Good in a crisis? Try a financial fire drill

Pamela Yip Could your resources hold up if you lost your job or had to make a mercy dash halfway across the country - or the world? The best way to find out is to run a fire drill on your finances and see if...

MIXING MONEY

Finance the family way

Sylvia Pennington French authorities were shocked to uncover a real version of fairy tale hell this week.

Superannuation

Super industry gets out the claws, but happy with result

Madeleine Heffernan Funds showed their muscle this week, and they've pledged to fight tooth and nail if any government makes changes they don't like.

Super

Benefit disputes a fate worse than death

Super As superannuation account balances grow, who gets the death benefit after you are gone is becoming more fraught, especially among those with complex family arrangements.

PLANNING

Step right up and do it yourself

John Collett Taking control of your retirement funds can be rewarding, but there are potential pitfalls.

Carer's conundrum

Sylvia Pennington Providing for disabled children after parents can no longer do so is a major problem for many families.

It's a legal maze, if you will

David Potts Don't leave home without a credit card, nor depart this world without a will.

In case of heartbreak

Barbara Drury The news that Olympian Grant Hackett is suing his former legal team over a botched prenuptial agreement has sent a shiver down the spine of the legal fraternity.

It's a trust issue

I Can Do That The strategy: To find out whether there's a potential problem with my family trust.

Unlock ownership matters

Lesley Parker The contract arrives. The property purchase is, not unusually, being made by two people with the same surname.

Ask Noel

Noel Whittaker I have come into some money and would very much like to help my kids. I know there are tax problems with gifting money to your children but are you allowed to put money into an offset account...

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon

How to spring clean your financial house

Nicole Pedersen-McKinnon MoneySmart Week is here but it pays to be smart all the time.

A master plan for lifelong prosperity

Age matters. When it comes to your finances, there are endless rules, benefits, tricks and traps based on how old you are. Many rules are confusing and inconsistent.

Ask Noel your finance questions

Noel Whittaker I am living in my late mother's house. When the time comes to sell, will I have to pay capital gains tax?

Leave your will in good hands

I Can Do That The strategy: to choose an executor for my estate.

Reprieves still hard to come by

George Cochrane Small relief exists for first-time breaches of the concessional contributions cap but there's a catch.

Find a balance to get ahead

Lesley Parker Like overstretched European governments, we should all be thinking about how we're going to balance the books a bit better this year.

Fatal mistakes

Lesley Parker Funeral insurance is being heavily advertised on daytime television but critics say the only way you'll come out ahead with this sort of cover is by dying early.

Avoid pitfalls of a DIY will

Lesley Parker The growing use of DIY will kits, now more readily available online, is causing concern at a time when the relatively wealthy baby boomer generation start to pass on their assets, or what's left of...