Noted

Saturday June 21, 2008, 4:32 am
Aw Cate, what a bummer, I was just thinking about going over to win your heart, so that you could keep me in the style that I would like to become accusted to...S o I have to tell you...after this revelation...I have changed my mind...I can live in poverty here better than in the US of A..Sorry Cate....lol.....by the way I filled up my vehicle with diesel at $1.75 per litre = if my maths are right, $7.46 per US gallon in $US..it costs me A$172 to fill up yesterday, and that lasts me 2 weeks...ouch....I am looking at buying an LP gas/ petrol vehicle...gas is about A$.70c per litre, which is over A$1 per litre cheaper than diesel.....Ken

Saturday June 21, 2008, 4:42 am
I thought the meek?>??? Thx Cate!

Saturday June 21, 2008, 5:36 am
Thanx Cate. Interesting comments in that last section how the older generation is transferring monies now...for their own reasons of course which means recipients can only spend it once...now or later.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 7:15 am
Hey Ken-Boy from Oz, I am already supporting one man...I REALLY don't need another...LOL! Now to find me a sugar daddy...:-)

Saturday June 21, 2008, 7:18 am
Thanks for another interesting article Cate.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 7:28 am
If I bit the dust today I would leave only my car to my son. I have nothing else to leave him..

Saturday June 21, 2008, 7:43 am

Interesting to see yet another avenue the banking and insurance industries have lobbied to legalize illegal gains like the 'reverse mortgage' and 'life insurance policy buyouts'.

How did they ever manage to legislate contrived pillaging of personal ownership?

Life Insurance 30 years ago could only designate blood-lines as beneficiaries. Mortgages bought at a fraction of their value would put private investors in jail for gouging the vulnerable Senior Citizen.

Banks & Insurance Companies are the 2 largest Lobby's. Banks first, Insurance Companies 2nd. Huge Lobby's!

It amazes me how cool the transfer of wealth is mobilized to the Corporations that created the crisis, rather than the crisis itself (rising health care cost, increasing banking fee's & rates, illegal taxation of Social Security Benefits, etc...) being addressed.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 9:31 am
Noted -- TY Cate
And then you have probate costs % inheretance tax if you do have property to pass on to your children. If not the corporations, then the government!

Saturday June 21, 2008, 11:16 am
Thanks Cate for the interesting story. Both of my parents are dead and they left some money. I have a brother and a sister who also inherited money. I think every year the ceiling rises on the inheritance tax. We have no children to leave money to so I guess we will use what we have to survive. Insurance costs are what are killing us. Sheeeese!

Saturday June 21, 2008, 12:02 pm
Cate, with the right Gibson, you'll check out easily in the black. My old and well used Gibson & Martin might supply good coffee to the distributers of my ashes. I've had a will since I got married at 21 and established trusts for my kids when they were born. My dad though, cruising at 89, does not and sees no need for one. However he will probably outlive my brother and me. Anyway, just as long as I don't leave a mess for my kids and my wife. Live long and add a Martin.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 12:58 pm
Cate, if that Gibson is a 1910 that used
to belong to John Denver (and you can prove it),
then you ARE a wealthy woman!
If I was to kack-off today, I'd leave alot of
junk and crap, old debts, and an orphaned
black-cat(the famous Miss Bibbs).
The best I could hope for is that the people
I owe money to would start harassing my worthless
brother for the $$$. Not that he'd pay, but I'd
like to leave him with the headache!...LMAO!
Thanks, Cate!
noted.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 1:22 pm
I have told my parents and in-laws to "spend your money now"....I don't want to know anyone is trying to leave me something I didn't earn. Ahhhhhhhhhh, we are living in a MATERIAL WORLD, but I'm just not a material girl.... or, am I? :)

Saturday June 21, 2008, 3:30 pm
My parents wouldn't spend an extra dime because they wanted to leave their kids something. They did and my greedy sister who isn't local stole their furniture and anything she could get her greedy hands on. Yet she still got the same amount of money as the rest of us. Miss greedy made out like a bandit. I hope she's happy (snarl) with herself and suffers a long, miserable old life with nothing. She'd visit and not even get mom something to eat, but she and hubby would go out to eat. Yep, left mom home without getting her something to eat. I certainally hope the saying is true--"What goes around comes around!" and may they "come around to her double.

I had hoped to leave some things to my children. I'm afraid it will be "things" I leave to them.

Thanks for the article Cate.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 4:01 pm
if i keeled over i don't have a will memories are what i can leave

Saturday June 21, 2008, 4:26 pm
My Gibson is a 1956 J50. I had a well-known luthier replace the crappy adjustable ceramic bridge with a fixed rosewood bridge. Here's what it looks like:

Saturday June 21, 2008, 4:28 pm
1950's Gibson J50
It's only worth about $3500 - but it's priceless to me. It's worn in good ways...that's because I earned a living with it for 7 years.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 5:24 pm
VERY nice-looing guitar, Cate,
and if it was good enough for
Bob Dylan, it'd be good enough
for ANYONE!

Saturday June 21, 2008, 10:53 pm
I've got an old washburn D10 that I bought that I've been learning to play on. I've got a few trombones that I've used over my 25+ years as a musician. Two I currently use(A 1962 Conn 6H and a 1959 Olds Recording) for mostly for jazz, rock and blues work and I bigger one (1966 Conn 88H) I keep for orchestra gigs that pop up every now and then.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 10:57 pm
I hope to hover over the estate sale at my home, to make sure only cool people get my goods. Noted, glad U are back, thank you Cate.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 11:00 pm
I also have about 20-30 Marine Band Harmonicas that I play for blues gigs with a Shure green bullet mic and a fender blues junior amp.

As far as other investments go, I've got some property and some cash but nothing to write home about. I'll probably die poor like most people.

My will states that any assets that remain will go to the Denver Rescue Mission which is a homeless shelter.

Saturday June 21, 2008, 11:06 pm
Oh god my kids are going to have a hard time...I have a unusuall collection of about 1,000 breyer horse...LMAO I have collected them since I was a kid and have never lost one of them..I have another collection of ceramic horse that would blow most peoples minds...That is all my house has in it...LMAO It is filled to the brim with ponies and peeps keep on sending me them for they know I cherish them all....The whole collection of Breyers may be worth something but priceless to me.

Big Gorilly Hugs

Saturday June 21, 2008, 11:07 pm
That is a very nice looking guitar. I'll bet you have some very special memories with it.

Musical instruments quickly become a part of you when you make you living with them. I remember I was on tour with a rock band sometime back and one of my horns was missing and I was literally sick to my stomach. It turned out that I had left it on the tour bus under the seat and the driver found it and asked if I needed it. I was never so relived. The very next week I got and kept insurance on all of my musical instruments.

Sunday June 22, 2008, 7:53 am
Michael, you sound so very talented!

Sunday June 22, 2008, 1:41 pm
very very inteesting Cate, I did the age expectancy test and I will live till I am between 91 -99. so still got a long way to go. lol

Sunday June 22, 2008, 1:46 pm
Ah, sorry Pauline, but that test doesn't account for you getting hit by a drunk driver or having a heart attack - like Tim Russert, even though he had just passed a stress test in April . . . Oh, don't take this the wrong way! I hope you know what I mean, that it all looks good on paper, but in the end we will all die anyway and of something!

Sunday June 22, 2008, 2:05 pm
When there's a death in the family, relatives will fight over anything! Death changes everything, and those who weren't bothered before, suddenly show their true colors - green for greedy! Even wishes put in writing are ignored by whomever gets there first, when strangely enough these same people didn't care about the owner or his/her belongings before they died.

There's no one in line to get my stuff, including but not limited to:

- My used and abused Barbie doll collection from the 60's, with her many outfits, shoes and accessories.

- An Olivia pin-up collection of books, assorted brochures and papers, posters - some framed and/or signed, and 2 original lithographs, museum framed, and signed by the artist.

- AND a 1954 Gibson Les Paul JR guitar . . . My Mother gave a $100 loan to the new owner at our family beer joint, but he never came back to pay and get it back. It wasn't EVER played until the mid-70's, when a cousin took it for about 6 months - long enough to put a 3-4" belt-buckle scratch on the back. It hasn't been played since then.

Sunday June 22, 2008, 6:07 pm
Thank you Cate. I work hard at what I love to do and that's play music. You sound talented as well. You stated you made a living at guitar playing for seven years. I can appreciate how tough to do that really is.

Music is wonderful, unfortunately, the music business is not.

Sunday June 22, 2008, 6:26 pm
One of the best signs I have seen on the back of a caravan (mobile home) was this. "We are enjoying our children's inheritance". Well, they worked for it, so why shouldn't they? Everyone seems to have the idea that they "own" real estate. the REAL is in fact a misunderstanding because it actually means "Royal" so it does belong to the government of the country and NOT to the person who "bought" it. That is why we all have to pay land tax, that's the rent on the area we call "ours". When we buy "real estate" we go into a contract of rent to the government and the land tax is the rental. When we die, the real tax comes forward in the identity of probate tax. Sorry folks, do not expect to get your "inheritance" as it already belongs to either the banks or the Government. When you put your money into a bank for interest, they might pay you a handsome 5% or some other ridiculous amount and then they lend it out up to 18 times (here in OZ) and they collect a pitiful 9% on each of those 18 multiplied lots of your money. They get about $162 or so from every $100 you invest per year and you get $5 so they only get a meazly $157 per year. You should have pity on the banks because they then have to lend that out all over again. Someone worked it out that over a period of 20 years your $100 investment will give you a whopping 100% on your investment and the poor banks have to wallow in a miniscule $80,000,000 or so. Please take pity on them for they KNOW what they do best. AND please enjoy your inheritance NOW before the kids enjoy it after you have gone. A few of the families DO the right thing with family inheritances. IF you are one of those families (as I am part of) then that is wonderful but I have seen the difference that money makes to some people, they actually become vultures and get every cent they can for themselves at the expense of their siblings. Very SAD but they can justify everything that they do. Our kids will enjoy only what we leave them or at least what the government leaves them.
By the way, I am not rich in this world's goods but one thing I do know, most folks who are very wealthy also have a heart for the less fortunate and are willing to help them to get to a better quality of life both physically and financially but most folks are too tied up in coveting what they were not prepared to stick their necks out for. Money does not come from what the eye of the beholder sees but from the work that is put into progress thereafter. Working is not only with the muscles between the shoulders but mostly comes from the use of the substance between the ears. We all have it but we are too concerned with having "security" and security degrades to slavery of the security concious. A