We all have enough to worry about and better things to deal with — the last thing you need is a shadowy hacker opening a new bank account or credit card in your name. Yet identity theft and financial fraud are on the rise. In one year alone during the COVID-19 pandemic, from 2019 to 2020, identity theft cases in the U.S. increased by a whopping 45%, according to the Federal Trade Commission.
When many people hear “estate planning,” they imagine wealthy families dividing inheritances or dramatic will readings in a lawyer’s office. It can feel intimidating, morbid, or irrelevant—especially if you’re not Warren Buffett or Oprah Winfrey. But the truth is, estate planning is really about life planning.
Passed on March 27, 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act is the largest economic bill in U.S. history -- a $2.2 trillion emergency fiscal stimulus package designed to help ease the effects of the economic damage being caused by the coronavirus. It includes varied types of financial support for individuals, businesses, healthcare entities and state and local governments.
