Quentin Fottrell

New York

Managing Editor, Personal Finance at MarketWatch

Irishman in New York. Managing Editor, Advice Columns @MarketWatch. Created The Moneyist. Former Ireland correspondent for @DowJones/@WSJ

Articles

My life partner is 18 years my senior. He wants to leave his $4.5 million fortune to me - not his two kids. Do we tell them?

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Quentin Fottrell

The Moneyist‘No doubt they would feel the arrangement is unfair, and that would potentially end our relationship’Published: May 30, 2025 at 5:24 a.m. ET“I’m not comfortable with the tax burden as well as the emotional burden it would leave behind.” (Photo subjects are models.) Photo: Getty Images/iStockphotoDear Quentin,My life partner of 17 years and I want to create wills. He has two financially unstable adult children. I have no children.
My friend is getting divorced. Her husband kindly said, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Quentin Fottrell

Dear Abby: A man I know has been married for 40 years. His wife gets mad at him for small things and stops talking to him for three to four months at …
My father-in-law has dementia and is moving in with us. Can we invoice him for a caregiver?

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Quentin Fottrell

The Moneyist‘Do we have an obligation to provide my wife’s troubled sibling with an accounting of my father-in-law’s expenses?’Published: May 29, 2025 at 6:45 a.m. ET“We are not experienced in memory care, and I feel we would all benefit from having someone come regularly to work with him one-on-one.” (Photo subject is a model.) Photo: Getty Images/iStockphotoDear Quentin,My father-in-law lives several hours away from us.
My friend is getting divorced. Her husband says, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Quentin Fottrell

The Moneyist‘He has been working for a government defense contractor for 20 years with a $206,000 salary and likely a decent 401(k) and pension’Published: May 29, 2025 at 5:15 a.m. ET“They want to settle this without a lawyer by just going to court where he signs the house over to her.” (Photo subjects are models.) Photo: Getty Images/iStockphotoDear Quentin,I’m writing on behalf of a friend and family member who is going through a divorce.
My friend is getting divorced. Her husband says, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Quentin Fottrell

My friend is getting divorced. Her husband says, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch? Dear Quentin, I’m writing on behalf of a friend and family member who is going through a divorce. I have asked her to consult an attorney to make sure …
'You never know what might happen': How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance?

1 week ago | morningstar.com | Quentin Fottrell

By Quentin Fottrell 'So far, my daughter and her husband have a solid marriage' Dear Quentin, When leaving a substantial inheritance to a married adult child, how do you tell them not to commingle those funds with their spouse without it causing problems in their marriage? So far, my daughter and her husband have a solid marriage. They're in their mid-40s, but of course you never know what might happen in the future. Is setting up a trust the only way?
'Is this a good tax strategy or a sham transaction?' My mother wants to give me her home. I have a plan to avoid taxes.

1 week ago | morningstar.com | Quentin Fottrell

By Quentin Fottrell 'If my mother gives her personal residence to me, my understanding is that I also get her adjusted cost basis' Dear Quentin, If my mother sells or gifts me her $800,000 personal residence to me, my understanding is that I also get her adjusted cost basis. If she holds a note for 100% of the purchase price and then gifts me the note, will I end up with current fair market value as my cost basis? As a result, she would have no income-tax consequence - right?
After 25 years, I finally asked for separate checks - and my friends iced me out. Did I do something terrible?

1 week ago | morningstar.com | Quentin Fottrell

By Quentin Fottrell 'With each year I got angrier and angrier, so it was time to move on' Dear Quentin, I wrote to you some time ago about a shared restaurant bill that was always divided equally, week after week, year after year, even though the prices and quantities were not in fact equal. I finally put my foot down last week and asked for a separate check. Since then, I have been weaned from the group. They did not like this at all after 25 years of shared meals.
‘The situation is extreme’: I’m 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will?

1 week ago | marketwatch.com | Quentin Fottrell

The Moneyist‘I feel it is absolutely necessary to leave about 90% of what I have to just one grandchild’Published: May 28, 2025 at 7:55 a.m. ET“I would like the executor to offer guidance for further distribution to their siblings when that grandchild is 25.” (Photo subject is a model.) Photo: Getty/iStockphotoDear Quentin,I am over 65 and have been living alone now for six years. How can I organize my estate so there is little or no potential for my will to be contested?
‘The situation is extreme’: I’m 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will?

1 week ago | flipboard.com | Quentin Fottrell

Boomers Can Generate Huge Passive Income With the 5 Highest-Yielding Nasdaq 100 StocksWhile reaching retirement age can be both a blessing and a curse, relying on the U.S. government to provide for your needs is not the best idea. The …

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Quentin Fottrell @Quantanamo

27 Apr 25

RT @MarketWatch: ‘I have an out-of-state adviser in a Republican state. How can I tell if his political views influence his investment advi…

Quentin Fottrell @Quantanamo

27 Apr 25

RT @MarketWatch: ‘I’m literally afraid to look at my balance. I have $300K in a 2025 target-date fund. Is there a chance it will recover?'…

Quentin Fottrell @Quantanamo

14 Apr 25

RT @MarketWatch: Americans are ‘doom-buying’ coffee, olive oil and soap. What’s the one thing I should stockpile to avoid tariff price hike…

Quentin Fottrell

Articles

My life partner is 18 years my senior. He wants to leave his $4.5 million fortune to me - not his two kids. Do we tell them?

My friend is getting divorced. Her husband kindly said, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

My father-in-law has dementia and is moving in with us. Can we invoice him for a caregiver?

My friend is getting divorced. Her husband says, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

My friend is getting divorced. Her husband says, ‘Take the house.’ Is there a catch?

'You never know what might happen': How do I make sure my son-in-law doesn't get his hands on my daughter's inheritance?

'Is this a good tax strategy or a sham transaction?' My mother wants to give me her home. I have a plan to avoid taxes.

After 25 years, I finally asked for separate checks - and my friends iced me out. Did I do something terrible?

‘The situation is extreme’: I’m 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will?

‘The situation is extreme’: I’m 65 and leaving my estate to only one grandchild. Can the others contest my will?

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