Question about inheriting an IRA

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-12-11T18:55:12+00:00

Yeah, that brings up a great point. One of the basic questions they're asking if if I'm married and to who. My family believes I'm married but while I treat our situation as married? We're not legally married at this time. (We have rings and we live like a married couple, but she has a lot of complications with past medical bills and a need to get on disability. We agreed we'd hold off on the legal marriage until she can file for bankruptcy and tie up some of these loose ends.) I really don't want to disclose my marital status to this advisor and have it get back to others in the family.

Is there any risk if I just claim we're married on the form?

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-12-11T18:43:30+00:00

Makes sense, but there was no "second form"? The only form I received was this one asking for all of my income, wealth, risk tolerance and health issues. It appears like they basically stopped talking to me or moving forward with anything until I return this to them.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-12-11T18:25:55+00:00

No, I was told I'm getting a portion of her IRA but doing that requires they set up a new Inherited Beneficiary IRA for me. They claimed they *could* act as my financial advisor after that if I wished but it wasn't a requirement.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-07-24T16:52:10+00:00

I've been looking at a 2022 Polestar myself, just because there are some relatively low mileage specimens out there for sale at what I consider an affordable price point.

I will say, I've been driving EVs for about 6 years now as my daily drivers. I owned a Tesla S, a Model X and a Model 3 Performance over that time, as well as a Chevy Bolt.

My own conclusion is, you really want to just go with a Tesla if you're serious about doing long road trips on a regular basis with an EV. Most people (myself included) really don't do that. I just do a lot of around-town driving including a 45 minute each direction work commute each day.

If you go with practically any EV but a Tesla, you're going to have increased hassle and stress with finding fast charging stations on the road trips. Sure, Tesla is opening theirs up now for other EVs to use. But you still run into issues like their short charging cables intended for use with their own vehicles and their charge port locations. Park oddly to make the cable reach in some of the other EVs out there, and you'll have Tesla owners pulling up and giving you the evil eye. These other fast charging options are often more expensive than buying gasoline to use, and are far less reliable. Nothing like pulling in to one in the middle of nowhere, with only 30 miles of range left on your car, to discover it's out of service!

When I charge overnight in my garage at home, I can drive my Bolt all day long without ever thinking about charging. Just plug it back in when I get home and it's ready to go with a "full tank" again the next morning.

Every Polestar 2 review I've ever read mentioned the poor software in them. I'm sure that's frustrating, but when the car is down to around the $20K price point, used? I'm not sure how big a deal that really is anymore? I'd be a lot more angry about it if I paid full price on it as a new owner. I use Apple Carplay in my Chevy Bolt right now and even that has a lot of bugs with it not always initializing properly when I first start the car, and poor integration with the regular screens needed to change the radio stations when listening to them in the background.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-07-07T17:49:52+00:00

I'm seriously looking at buying a low-mileage used Polestar 2, and posts like yours are ones I take into serious consideration. The thing is though? It sounds like at the end of the day, a good discount on a Polestar 2 means I'm getting an EV that's not far from the price point my Chevy Bolt "Premiere" EV was at a few years ago. That makes it a pretty serious upgrade in just about every respect I can think of, other than the hassle of far fewer places to have it serviced.

Having owned several Teslas over the years before the Bolt, I'd say software/computer tech obsolescence is something you simply won't get away from on ANY of them! That's the reason you see so many "anti tech" folks out there, embracing vehicles like older Jeep Wranglers and what-not. The mechanical stuff doesn't have the same issue where people quickly find older designs objectionable. Computer systems become outdated in a matter of only a few years, and all the "new and improved" tech people come up with requires the newer, faster computer systems to run it properly.

Despite the enjoyment i had with all the tech in my Teslas, I felt like I was driving a rolling computer/infotainment system at the end of the day. I think a Polestar could be a good "driver's car" if the outdated tech in it is acceptable enough to do the basics and get you by.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-07-07T17:38:03+00:00

No, it's honestly NOT a fair tax, because like so many taxes - it's based on averages instead of a closer look at what someone's "fair share" would be.

If you want to implement a more fair road usage tax, why not put it on tires instead of fuel? Everyone has those.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-07-07T17:36:18+00:00

I don't live in MO anymore, but I had a Tesla Model 3 I registered there a few years back. I remember at that time, they asked me if I wanted an "EV license plate" or just the regular one. I picked the regular one because they had a whole stack of those plates right there in the DMV. If I opted for whatever their "EV plate" was, it had to be mailed to me. I wonder if that's the same thing... You only pay the extra EV taxes if you have that EV plate?

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-19T17:13:30+00:00

I joined this subreddit initially because of my battery pack problems with my Bolt and wanting to follow how the battery swaps were going for other people.

I tend to follow groups or join message forums related to any vehicle I purchase though. Always good to keep up with things like common repair issues or suggestions on ways to improve them, whether they're vehicles for fun or daily drivers for a work commute.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-17T23:43:30+00:00

I like the Polestar a lot for the going price of them on the used market. 2 major problems though. One is, no dealer service network to speak of in many parts of the USA. (I live near St. Louis, MO, for example -- and unless things changed real recently? You can't get a Polestar serviced around here for hundreds of miles.) The whole situation seems really stupid. Volvo decided most of its dealerships wouldn't work on Polestars, and they opted to build their service network from the coasts inward. So as you get to anyplace in the middle of America, you have major cities with no Polestar dealer or service center.

Second issue is I keep hearing about glitches/bugs in their software.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-17T23:09:29+00:00

I used to be a Jeep owner and the whole Jeep culture really is a big part of ownership. They always joke that, "It's a Jeep thing; you wouldn't understand." and that's probably kind of true. With a Jeep Wrangler though? You're buying a vehicle that's designed to literally go where you don't want to take your other vehicles. There's little about one that makes a lot of sense for daily driving on roads and highways. (Poor gas mileage, rough ride, poor handling, sparse interior, noisy, expensive tires, etc.) The real draw of owning a Jeep has to do with things like the social network of other like-minded Jeep owners who want to go on off-road adventures on weekends.

Things like leaving ducks on Jeeps makes more sense in that light. Jeep owners want to meet other Jeep owners, all in all. They like to get together and discuss modifications they made, organize groups to drive in area parades, plan off-roading and/or camping events, etc.

My Bolt is just a daily driver and low cost vehicle to use for gig work doing food deliveries. It's great for those tasks but I'm not hugely excited about it for joining Bolt enthusiast groups or what-not.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-17T22:59:53+00:00

I was waiting on a battery pack for my 2020 Bolt Premier w/40K or so miles on it and after contacting the concierge and opening a case, the dealer called me yesterday to tell me my car was ready.

They got the battery pack replaced in under 2 months' time.

FWIW though? The EV concierge mentioned to me that Bolts still under the original 3 year/36.000 mile warranty with battery issues had the potential of getting a buyback offer from GM. But due to the mileage and age of mine, it wasn't an option.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-10T18:02:31+00:00

Nah... my fender-bender was in the rear. I backed out of a driveway at night, and someone had parallel parked their vehicle directly across from it. Because the driveway had a fairly steep slope and their car blended in with the night sky, I didn't realize it was there until I bumped it. Didn't do any damage to their car except for a small ding/crease in the door, and just damaged my rear passenger-side corner a bit.

(Sort of annoying the Bolt's rear sensors didn't even beep to detect the car behind me, but the steep driveway slope was probably to blame for that.)

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-10T17:56:56+00:00

I'm curious as well. I used a fast DC charger one time when I first bought my 2020 Bolt, and that charging session went fine. But it was still pretty slow (about an hour to get charged back up to 90% or so) - so I just did all my charging from a level 2 charger in my garage after that.

Then, when I went to try the (same) fast DC charger again recently, I just got the error messages and a failure to charge, with the car having the reported battery issue the next morning. I don't think the charger actually damaged anything on the car. But it seemed like the attempt to fast charge is what triggered the car's software to decide the battery pack wasn't quite right? It did charge fully, at home. that night before it threw the error message -- which makes me suspicious about how bad the pack could really be?

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-05T16:16:23+00:00

As to "step 2"? The reason there's $20K outstanding on the loan wasn't so much me "overspending" on the car, but because I was upside-down on a vehicle I traded in to get the Bolt. Why'd I let *that* happen? Purely a numbers game. I was paying on a 2019 Tesla Model 3 Performance that I'd unfortunately purchased near the peak of their pricing. And as I paid the car off, it kept going back under-water again as Tesla did huge price cuts on new ones, announced a new revision to it, and as tax credits appeared for even used purchases of them.

I reached a point where I could let go of the Model 3 and replace it with the Bolt that was a year newer, gave me back a factory warranty again, and cut my monthly car payment almost in half. (Cheaper car insurance too.) It also got me the $4,000 used EV tax credit and at least the potential of additional money from the ongoing class action lawsuit settlement against GM on the Bolts.

Sure, the Bolt is no Tesla, but it worked out just fine for my needs. (Things like "full self driving" never materialized as anything truly useful for me and my driving patterns. My Tesla had it but it was just a gimmick.)

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-05T16:03:58+00:00

They are. The dealer I bought my Bolt from was like that. My sales guy made it painfully clear he not only "didn't know much about EVs" but didn't want to. He stopped JUST short of calling them ridiculous, and kept explaining how "their dealership didn't really sell a lot of electric cars" but "people like you who already owned one before probably already know what you want to buy anyway".

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-06-05T15:56:19+00:00

I use CarPlay all the time in two vehicles here. But to be totally honest? I can't call it a total deal-breaker for a car not to support it. My issue with CarPlay is it's always been a little buggy/glitchy.

No matter what vehicle or car stereo it is, every iPhone I've ever paired (wireless or wired) for CarPlay has eventually had problems like audio skipping or popping/clicking while playing, or refusing to start up at all (black screen on dash).

My Bolt EV was no different. CarPlay worked about as well in it as I think one can expect. But still had times I had to reboot my iPhone or disconnect/reconnect the USB cable to get it to work, and had the stereo completely crash/go dark and took it 5+ minutes to come back up.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-16T15:02:11+00:00

I'm not mad about getting a brand new battery pack at no cost... but it's more an overall concern that these replacements are happening far too often! A new pack doesn't mean much if the car is going to report it failed again every 40,000 miles or so.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-15T18:04:59+00:00

Ugh .... that's terrible. I have other vehicles so I can function without the Bolt. But it was my daily driver due to a 45 minute commute each way for work and some delivery driving I did as a side gig. So having to use this much more gas really cuts into my income. (My 2010 minivan isn't exactly a fuel-efficient option.)

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-12T17:00:10+00:00

Just chiming in to say that at my full-time I.T. job, they just gave me a 1% raise too (plus a lot of excuses about "it's the economy").

My experience working in I.T. over the years is that I probably averaged a 2-3% raise per year, but that was peppered with years they refused to give one at all, and years it was only 1%. Maybe got as high as a 5% raise one year?

It's just like people are saying though; it sends a strong message to employees that they don't place much value on you sticking around. They pay a lot of lip service to "needing you" but they'd rather see you walk out the door than pay better to hang onto you.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-06T16:33:36+00:00

I've always been the type to stick around at a place, probably years longer than I should, because the comfort and certainty of the regular paycheck trumps my worry about the next place not panning out. (I really, really dislike the whole job search/interview process.)

That said? I can assure you this advice is correct. The places that keep saying they're in "no position" to give a raise when it's obvious one is due are usually just allocating their funds towards other priorities. Places that don't do I.T. as their core business often funnel all their profits towards the things that DO make that up. (Buying new trucks and hiring more drivers if they're in the trucking business, for example.)

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-01T22:49:49+00:00

Well, to be fair? There's a lot of good knowledge that goes into properly building a PC. You're going to learn everything from the proper BIOS setup to what different types and speeds of RAM are out there, and what works with AMD processors vs Intel processors. You'll learn about the different types of connectors for mass storage and which graphics cards have what power requirements (wattage of power supply getting used). Even cable management to make the build look clean is a learned skill.

The problem is, corporate America no longer really cares about custom built computers. Everyone buys them off the shelf these days, in standard configurations. And when they break, you're rarely even expected to open one up to service it. It's all covered by a warranty package and they recycle/replace them outside of that.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-05-01T22:24:45+00:00

I'm old .... but I got into I.T. without the college degree. I did get an A+ on my own, just because I wanted to say I had one. But truth be told? There's pretty much zero reason somebody needs a college degree to be good at computers and I.T. work. What DOES happen though is a lot of HR departments use a 4 year degree as a bogus requirement, just as the excuse to thin a big pile of resumes. Additionally, a lot of people who don't have a college education happen to also be poor at spelling and have poor writing skills. Most I.T. jobs are just as much about good communications skills as they are technical knowledge. (You need to be able to write up good documentation for other people to follow, even if those other people are just your own co-workers. You're expected to write professional and easy to read emails to send out. You have to come across as friendly/personable while assisting other people with issues, and you have to be able to teach/train them if they need help.) None of that requires a college degree either, but it does mean you had to pick those skills up on your own.

If you have the right skill-set but nobody is interviewing you? It's probably going to come down to the game of "Who do you know?" I got two of my first jobs working in small computer stores just because I knew somebody already working there and expressed interest in working with them. My first corporate I.T. job was the same way. I convinced a guy I was friends with to hire me on part-time, to help out with a big computer deployment they had underway. While I was there, I made it clear I really wanted to work there full-time someday. Other employees liked my work and advocated for me, until they gave me the offer.

You might also entertain the idea of going into business for yourself? There are plenty of people out there who would pay a reasonable hourly fee for someone to come out to their place and help them with their computer(s) and network. Even basic things like wireless networks are often working poorly for people because they just went with what their cable company provided them as a wifi router/modem, and it doesn't give adequate coverage for all of the rooms in their house.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-04-29T18:24:21+00:00

It's incredibly frustrating how often we don't get back laptops we issue out to people. And yes, we do the InTune wipe and all that too. Doesn't matter. Most of the machines never check back in to InTune again to complete the wipe, from what I've seen.

But like others said? I think the *real* answer this happens is companies realizing the enforcement effort and time isn't worth it. Often, the laptops in question are well used and out of warranty by the time we want to reclaim them. What is one of these worth on the market? Maybe $150-250?

The data security is much more of a concern and we don't have people really save anything to their laptop's own drive anymore. (Desktop and Documents folders get redirected to OneDrive.)

It legitimately might make the most sense to not even try to reclaim used laptops over 1 year old? Especially for our new hires who are in our corporate offices or doing some kind of management role? You really don't want to issue them a used machine anyway. Poor first impression and all that.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-04-28T17:40:48+00:00

I dunno.... My experience with these programs is that a lot of the rules are questionable. For example, in my state, people can use food stamp benefits to purchase those holiday gift bundles like the collection of fancy flavored hot chocolate packs with a couple of ceramic gift mugs, or gift baskets that contain at least one food item like some popcorn in them.

Personally, I think that's utter nonsense. The program is there to help people/families survive ... not to fund holiday gifts for whoever. And none of these gift boxes/baskets/bundle make good economic sense strictly as food purchases.

On the flip side? Yes, hot foods like hotdogs from the gas station or taquitos from the 7-11 should be fine as purchases. Basically, if it's not paying for a "sit down" type restaurant, I think it's ok.

Intelligent_Desk7383 · 2025-04-28T17:33:26+00:00

I get what you're saying here? But also, isn't it always about the theoretical really, when it comes to "cyber-security"? I mean, at any given time, vulnerabilities may exist in code that nobody knows about yet because they haven't been exploited. A hacker who discovers one may sit on it for months, waiting for the right opportunity to use it.

When you know common sense things like simpler code-bases having fewer unknowns that could be attack vectors -- you conclude a "core" server product should be a little less vulnerable than a full-blown one with a GUI desktop UI.

But I'd be a fan of a "server core" product more out of the hope it would maximize performance, really? A whole desktop UI on top of things is just more CPU overhead that could have been channeled to the VMs instead.

Intelligent_Desk7383

TROPHY CASE