You’re more likely to live to 100 if you were born in a “Blue Zone.” We have yet to discover the fountain of youth, but demographer Michel Poulain and Dr. Gianni Pes found something close: five places where people regularly live to 100 years old. Those five spots are Okinawa, Japan; Sardinia, Italy; Nicoya, Costa Rica; Ikaria, Greece; and Loma Linda, California. Why are those locations home to so many happy, healthy centenarians? Well, people living in Blue Zones tend to share the same nine habits — which matters because, as Poulain puts it, “Only about 20% of how long you live is dictated by your genes, the other 80% is dictated by your lifestyle.” Some of those habits are predictable, like eating a largely plant-based diet and using a routine like napping or prayer to release stress. But others are surprising! For example, can you believe that “putting your family first” and drinking one or two glasses of wine daily are linked to living longer? If you’d like to live to 100 like Tyler’s Grandma Ellen, you may want to add a few of these habits to your life. Read about all nine in Dan Buettner’s book, “The Blue Zones: 9 Lessons for Living Longer From the People Who’ve Lived the Longest.” Did You Know?
Want to Shield Your Assets From Creditors?
This Trust Will Do the Job
Do you have creditors chomping at the bit to get a piece of your hard work? If so, you should consider protecting your money and assets by moving them into trusts. This method of estate planning gives you more control than a simple will, but it begs a question: Is a revocable or irrevocable trust best for your situation? Both revocable and irrevocable trusts protect your estate from the probate process. They also allow you to set up guidelines that must be met before your children or loved ones can inherit assets — protecting what you worked hard to build from immature children who need to learn management skills. The biggest difference between these two trust types is that the terms of a revocable trust can be changed by the trust creator, while the terms of an irrevocable trust cannot be changed (without court approval, and even then, it is limited). Another big difference is the flexibility (or lack thereof) to transfer assets to and take assets out over time. In a revocable trust (often referred to as a living trust), you are permitted to transfer assets in and out of the trust as you please. In an irrevocable trust, you are typically not able to take assets out once they have been placed into the trust (unless you get approval from the trustee or the courts), but depending on the type of irrevocable trust you choose, you may still be able to use and benefit from the assets. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, revocable trusts do NOT allow you to exclude assets from your taxable estate or from creditors who pursue your hard-earned money and assets. Irrevocable trusts, however, will almost always allow you to exclude certain assets from your taxable estate and from creditors looking to make claims against you. In short, irrevocable trusts protect you from creditors and taxes because you are no longer in full control of those assets and never will be. If you need to safeguard your property from greedy creditors, an irrevocable trust may be a smart choice for you.
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