Most couples plan for retirement as a team. You save together, travel together, and make the big decisions together. But there’s one chapter couples rarely talk about: what happens financially when one of you is on your own.

 

It’s a bigger topic than you might think. Of the $124 trillion expected to change hands over the next two decades, about $54 trillion is projected to pass first to a surviving spouse. Before most family wealth reaches the kids, it goes to a husband or wife.

 

That first year can bring surprises. The survivor can generally still file a joint return for the year of the loss. After that, most file as single, with narrower brackets and half the standard deduction. Same income, often a bigger tax bill. There are decisions to make, too, like whether to roll an inherited IRA into your own name.

 

These conversations are much easier to have now, over coffee, than later, in a hurry. That’s why at PWM we plan with both spouses at the table, not just the one who usually handles the money, and we work with your CPA so the tax side is thought through in advance.

 

If the two of you haven’t walked through this chapter with us yet, let’s put it on the agenda for your next meeting.
 

by Donna Fuscaldo

Brushing up on your Italian before a trip? An app like Duolingo is a fine place to start. It’s good at vocabulary and short phrases, thanks to “spaced practice”: short lessons repeated over days instead of crammed. The streaks help, too (so does the owl’s passive-aggressive nagging).

 

The catch? App conversations are scripted. Real ones aren’t. And one study found 64% of users quit within four months. The experts’ fix: keep the app, but add a class, in person or online, plus movies or podcasts in the language.

 

Sometimes the app gets you started. People get you talking.

 

by Clarissa Brincat

Ever see a photo of yourself and think, “That can’t be me”? You’re not alone, and it’s not just the lighting.

 

A mirror shows your face flipped. Since nearly every face is a little lopsided, the flipped version is the one you know by heart. Psychologists call it the “mere exposure effect”: we like what’s familiar. So a photo looks off to you, but normal to everyone else.

 

Quick fix? Flip the photo. (Just know it’ll now look off to everyone else.) Better yet, the people who love you see your “photo face” every day. They probably like it better than you do.

 

by Jennifer Byrne

Last week's answer: Bolivia

This week's question: In what movie does Humphrey Bogart say, "Here's looking at you, kid"?