The Election and a Fresh Obamacare

THE ELECTION AND A FRESH OBAMACARE CHALLENGE LOOM OVER NEW SUPREME COURT TERM

Obamacare is not a new or unfamiliar word amongst Americans. It is a term used alternatively for the Patient Protection and

Affordable Care Act (ACA) of 2010. This act is aimed to reduce the cost of Healthcare for those who can’t afford them. Its introduction has helped many Americans who can’t afford quality Healthcare access such service at a more affordable price. Therefore, middle-class and lowclass Americans don’t have to spend so much before accessing the quality Healthcare they desire. However, as the US election is fast approaching, there seems to be a fresh Obamacare Challenge Loom over the new supreme court term.

A case will be argued a week after the election, and the outcome of the argument will determine whether Obamacare remains or not. There have been two challenges in the past regarding the Affordable Care Act, and the outcome of those challenges were 5-4 and 6-3. Thus, it remains. Should the argument be lost this third time, it may be an end to Obamacare.

WHY THE ARGUMENT?

Obamacare was introduced under the Barack Obama administration, but it is now being challenged by the Trump administration and a coalition of red states. They argue that three years ago, the Republican Congress zeroed out the monetary penalty for Americans not covered by insurance. Therefore, the whole law should be void.

WHAT IS THE IMPLICATION OF ABOLISHING OBAMACARE?

According to Ben Sommers, a professor of health policy

If your illness requires expensive treatment, you may be affected by the repeal. One of the purposes of Obamacare is to help people who need costly treatment get such treatment without paying much.

and economics at Harvard University, Obamacare impacted every portion of the health-care system. Thus, if the whole act is void without a better replacement proposal, there may be confusion and chaos in the system.

WHO’LL BE AFFECTED IF OBAMACARE IS REPEALED?

Under Obamacare, employee’s children below 26 years are covered by the employers of their parents. Thus should the act be repealed, young adults covered by their parents may lose their coverage. Perhaps you don’t know how many young adults we’re talking about. It was reported in 2016 that there are two million young adults who are covered under their parent’s plans. However, should the law be repealed, some employers may continue offering the coverage, but it will be optional.

Other sets of people who may lose their coverage are those with pre-existing conditions. Insurance companies will be allowed to deny coverage for anyone with pre-existing conditions. They may also decide to charge higher premiums. When this happens, it’ll become difficult for people to afford coverage.

If your illness requires expensive treatment, you may be affected by the repeal. One of the purposes of Obamacare is to help people who need costly treatment get such treatment without paying much. Hence, repealing the act will mean that people will have to fend for their full payment by themselves. For instance, if not for the ACA, 165 million people in the US suffering from conditions like hemophilia or cancer would have been required to pay hugely for their treatment, which many may not be able to afford. In that case, patients will face two options, with the first being to go bankrupt or stop the required treatment.

Nonetheless, as the election is knocking at the door, and the argument to determine whether the Obamacare act should remain or not is also fast approaching, Americans are waiting to see the outcome. However, If it is repealed, there’s a likelihood of it being replaced by another act to ease the medical affairs of Americans. On the other hand, if it is repealed and not replaced with a better plan, then the above implications are some of the consequences Americans will have to face.

References

https://en.as.com/en/2020/10/15/latest_ news/1602789409_116559.html https://www.npr.org/2020/10/05/919704165/the-electionand-a-fresh-obamacare-challenge-loom-over-new-supremecourt-term

CARES ACT: CONSIDERING 401(K) WITHDRAWAL BECAUSE OF UNEMPLOYMENT DUE TO COVID-19 PANDEMIC?

by Donnell Stidhum

The effect of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown is felt far and beyond. The lockdowns and quarantines that were necessary to curb the spread of the virus slowed the economy with unprecedented force and speed. Businesses racked up losses, and layoffs and pay cuts followed. With increasing rate of unemployment, many families are struggling to meet their day to day expenses. If you are facing financial hardship due to COVID-19, you may have considered making a 401(K) withdrawal early to cover your expenses. I’ve broken down all the steps to complete this process in a 30 minute webinar you can access here

Financial experts do not recommend taking money out of your retirement accounts early, but now taking into consideration the present economic scenario, most of them say that if you must, you should, as a last resort.

In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump signed the CARES Act on March 27, 2020, providing more than $2 trillion in financial relief for businesses and workers affected by the pandemic. If you are considering a 401(k) withdrawal, there are certain things you need to know.

WITHDRAW MONEY OF UP TO $100,000 WITHOUT PENALTY

Under normal circumstances, if you’re under 59 1/2, withdrawing from a 401(k) is a costly proposition because you are charged a 10% penalty on withdrawn funds. The recently introduced CARES Act changes that. This means you can make COVID-19 related withdrawals of up to $100,000 from your retirement account without incurring this penalty on early withdrawals. Although the removal of this penalty takes off one of the substantial burdens of taking out the money from a 401(k) early, raiding your retirement accounts is still be a costly proposition because you lose out on the compound interest your money would’ve earned if it had stayed invested.

So, early 401(k) withdrawal is now penalty-free, but is it completely tax-free? No.

INCOME TAXES APPLY TO THE WITHDRAWAL AMOUNT, BUT THE REPAYMENT CAN BE STRETCHED OUT OVER THREE YEARS

Withdrawing money from your 401(k) will still have tax consequences. Regardless of how old you are, when you take out money from your retirement account, you will be taxed as normal. But the CARES Act allows you to stretch the repayment of the taxes over three years instead of paying the entire amount this year. This arrangement provides some financial relief as the taxes can be substantially large, even without penalties.

CAN YOU PUT BACK THE WITHDRAWN MONEY OVER THE NEXT THREE YEARS?

Yes. If you’ve taken a coronavirus-related distribution, the CARES Act allows you to put the money withdrawn back into the account over the next three years. The money that you put back will not be counted against your annual contribution limits, and hence you will not be liable to pay any income taxes on that. But, if you are unable to repay the borrowed amount due to financial constraints over the next three years, income taxes will be applied.

YOU MAY HAVE THE OPTION TO MAKE AN EARLY 401(K) WITHDRAWAL, BUT SHOULD YOU DO IT?

The best way to determine whether you should take an early retirement distribution is to check if you have enough money to cover your living expense for the next 3 to 6 months. If you don’t and you find it difficult to manage these costs, then you should consider taking advantage of this.

However, before you decide to take this step, think of the bigger picture. You are raiding into your retirement savings and losing out on money that would have accumulated due to compound interest if you would have let it stayed into your account.

So, before taking this drastic step, always look at other sources of income or options. You can also consider taking help from a tax professional or financial planner to weigh the pros and cons of withdrawing from retirement accounts. For expert help, Contact Self Directed Retirement Plans LLC Donnell Stidhum at (816) 916-0039.

In addition, for more specific details related to the CARES ACT and how it impacts your retirement dollars jump in this FREE 30 Minute Webinar at www. selfdirected.info . Schedule a time to take this FREE class to help you access $400K of YOUR retirement dollars.

DO YOU NEED A REAL ESTATE ATTORNEY?

There’s nothing wrong with trying to minimize the money you spend on investment to maximize your profit. However, there are some crucial things you should consider spending on if you don’t want to lose your investment. One such thing is a real estate attorney. Perhaps you hold the ideology of doing everything yourself without involving a third party. However, when it comes to real estate investing, such an ideology can be catastrophic. Hiring a real estate attorney can cost you thousands of dollars, but it’s worth it. If you’re still wondering whether to hire a real estate attorney or not, you should consider the following reasons why you need one:

FOR CLARITY

Before you sign any document in your dealings, you must understand every word and phrase in it. Otherwise, you may just be signing your trouble. However, there may be some legal terms you can’t understand in the documents, not because you’re not smart but because you’re not an attorney. The job of your attorney, in this case, will be to go through the document on your behalf and ensure that you understand everything stipulated therein. Some terms or phrases may mean something ordinarily but can mean another thing from a legal perspective. Your real estate lawyer is a professional in the field; thus, they’ll ensure the terms are well defined to you before you agree to get into the contract.

EXPERIENCE

Perhaps this is not your first real estate dealing. However, even with that, you can’t be more experienced than a real estate lawyer. They must have handled more real estate deals than you’ll ever get into in your lifetime. They understand the state and local laws. Your experience may only be restricted to your deals, but for a real estate attorney, they’ve dealt with multiple clients and handled a variety of properties. Therefore, if you want to mitigate any risks that could result in delay or jeopardize your investment, you must seek the legal support of an experienced real estate attorney.

PROTECTING

A real estate attorney will be actively involved in the negotiation process. You can allow them to handle the negotiation process fully. That way, not only will you be saving yourself time and stress, you’ll also be protecting yourself and your family. Doing it yourself can land you in trouble. A real estate lawyer, on the other hand, is skilled and can walk you through the complications of estate investment. They’ll also protect and safeguard you from troubles you cannot foresee yourself. With an excellent legal counsel, you can put your mind at rest, knowing verily that your investment is safe and protected.

SAVINGS

Many have lost their life savings to fraudulent dealings. Often, such people are those with the “I can do it myself” ideology. In the name of minimizing the amount spent, they end up losing their entire investment. Thus, to avoid losing your investment, you may want

to consider hiring a real estate attorney. It is no gainsaying that you’ll be required to spend extra on hiring such an attorney, but the amount you’ll pay will be nothing compared to if you were to lose your entire investment. Attorneys are experts; hence, they can identify fake real estate deals and warn you before you get into it. If you don’t want to lose your life savings on property investment, you should consider hiring a real estate attorney.

PROPERTY TRANSFERS

If one or of the two parties, or the two parties involved are corporations, partnerships, or trusts, the deal is usually more complicated. In this regard, you may not be able to handle the contract preparation and negotiation yourself successfully. An attorney is knowledgeable; thus, knows how this sort of arrangement works. They will, therefore, ensure that the contract aligns with the law and the corporation’s, partnership’s or trust’s charter agreements. They’ll go through the terms and conditions of the contract and compare it with the constitutions of all the bodies involved. If it doesn’t align with the values any of the parties stand for, they’ll make it known from the onset. This will help to avoid troubles that may result in tarnishing the contract before closure.

CLOSING

After walking you through a successful transaction, a real estate attorney will prepare your closing documents formally. They’ll ensure that all required parties, including the seller, buyer, witnesses, and the lawyers attest to the documents. That way, you can be sure that there’s no trouble as far as the deal is concerned. Should the seller raise an objection against you in the future, you already have a legal backup — the signed closing documents to prove that they attest to the sale of the property and terms and conditions were entirely accepted by the two parties.

Can you now see why you need a real estate attorney?

References

https://www.legaltyservices.com/5-reasons-need-realestate-attorney/ https://www.investopedia.com/articles/mortgages-realestate/08/real-estate-attorney.asp