Trees are a great addition to any home's landscape. Trees no matter what size or how old look great, but they can also provide problems and controversy if a storm moves in and your tree falls on your neighbor's home or property. Who is ultimately responsible for paying for the damages and/or cleanup? If you answered the question "I am", you would be incorrect. Your neighbor would have two options. They could submit a claim to their Homeowners Insurer or pay for the expense out of their pocket.

Of course there could be special circumstances where you could be held liable.

If you have further questions, please call us at 952-469-0414.

Many large employers have 401K plans for their employees. When investing in a 401K plan it is wise to invest as much as you can to ensure that you receive all company matching funds that may be provided. That is free money for you.

With a 401K plan you can choose how you want your money invested. There's lots of information on how to plan for retirement, but not nearly enough on how to plan retirement itself. Here are some pitfalls to avoid:

• Underestimating your life expectancy.
• Assuming you'll be able to work as long as you wish.
• Failing to factor in health-care costs.
• Locking in poor returns
• Tapping tax-deferred accounts too soon.
• Withdrawing too much -- or too little.
• Failing to get a second opinion

This year's winter has been about normal, but we can expect more cold weather before spring.

Each year there are approximately 10,000 residential fires and about 190 deaths associated with portable or fixed space heaters. There were 15,500 fires and 40 deaths associated with fireplaces and chimneys. In addition, an average of about 85 people die each year from carbon monoxide poisoning caused by heating systems

With gas prices being so high in the last few years, many people turn down their thermostats and may be using space heaters to warm their rooms.

Here are several space heater safety tips.

• Turn off your space heater if you are leaving the room or going to bed.
• When buying space heaters, look for devices with automatic shut-off features with heating element guards.
• Keep the heater on a level, hard surface away from rugs, drapes, and or animals.
• Heaters should be placed at least 3 feet from any wall.
• Inspect your heater annually to ensure it did not get damaged while in storage.

Lastly, experts suggest that you purchase and install a CO detector in your home.

Creating a Roth IRA can be a great way to save for retirement. A Roth IRA is an Individual Retirement Account that provides tax-free growth on retirement funds. You can open a Roth account through a stockbroker, mutual fund, or other provider of "normal" investment accounts. Here is an example of a Roth IRA investment. Let's say I start my portfolio with $2,000 at age 21. I plan on putting $2,000 annually, the limit is $3,000 and it increases annually as well. I do this for 44 years, assuming an average rate of return of 10%, by the time of retirement I will have an IRA balance of $1,568,000. These numbers are hypothetical, but it gives you an idea of how easy, and hassle free it is for someone to simply set aside $2,000 a year. Check out these calculators which will help you enhance your future retirement savings.

Roth IRA calculator

Retirement planning...start with the Social Security Web Site. Start here

A social security calculator

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Studies have shown that 43% of those who turned age 65 in 1990 will enter a nursing home at some time during their life. Of those who live to age 65, nearly 1 in 3 will spend three months or more in a nursing home and 1 in 4 will spend one year or more in a nursing home

To Learn more about Long Term Care Insurance, check out the link below or call us at 952-469-0414.