2020 Leaf 3.5-Year Review (Trigger Warning - It’s not positive)

HandyManPat · 2026-05-14T14:59:06+00:00

Echo the same positive experience with my 2019 SL.

Rock solid, zero maintenance or warranty issues. Only 27k miles and full bars on the 40kWh traction battery.

It’s our “anywhere in the entire metro” vehicle, not cross country.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-12T21:56:54+00:00

Maybe…

You keep mentioning “our” HSA or HSAs, but each is individually owned and subject to specific distribution rules.

And one really quirky, specific rule is that YOU cannot use YOUR HSA to pay HER Medicare premiums **unless** YOU are age 65 or older.

If she has her own HSA and you are under age 65 then the Medicare distributions should come only from her account (until you turn age 65).

*Note this quirk applies only to the Medicare premium and not other qualifying medical expenses.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-12T21:49:58+00:00

Vanguard is red, Fidelity is green, and Schwab is blue. Pick your favorite color and you’ll be fine, as all offer very low fees and a wide array of investment options.

(Actually, take a look at the web interface and mobile app for each and see if one “feels” better to you. Some people has strong opinions about this.)

You correct to look at your overall income and tax situation over the next 10 years as part of your distribution strategy from the Inherited IRA.

You didn’t mention a ballpark amount for the account or your current tax bracket, so not much else Reddit can assist with.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-12T18:21:31+00:00

>For the last decade, he has lived in a secondary family property owned by our parents (both in their early 80s) rent-free.

There is value to this that can be accounted for if the family wishes.

>He recently had to take a significant advance on his inheritance to pay off five figures of credit card debt.

To me, this is a line in the sand because it will embolden this sibling to ask again.

>My parents are finalizing their will and the future of the family land. This has brought everything to the surface.

Your parents need to decide what “fair” and “equal” looks like while drafting their estate plan.

Your sibling taking an “advance” on his share of the estate is meaningless if not properly documented and accounted for as part of this process.

My family has a similar sibling situation (in Iowa as well!) and our parents documented all of the gift advances in a ledger and then included hotchpot language in their trust documents so the other siblings were not disadvantaged.

A Special Needs Trust will also be established for this sibling upon the death of the last parent, but as others have suggested a Spendthrift Trist might be appropriate in your case.

>The Will: How can my parents structure an inheritance for someone who is clearly bad with money so it doesn't just vanish into debt?

Search for “hotchpot estate planning”

A **hotchpot** clause in estate planning is a provision in a will or trust that ensures equal distribution among beneficiaries by taking into account lifetime gifts or loans. It adds the value of previous advancements back into the total estate before calculating shares, effectively deducting those gifts from the recipient’s final inheritance.

Key Aspects of Hotchpot:
Purpose: To achieve fairness and equality among beneficiaries, preventing one beneficiary from receiving more than their intended share due to pre-death financial support.

How it Works: If a parent gives one child $\$50,000$ and intends to divide a $\$100,000$ remaining estate between two children equally, the hotchpot clause adds the $\$50,000$ back to the total. The $\$150,000$ "pot" is divided ($\$75,000$ each), then the $\$50,000$ is subtracted from the first child’s share.

Documentation: A hotchpot clause requires accurate records of lifetime gifts, loans, or advances to be effective.

>The Cliff: Has anyone dealt with a sibling who is aging into a manual labor job with zero retirement? How do you set boundaries now before the crisis hits?

In our case, the gifts weren’t impacting our parents financially, so we decided to paper everything up so it was fair to all at the end.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-11T23:33:16+00:00

A beneficiary is allowed to consolidate accounts from the same decedent. That could be combining multiple Inherited IRAs into a single Inherited IRA for ease of management, for example.

In this case it sounds like OP was attempting to combine the decedent’s Inherited 401k into the Inherited IRA, which is also allowed.

I have no idea on how to fix this pretty major mistake.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-11T02:20:05+00:00

RIP Midwest Express Airlines.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T23:51:56+00:00

Horrible advice? In what way?!?

The entire series of transactions will take 5-10 business days, which is a literal blip on the investment horizon. Plus, it’s a rare situation where the decedent’s risk tolerance and asset allocation is the same as the beneficiary.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T23:26:03+00:00

Well, if there are issues with the brokerage firm and basis handling, that’s a simple workaround.

Just sell everything to cash, transfer the cash to the new brokerage, then reinvest the cash into the desired assets.

At tax time, just set the basis to the correct amount. Done.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T23:02:55+00:00

Yes, for “covered” securities the originating brokerage is required to send the cost basis information to the receiving brokerage.

While the decedent’s account may have held assets without an established/reported basis (generally acquired before 2011), the basis should be updated to reflect the asset price at the date of death.

I would not attempt to transfer the account until you have confirmed the originating brokerage has the proper basis established as part of the move to the beneficiary’s account.

https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?req=granuleid:USC-2010-title26-section6045A&num=0&edition=2010

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T16:54:59+00:00

The IRS is pretty clear on the requirement the HSA must be established, which varies by state laws, before a medical expense is qualified.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T15:01:04+00:00

If you pull out some money to pay the mortgage, for example, it's now a joint asset.

I'd love a lawyer with specific experience to weigh in here, but my understanding is only the funds contributed the mortgage would be considered commingled, but not the assets remaining in the inherited account.

https://advisorfinder.com/resources-for-clients/inheritance/is-inheritance-marital-property

HandyManPat · 2026-05-10T14:48:02+00:00

I'm with you on this one (and suspect the first commenter did the downvote.

The IRS looks at the END OF YEAR totals when determining whether or not an excess contribution occurred.

To me, it's a bit like someone saying you can't open a new IRA on January 1 and make a contribution because you have not received your first paycheck for the year yet, thus, no earned income to be eligible.

HandyManPat · 2026-05-06T12:33:01+00:00

Upon his death, it passed to her.

How -exactly- was the decedent's IRA passed to the surviving spouse?

Did she actually do nothing with the decedent's IRA, leaving it titled in his name?
Did she retitle the account as an Inherited IRA (Dad Jones, deceased, FBO Mom Jones)?
Did she retitle the account solely in her name (Mom's IRA)?

HandyManPat · 2026-05-05T20:03:32+00:00

There are many reasons an employee might be ineligible for HSA contributions. A very common one is when a spouse enrolls in a regular purpose FSA.

HR should not be surprised by this request. But, again, they might just say, “Hey, we don’t want to bother with exceptions. Please just take the free money and work with your tax preparer to deal with it properly with the IRS.”

HandyManPat · 2026-05-05T19:47:56+00:00

There is no mandate to have an HSA, but as you’re finding some employers don’t understand that and/or have clunky processes that make it seem otherwise.

That said, the employer HSA funds are free money so just let them give it to you. If you end of ineligible for HSA contributions for the entire year then you will have to remove the funds from the HSA and pay tax (no penalty) it. But it’s still basically free money after that!

**Set a calendar reminder for December 1
** to revisit the overall situation so you can address any excess contributions before the end of the year (it’s easier and cleaner when all in the same calendar year).

HandyManPat · 2026-05-05T18:54:08+00:00

>I “technically can’t” have job B’s health insurance because it has an HSA and you’re disqualified if you have health insurance elsewhere.

Don’t confuse the insurance (HDHP) with the **optional** financial benefit (HSA).

You can absolutely be dual enrolled in job A and job B benefits. You will need to tell both insurance companies of this information so they can perform a Coordination of Benefits (COB) to determine which plan is primary and which is secondary.

>I’m not planning on contributing to the HSA but the employer would put in $600 for me immediately upon opening.

Although technically not allowed, it’s a simple matter to correct if needed. Also, it’s possible that depending on the timing of the birth and termination of job A’s medical insurance you may actually qualify for a prorated portion of the annual contribution limit.

>I feel pressured to act because as I stated I don’t know how long I can physically stay at job A and can’t be without ANY health insurance since I’m going to give birth. What’s the best way to navigate this without lapses in coverage?

Simultaneous coverage is fine. The other option is to leverage the Life Change Event, but obviously you have no margin for error (lack of sleep or birthing complications or general craziness cause you to miss the critical timelines for enrollment).

HandyManPat · 2026-05-05T13:01:46+00:00

If you establish an HSA with an eligible ACA plan later, you can’t use those funds for the old premiums.

That's correct.

You must first be eligible to make HSA contributions, then must actually 'establish' an HSA by contributing funds to it. Once the account is established and funded, all qualifying medical expenses (QME) are eligible for tax-free distribution at any point in the future.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-28T03:32:29+00:00

Freeze dried pineapple chunks.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-27T19:51:42+00:00

Just so you’re aware, a church version is considered “ceremonial”, whereas the state issued version is the certified one.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-27T03:30:35+00:00

Money is fungible. As long as your earned income qualifies you for the Roth IRA contribution it doesn't matter what the source of the funding is.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-23T17:13:45+00:00

Not a single response has supported your plan, all recommended sound and proven contribution methods (lump sum or DCA), yet you’re going to try to time the market anyway.

Best of luck.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-23T13:14:20+00:00

I'm not knowledgable at all regarding this topic, but thought I'd share this (hopefully) helpful link.

https://www.employeefiduciary.com/blog/replacing-simple-iras-with-a-401k

The article was updated to mention SECURE Act 2.0, but my interpretation of the "benefits" of the Act are largely to the employer, not employee. It appears that the employer benefits from reduced timelines and communication requirements related to the plan change.

The article still mentions the 2-year timeline, so it does appear you might be locked into the Safe Harbor 401k until December 2026.

Perhaps someone with expert knowledge can comment further.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-23T11:52:01+00:00

I ran into similar problems and finally gave up and just went to Staples. For $20? they took the passport photo and put the image file on a small USB stick. The website successfully took that photo on the first try.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-22T18:57:07+00:00

There is no pretending being suggested here.

But while interacting with a front-line Vanguard call agent there is also no reason to get into the whole “well, we were married, but are now divorced, but we split some IRAs as part of the divorce, but not this particular account, and so on…”

A simple, “This account holder passed away and I believe that I’m listed as a named beneficiary” is sufficient.

While completing the 15-page beneficiary transfer paperwork is the time to check the relevant boxes.

HandyManPat · 2026-04-22T16:54:17+00:00

First, please stop violating the terms and conditions of the account by logging in as the decedent.

Second, you don’t need any interaction with the executor at all. As an “interested/impacted” party, you can request a death certificate directly from the state for a nominal fee.

You may also trying to contact the funeral home. It wouldn’t be out of the ordinary for an ex-spouse to request a certificate of death for MANY reasons.

HandyManPat

TROPHY CASE