AI Legalese Decoder: A Solution for Understanding Legal Jargon and Protecting Your Parents’ Financial Future
- November 29, 2023
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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FAMILY FINANCIAL CONCERNS: STRUGGLE AND POTENTIAL SOLUTIONS
The Struggle
As a second-generation Asian immigrant, I find myself in a difficult position with my aging parents. At the ages of 56 and 57, they are working a combined 130 hours a week in the healthcare field, yet have no retirement accounts beyond my dad’s possible pension plan and my mom’s unspecified retirement plan through her job. They are also hesitant to open savings accounts in other banks and are relying on minimal .01% interest savings accounts. Additionally, they are financially supporting my brother who is burdened with $500,000 in debt due to health issues that caused him to drop out of school.
The pressure to financially support my parents and brother is mounting, especially as I am nearing the end of my college education and have taken out a parent plus loan in their name. My career path in public defense is not known for high earnings, and I am concerned about my ability to meet the financial demands placed on me. It’s clear that I need to find a solution, not just for my own financial stability, but also to help my family plan for their future.
Potential Solutions
The AI Legalese Decoder could offer valuable assistance in this situation. It can help in translating complex legal and financial jargon into easy-to-understand language, which would be crucial in explaining financial options to my parents and brother. It could enable me to clearly present the benefits of high-yield savings accounts, bonds, Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs), and index funds to my family, allowing them to make informed decisions about their financial future.
In addition to using the AI Legalese Decoder to facilitate these financial discussions, I recognize the importance of taking action. I plan to seek the advice of a financial advisor who can provide an unbiased perspective on our family’s financial situation and explore options for investing and saving. By demonstrating concrete numbers and graphs that illustrate the potential benefits of different financial instruments, such as high-yield savings accounts and index funds, I hope to persuade my family to consider these options for their long-term financial security.
Furthermore, I intend to empower myself by taking control of my own financial future. I will begin by ceasing the parent plus loans and focusing on securing my own academic and financial stability. Opening my own IRA and educating myself about low-cost S&P 500 index funds will be crucial steps in building my own financial security.
Ultimately, by utilizing the AI Legalese Decoder to support clear and effective communication, seeking professional financial guidance, and taking charge of my own financial future, I aim to provide my family with viable solutions for their financial well-being.
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Original Content:
“AI Legalese Decoder is a powerful tool that translates complicated legal jargon into simple language that anyone can understand. This can be particularly helpful for people who are trying to navigate the legal system on their own, as it can be incredibly difficult to understand all of the terminology and nuances of the law. With AI Legalese Decoder, individuals can get a clear understanding of their legal documents and contracts, allowing them to make informed decisions and protect their rights.”
Rewritten Content:
How AI Legalese Decoder Can Help Simplify Legal Jargon
In today’s complex legal landscape, understanding the intricacies of legal language can be daunting for individuals trying to navigate the legal system on their own. AI Legalese Decoder offers a solution by providing a powerful tool that translates complicated legal jargon into simple and easy-to-understand language. This cutting-edge technology can be particularly helpful for people who are not well-versed in legal terminology and are seeking to comprehend the details of their legal documents and contracts.
With the assistance of AI Legalese Decoder, individuals can gain a clear understanding of their legal rights and obligations, empowering them to make informed decisions and protect their interests. This innovative tool is designed to make the legal process more accessible and comprehensible for everyone, ultimately allowing individuals to confidently engage in legal matters without feeling overwhelmed by complex legal language.
In addition to simplifying legal jargon, AI Legalese Decoder has the capability to break down intricate legal concepts and provide helpful explanations, further assisting individuals in grasping the full implications of their legal documents. By doubling the original length, it is clear that AI Legalese Decoder is a valuable resource for individuals seeking to effectively navigate the complexities of the legal system with confidence and clarity.
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****** just grabbed a
Most likely they’ll be working till the can/die.
Realistically, the only option is to start saving every penny till retirement age, then get on any and every program that helps retired people. Then work some more.
Um. Good luck. How much do they make? And what on earth did your brother do to get $500k in debt / what kind of debt is it? Might be better if he declares bankruptcy honestly
Check their social security on the site, is or can brother get any disability?
If they have worked on the books their whole lives, combined with owning the home it’s not too bad.
Currently it sounds like they simply expect you to support everyone as they are not taking any steps to do it themselves at all.
This sounds like a mess. You need to decide how much of this mess you want to take responsibility for.
First consideration is that if your sibling isnÔÇÖt able to complete school due to health issues, they may need to apply for SSDI at social security.gov .They could also apply for student loan forgiveness due to disability: https://studentaid.gov/manage-loans/forgiveness-cancellation
As for yourself, I would be uncomfortable accepting money from my parents in such a situation. Consider whether you have other ways of funding your education such as scholarships or you take out the loans yourself. Having your parents incur loans for you and accepting money from them is putting them further in the hole.
Ultimately they need to make their own choices to budget and save for their future, or not.
Is there anything like a child of immigrants sub reddit that you could go to for advice, or cultural organizations/centers in your area? This feels much more nuanced than what general reddit thinks you ‘should’ do. It seems like you need support to build a long term plan for yourself, and set groundwork for how you are going to handle financial expectations from your parents.
I’m not sure which culture specifically you’re speaking from, but in my area of the Midwest we have really active Korean-American and Burma (Myanmar)-American organizations.
So sorry to hear that. Unfortunately it is common in Asian culture for parents to expect their kids to provide for them (however unfair).
How long till you graduate? Can you start picking up part time jobs in the meantime? Why you can only start making money when they are 70?
The debt is another problem, what total debts do you and your family have and what are the interest? Is 500k student loans?
Good news the house is paid in full, not sure if it’s a good idea to sell the house and move to a smaller / cheaper place and use the money to pay debts/to invest. It depends to a lot of factors.
Are you in the states? Maybe local people can give a more localized advice. Hang in there
I married into this situation!
Step 0: Open an IRA and start saving for your own retirement. Unlike a lot of your peers, you may only have 10-20 years to save before you can no longer contribute due to parental obligation. Time is your greatest asset but for us it is limited.
Step 1: graduate. Do what you need to do to earn a good salary. Live frugally. Pay off your debts. Maybe find a spouse with high earning potential. Rent a good-enough apartment or live at home. Drive a good-enough car and resist the urge to upgrade. Wear clothes that are nice but not expensive. Basically, do not buy yourself luxuries.
Step 3: Budget. Typically the rule is 50% needs, 20-25% savings, the rest wants. But that doesn’t take into account adult dependents! So try to keep your needs and wants much, much lower while beefing up your savings. Be frugal. Aim for needs closer to 30% of your income, wants 10-15%. Get comfortable with this budget.
Step 4: Try to enjoy your life frugally. Don’t give your parents any money. If they ever bring up retirement, ask them how they are going to pay for it. If they say “OP, you’ll pay for it.” tell them that you can’t. Or tell them that they either get retirement or grandchildren, but that decision is yours, not theirs.
I have found that line of reasoning really opened up my in-laws eyes to the fact that my spouse and I are doing well, but not 5+ dependents on two salaries well. They quietly started looking into their options (pension, Medicare, social security, saving at least a little, cutting back lifestyle). They recently said that we don’t have to fund them in retirement (I’m skeptical) but at least they’re trying now, and that really does help relieve pressure.
YouÔÇÖre not making money until 14 years later? YouÔÇÖre about to graduate and work towards law school. Maybe by 65 youÔÇÖll be doing decent, which is 7-8 years.
Problem is youÔÇÖre going to have to figure out what to give back. Probably pay off your parent plus loans and the $1K/mo they gave you. But law school is expensive AF – you will have to optimize for $$$ at the cost of everything for awhile.
Anyways you and your brother are their retirement plan it sounds like. I donÔÇÖt know what you expect when your brother and you take everything. I think you should expect a life of them moving into the house you buy, and them living off the house sale. Or maybe they can sell and move back to Asia where itÔÇÖs cheaper. In any case your brother should be the one paying off his $500K debt, not your parents or you.
Sounds to me like they intend the house to be their retirement fund. This is a terrible idea and only really works if they expect to live with you in retirement. You should ask them what their plans are for when they can no longer work and what their expectations from their children are. Their expectations may have a lot of built in assumptions that you may not like.
IÔÇÖm sure they wouldÔÇÖve mentioned this already if this were an option, but on the off chance, do they still have ties to the home country and can retire there? Maybe thatÔÇÖs why theyÔÇÖre so lackadaisical about their lack of retirement savings here? I know China for example allows everyone whoÔÇÖve paid into the system long enough, to collect a government stipend upon reaching retirement ageÔÇöeven if they donÔÇÖt live there and even if theyÔÇÖve changed citizenship. So first-gen Chinese immigrants here can sort of double-dip, to my limited understanding.
My parents are first-gen too. They have some retirement savings here but are not too bothered with it generally speaking, because they know if worst comes to worseÔÇöif between their savings and me and my sister, itÔÇÖs still not enoughÔÇöthey always have the Chinese stipend to fall back on.
They will have to keep working. ThatÔÇÖs what most people have to do.
The fact that they have a house and jobs and they can support your brother really shows theyÔÇÖre not in an awful place.
Maybe they could downsize their house at some point, or rent and live off the sale of the house.
Either way, you can tell them that you wonÔÇÖt be able to support them and they need to plan for that in some way.
We all wish our parents were rich geniuses that had their and our futures set, but thatÔÇÖs not how it is for 97 percent of people.
I’m so sorry that you are in this situation. It can be so hard to feel responsible for people acting irresponsibly. I had a similar situation with my father. His money was in a checking account paying next to nothing. When I visited him, I took him to his bank and arranged to move some of his money into a much higher yield, safe account. When I came home the banking rep we used called me to tell me that the day after I came home my father went back to the bank and reversed everything. Sometimes you just have to let people find their own path.
That is common asian immigrant mindset: they dont trust pension or any governmental or any bank’s program because somehow any asian country must have had a bank defaulted/asian economic crisis 1997/government change/pension being completely erased during their time, you will have better luck laying an egg by yourself than changing their mindset.
As for working until old age I dont know your culture but in some few asian culture old people still want to work light weight jobs just to go out and meet people. They dont want to stay at home and feel useless. Somehow the working old people are less likely to have Alzheimer, so just let them work until they cant.
For them expecting you to take care of them, thats mostly many asian culture. They took care of their parents so they simply expect you to take care of them. If you are in a tough time right now maybe tell them your situation.
As for long term if you dont want to take care of them at all, either you can marry and have kids or leave forever and never contact them again.
Can you interest them in some government bonds? It’s not the best option in terms of return but it’s definitely better than earning 0 interest in a checking account. The 10 year rate is currently 4.4% and the risk is basically 0, definitely less than the risk of the bank that your parents are using failing.
stubborn asian parents. i feel ya buddy.
Take a breath. ItÔÇÖs not all hopeless. You say they have a paid off house. That is part of their retirement. ItÔÇÖs an asset. ItÔÇÖs probably worth a lot more than what they bought it for. They donÔÇÖt have to pay for mortgage. They just have to pay utilities, taxes, and maintenance. If they sell it, they probably will get a lot of money for it, and just rent out an apartment until they pass.
Then, they also have social security that they can claim once they hit retirement age.
So, theyÔÇÖll have just enough money to cover utilities, taxes, and maintenance and food.
Well there are a couple options. You will either squander your future to help your parents out so that you will end up just like them with no retirement for yourself looking for handouts when you stop working or you let them know now that you can’t afford to fund their retirement and your own bills.
Your parents don’t want to be helped. You are the retirement plan and they don’t give a shit about how this will affect you. They don’t want to change anything because they have you, their future personal ATM. At this point all you can do is have a frank discussion with them how you aren’t in a position to help, or can send x/month but nothing beyond that if you do choose to help them.
Also if your brother became disabled he can apply for his loans to be discharged and I have no idea why your parents are paying for them right now.
Looks like they have paid off house, they will receive social security and they will need to live on that. If they can’t they will need to sell their home and go to their home country if the money will stretch further there. My Asian friend is in that same position you are. Their parents expected to be supported while they retired in the western country they immigrated to but my friend just said that they won’t be able to do that and told them they will need to go back to their home country where they have paid off house and live off their social security payments over there.
Now it’s up to you what do you decide to do but there are only these two options. It’s too late for them to save for meaningful retirement. They will need to cut expenses when they stop working and you need to decide how much money if any you can commit to them every month. There is no magic fix for their situation
Your brother needs to take care of that debt.
That 500K is never going away, and will hang over his and his parents’ lives forever.
A CP or bankruptcy is in his future.
They’re old school and based on their upbringing they don’t trust the government. Honestly, there’s nothing you can do about changing their ways. It’s going to clash with your upbringing because of the different era, environment, government and most of all culture.
Best thing for you to do is try to UNDERSTAND where they’re coming from so YOU know how to DEAL with the situation. Don’t expect them to come around and understand YOURS. They’re old and set on their ways. Honestly, coming to terms and accepting/understanding them makes a huge difference on your mentality.
What you *can* do is try to save up what they give you on your own. So like if they were to give you $100 or something, you can put it into a savings account for emergencies when they/you need it.
I say this because I know the frustration. I’m 1st generation American. My parents are immigrants. So instead of thinking/using western culture to understand them you really need to look into your parents background/culture and upbringing to truly understand the whole situation.
You need to save every penny to prepare yourself for supporting them once they hit their 70s, unfortunately. Or cut them off and deal with that guilt.
WeÔÇÖre paying $8,000/ month for my MIL in Memory Care just to give you an idea of whatÔÇÖs ahead of you.
>hey both refuse to let me open savings accounts for them beyond their .01% ones
this I can relate…
I was able to convince a family member to move their 40K saving that was earning 0.01% ($0.40 a month) to a brokerage account earning 5%
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they have more savings..so know i just need to convince them to focus on buying shares of index funds when they are down every now and then to DCA down and just leave the money in there until they retire
I feel like more attention needs to be on the brother vs the parents. $500k in debt? I always have a hard time believing the stories given for why someone has so much debt. Anyways, your parents are in no position to help him, but will out of the kindness of their hearts. What happens when they can’t support him anymore, you support all of them?
If I were you, my first priority would be to not further burden your parents with more student loans. Are they planning to take out more loans for your college and law school? If not, how are you planning to pay for those? Hopefully you are working full time during the winter school break) e.g. at grocery store over Christmas season) and during the summer, as well as part time during the semester (tutoring? On campus coffee shop?). Consider working for at least a year or two between college and law school to save up for tuition. During and after law school you need to keep your lifestyle very low until this mess is figured out and the parent plus loan that they took out for you is paid off.
Are they spending every penny they make right now because of your brotherÔÇÖs student loans? If they have any money to spare, they could consider planning to use real estate that they rent out as a place to put their money if they (unfortunately) donÔÇÖt trust the stock market. Perhaps they could sell their house and buy a duplex for the same price as a first goal. They would of course need large cash reserves for when things go wrong, but perhaps having a specific goal would motivate them to save towards it. According to ÔÇ£A Random Walk Down Wall Street,ÔÇØ real estate historically makes returns very similar to average stock market returns.
ETA: I hope I didnÔÇÖt come off as callous or unfeeling about the financial difficulty of going to college and getting a law degree. I do understand that itÔÇÖs impossible for you to find your own undergrad education starting next semester, but can the loans be in your name instead of your parents? All you can do is live frugally and make whatever money you can while in school and you will muddle through eventually. I find that keeping a strict budget (for yourself) makes you less anxious even if you donÔÇÖt have much to work with because at least you can see a solid plan for each month and know that you are making some progress. Perhaps you could set a goal to save $2000 for your emergency fund each semester and also pay for $x dollars of tuition per semester until you graduate. Then when graduate from law school your number one goal can be to pay off the student loans asap. ItÔÇÖs wonderful that you care about your parents so much. The world will be lucky to have you as a lawyer.
Can you find a financial planner from the same country as your parents and set up an appointment? Or even a banker? They may need some culturally specific help on finances. If they have a $140k income and no mortgage, and have been working for more than 10 years they probably have a shot to be ok. The plan would be:
1) Start saving now, aiming to save $20-$40,000 a year via IRAs and 401Ks.
2) Work until 70, and keep saving until 70.
3) At 70, they would both have good social security (probably $3,000-$4,000 a month each.) That alone is enough to live on without a mortgage.
4) If they save even $25k a year for the next 14 years at 7% returns, they could have $530k at 70. They could safely withdraw another $21,000 a year from that, giving them something like $93,000 before taxes, $70,000 after taxes. Without a mortgage, that is so far from poverty, it’s ridiculous. That is in the top 30% of incomes for people at 70.
5) If necessary, at some point, they could reverse mortgage the house, and probably get another $1,000 to $3,000 a month of income.
I resent my asian in-laws so much for this. We give them money and my sister in laws gives them money, but they always ask for more. The thing that pisses me off the most is that they retired in their 50’s.
They made a completely selfish move and were just planning to mooch off their children for the rest of their lives. Now they’re approaching 70 and have nothing saved, no equity in their house due to lines of credit, and still always ask for more and more money from their children. They refuse to take jobs because of how it would look. Ugh.
Sorry for the detour but why is your brother 500k in debt due to health issues? Have you looked into the Affordable Care Act?
Filial piety is their retirement plan. Sounds like you both are or were going to school to be medical doctors, and so they advanced those costs for you both, so that it get returned when you both have high earning professions.
It sounds like your brother got in debt trying to pursue a degree. Either way, this sounds like typical middle child syndrome. IÔÇÖm also expected to help them in old age but my mom wonÔÇÖt save. Unluckily my brother also is in debt but because of poor financial management and poor choices in life.
I did asked her for 4k once. First time I ever asked her for money. And I used it to buy her series I-Bonds back when it was at 7% and went up a little. So I forced her to start investing and bonds were perfect since itÔÇÖs almost ZERO risk. Unless U.S. defaults but we would have bigger problems then.
1) If they are Physicians, they worked on-the-books and will get Social Security. Its not a real retirement but its also not quite poverty either.
They can move back to their home country and live like Kings almost certainly in retirement while also probably being happier since they clearly never assimilated in US culture.
2) Their house is worth something. They can downsize and move to a condo or a rental.
3) You can trick them too. You can take their money and open up a roth IRA in their names and just invest it a low-cost S&P 500 index fund. If you can really trick them, you can find a way to start having them donate into a 401k without them knowing.
Asian parents pinch pennies so this can be hard.
The first 2 options are probably your best bet.
4) Lastly, don’t sweat it. We’re not in Asia. It’s not your fucking responsibility to take care of your parents. They have social security. They will be fine at the end of the day. Don’t make their mistakes yours. Go live your life. You are entitled to it and don’t ever let them guilt trip you when its their mistakes that put them in this position.
Sounds like my in laws. Dad died at work, mom is disabled and gets SSDI. House paid off. Mom was relying HEAVILY on kids to provide for her. They couldnÔÇÖt take it anymore and now sheÔÇÖs on her own. DonÔÇÖt let them ruin your future and your mental health because they wonÔÇÖt save or listen.
I’m just here to say that this is not your fault and you should not feel guilty about it. I speak from experience. Yes you should help. Yes you will do what makes sense, but YOU decide what makes sense.
DO NOT EVER GO INTO DEBT FOR THEM. EVER. If you want to live more frugally so you can support them, great. But you have to break the cycle of poor money management or you’ll pass it onto your kids and so on. No loans. No car loans no house loans no credit cards for them.
If they will accept your help, then get fully into it. Know where their accounts/pensions are. Go to a financial advisor and figure out what makes sense for retirement.
OP, is it possible for them to open a high yield savings account at the bank they currently use?
I bet if you showed them with concrete numbers how much a high yield savings account could earn, they would consider this option. People sometimes just need concrete numbers.
DonÔÇÖt panic just yet. If theyÔÇÖve been working in the US, theyÔÇÖll be able to draw on social security and Medicare when they retire. If theyÔÇÖve paid off their home, theyÔÇÖll probably be able to scrape by with that. My parents were very poor and saved nothing for retirement. But now theyÔÇÖre getting by OK with support programs.
So you might be in the position of helping them pay for occasional luxuries or unexpected expenses. But theyÔÇÖll have other sources of financial support.
Just donÔÇÖt take on the burden of supporting your brother. HeÔÇÖs in a tough spot, but heÔÇÖs got time to bounce back.
It’s hard to say without knowing more specifics about what they and what they make. Regardless, you shouldn’t set yourself on fire to keep others warm. You seem to be their retirement plan but you need to take care of yourself first – or you’re not taking care of anyone and, perhaps worse, you’ll end up being drug under with them. Not to be unkind, but folks like this are anchors. They may have helped you, but they’ll just hold that over you forever to manipulate you into taking care of them and your sibling forever which will result in you never achieving the financial stability you could have. In short, it perpetuates the cycle of terrible financial choices.
As others have noted there are definitely cultural issues here which complicate it. My husband is Asian, so I have some experience with that. If you want to find a sympathetic group of people to discuss that with you can try r/AsianParentStories perhaps.
How much Social Security will they get and what type of spending lifestyle do they have?
It they eat cheaply and mostly hang out at home, then SS is enough for most people so they aren’t completely screwed.
You could take equity out of the house on a schedule if needed. Your brother, can he work remotely? DonÔÇÖt light yourself on fire to keep all of them warm. Be careful with your money. I never tell my parents or my in laws how much my husband and I make.
You can take a horse to the water but you can’t make them drink it. If they won’t accept any input then there’s nothing you can really do. I understand this is tough cause its your parents but they need to want to do it themselves. They can’t have you force them. It won’t work that way.
They own their house and make 140k a year. I don’t know the health situation of your brother or his debt but assuming they can stop supporting him and just focus on their own retirement then they can possible figure it out. It would require opening a ROTH IRA immediately, and if they don’t trust banks have them buy bonds or something so they can save their money and it’s one of the safest investments you can make. Zero mortgage their bills can’t be that high, making 140 a year if they can just invest 50 of it they might be ok if they work into their late 60’s early 70’s.
Op says they won’t tell them much. I’m guessing they have more than they say. The house is paid off so they’re ahead of most people.
Addressing the .01% savings account: My credit union checking account pays me 4.5% if I pay two bills online through them and I just have to make about 10 electronic purchases a month (lunch, water, groceries). For god’s sake, 4.5% a month!!! They’re paying me to have a checking account! Zero fees ever! C’mon people.
Dude are you me from years ago? Lol
My parents had NO investments working as CNAs etc. Went bankrupt trying to play the real estate market THEN recession. I always felt helpless… I dk what to tell you except grind hard. Focus on you.
It sounds like they did not make smart financial decisions their whole life. Now they’re in a position where they have nothing financial to show for hard work their whole life. If they are that tight on money and struggling and only getting $83 a month from the government for food, and they’re OPEN to advice and change, I would suggest that they sell their house since we are in such a good sellers market still… And then they should downsize immediately (in size and cost), 2 bedroom apt, maybe something smaller. Even if they’re house is only worth something low like $50k, if they find an apartment or a rental home that their jobs can pay for, the $50k goes in their savings and they can build off of that. Or comfortably pay their bills better, etc. If they are healthcare providers, I know they have to make a decent wage. This way their job money can give them some leeway after bills are paid and hopefully build their savings more.
On the flip side, some would say them moving into an apartment would increase their expenses, which is true but if they’re making at least $5000-$6000 a month as a combined income, they should be able to afford an apartment. And this way it ignites a spark in their savings accounts to continue to build some kind of wealth.
Rather misleading. You say they don’t have anything but then go on to say the house is fully paid. How much is the house worth?
What’s their financial situation? Do they have money left over and are not investing it wisely? Or are they “paycheck to paycheck”. If it’s the latter then there’s not much you can do about it. If there’s no money to invest/save then there’s no money left to save/invest. Unless you are suggesting they spend too much on unncessary things.
Now if they do have money left over but just not investing it wisely, well, you can suggest investment strategies. But honestly it’s there money, let them spend it the way they see fit.