Paul Daugherty of the Cincinnati Enquirer allowed me to write his blog today.  I consider it the Moby Dick of blog posts (in terms of length, not quality).

Collections are difficult to plan for because their value can be mostly emotional.  People should decide the value of their collection, decide whether it should be kept intact, and choose which family member(s) should receive it or whether it should sold or donated.  None of this applies to Beanie Babies, which should be thrown away.

The prior post about a possible law requiring that inherited IRAs must be distributed within 5 years of date of death is now moot because lobbyists have urged Senate Dems to remove the provision from a highway funding bill.  Skipping the question of why an IRA payout provision is in a highway funding bill, apparently everything has a price, except integrity and strong leadership are priceless.

The Senate has proposed mandating that withdrawals from inherited IRAs be made within 5 years of the death of  the IRA owner.  The purpose of the legislation is to accelerate income tax revenues.  I agree with this proposal.  IRAs receive preferential income tax treatment because they are intended for retirement.  They were not created to distribute wealth from generation to generation in an income tax advantageous manner.

In what is becoming a common story, questions arise as to what happens to an individual’s virtual data after his death.  Some states are passing laws to authorize executors to access the on-line data of a decedent.   In the meantime, wills should authorize the executor to access data including passwords.