Because of the tax reciprocity agreements between DC and VA it doesn't matter.

My will is filed with the county so that if no one can find my copy, they can still go to the court and have them pull it up (for a small fee I'm sure). I have some copies in small fireproof box. There are more copies in a three ring binder in the office closet. It's kind of a hide in plain sight situation. Is a thief really going to go for a Lisa Frank binder (it's not actually a Lisa Frank binder. I respect my eyeballs too much for that kind of crap) on a shelf with a package of padded envelopes, boxes of markers and pens, and a stack of manuals for various devices? Especially when there are portable electronics all over the home and a giant jewelry box (it's 3 feet tall) full of not at all expensive, but high sentimental value, sparkly things? Also designated POA/secondary POA have copies of their POAs (financial and health).

Yeah, but with a wire, you don't have to spend the length of an international flight freaked out about the amounts of cash you have strapped to your body.

There are in fact many places in the world where cash is still king.

Are you living in India working remotely for a US company? Or are you physically residing in the USA?

Both my gas and electric bills are significantly higher YOY for the past few months. However, my actual usage has been about the same YOY (as shown by the little graphy things on my bills). The unit cost has simply gone up. I already keep my house pretty cold and only have the light on in the room that I am in (I'm WFH). I mean I could unplug appliances that I'm not actively using like the TV (but realistically I'm not gonna). And I bet if I replaced my refrigerator, my usage would go down because that thing is ancient, but there are still some supply chain issues with appliances, so I'll get to it when I get to it (I do have the money saved up to replace all my appliances but as I said, supply chain issues).

Did you follow your state-specific rules on what an executor has to do to notify creditors? (this varies very much by state. Some states require the executor to put in some effort into tracking down creditors others only require that an executor take out an ad in an approved newspaper for a certain number of weeks). If you followed your state's rules on tracking down creditors and paid the identified creditors in the order that is required in your state, you can tell this debt consolidation company "too bad, so sad."

The spouse would have to sign off (via notarized documentation) that they are okay with you changing the beneficiary from them (the spouse) to the trust.

Any bill that can go on a credit card goes on a credit card (and by "can", I mean not getting charged a fee for using a cc). Have automatic payment of the statement balance for all cards set up with via the credit card website. My electric bill would charge a fee to use a credit card so I set up autopay of the statement balance through the power company's website.

The deductible and the in-network annual out of pocket maximum are often 2 different numbers, so just confirming that both are $4K on this plan. What about out of network out of pocket maximum and deductible?

Per the IRS website: Transactions that require Form 8300 include, but are not limited to: escrow arrangement contributions, per-existing debt payments, negotiable instrument purchases, reimbursement of expenses, making or repaying a loan, sales of goods or services, sale of real property, sale of intangible property, rental of real or personal property, exchange of cash for other cash, custodial trust contributions.

"Who Must File: A "person" who must file From 8300 includes an individual, company, corporation, partnership, association, trust, or estate. You must file Form 8300 with the IRS if any part of the transaction occurs within any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia or a U.S. possession or territory. . ."

You don't have to file it on the spot; it needs to be filed by the 15th day after the cash deposit is made. And the bank will make separate reports of large deposits to the IRS.

Yeah, I was unclear, mainly in an attempt to reinforce that trying to outsmart the system is just not worth it. To be more clear, if you deposit $10K or more in cash, form 8300 needs to be filled out (I think maybe the bank will take care of it). And constantly making cash deposits of $9K is considered structuring which is a crime subject to civil and criminal liability (as opposed to a one off deposit of $9K). Depositing a check is in fact different. And also, your state either has inheritance tax or it doesn't (6 do), the # of checks doesn't change what the state will take from you.

When you make large deposits the IRS just requires that you fill out a form. It is not a punishment. It is a piece of paper. Structuring your deposits to avoid filling out the form is an actual crime. Don't do a crime when the easy alternative is to fill out a form.

Ideally you should have been setting aside money from your previous paychecks in anticipation of the day that the employer would finally do the proper withholding because you always owed that money and that should have been built into your planning. One can only assume that if he wasn't taking withholding out of your checks properly, he also wasn't doing the employer share properly as well so it is in the best interest of the business to correct all the errors ASAP. If it isn't taken out in a timely manner, you could face issues of underwithholding when you file your 2022 taxes and that could result in a penalty (a small one, certainly, but a penalty nonetheless).

Regardless, here we are today and you're faced with potentially being short. There isn't much you can do as your employer is likely within legal limits to take it all at once as a correction. You can always ask that it be spread out, but that is risky for the company as these errors need to be corrected as soon as possible so he can always say no.

I've never had a problem with Ally (knock on wood). I can't comment on their Customer Service since I've never once had the need to contact them since I opened my account about 4 years ago.

Also, double check with your plan administrators about carryover. Under my employer's plan (this is employer specific), I am allowed to roll over a certain amount from 2022 to 2023 funds.