Kelsmom is correct again. Bouders may have mis-spoke.
Thanks for the info!
DH and I are doing a deep clean of the office. It’s like an archive of all our financial successes and missteps! Thankfully, we have more success than mishaps.
Also, I can’t believe how many pieces of paper have our SSNs on them!
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No kidding! I once found an old college transcript that had my SSN on it!! Unthinkable in this day and age! 
Social security numbers were common identification numbers at one point. I remember when I went to my college orientation, students and parents were given folders with needed info/docs for the two day event. On the face of the folder was a sticker with the student’s name, social security number and test scores. So my mom walked around with all of that info (none of which she needed). She said the parents were all comparing test scores of their kids. LOL
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I remember when I was in college, professors would post end of semester grades in the hallways. The lists were in alphabetical order, but instead of names, they listed everyone’s SSN!
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One particular hospital will send all the documents we need for patients transferring for rehab to the facility I work at except their SS#. Of course they receive it on admission to their facility. We were entering in the physician orders to our system, and called the unit nurse about our dilemma about needing the SS#, and she went to the patient’s hospital room so the patient could give it to us.
Certainly one does not want identity theft.
SS Administration changed their policies on how they give SS #s - my dad got his with his Army Service or maybe early 1950’s with employment. My youngest brother born in 1961 was when SS was getting all newborns, children, and people (like my mother) to get SS#s. So the 5 children and my mother, the six of us all had sequential SS# with my mom and then the two brothers, then the 3 of us daughters (note the male children before the female children). So of course I know all our SS#s except would need to look up my dad’s.
Yes, it’s so different to see how things are handled through the years. The formatting of Vanguard statements from 1987 forward … I could open a museum. I usually am happy to keep lots of paper as long as it’s boxed and in the attic of out of the way somewhere else, but today I was about getting rid of so much. I mean, why do we need our property appraisal from 2002, and if we do can’t I get it online? Y’all, tell me that I can get it online!
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What does a hospital or other medical facility need a Social Security number for? Even Medicare now uses beneficiary numbers that are not Social Security numbers.
It is on our system, and we cannot enter for pharmacy filling our medications w/o SS# - I imagine it is part of making sure about patient identity and dispensing of controlled substances.
There are dumb things going on. I had a lady that had to hyphenate her last name in order to get SS benefits for herself with her marriage to her H – this was some years ago, but she told me the SS admin person told her to her face that if she wanted the benefit she needed to have her name hyphenated. So some of her stuff has her name hyphenated, and of course on our medical records system we also needed her name in there hyphenated which corresponded with her Medicare.
I am also going through paperwork in our home to ‘declutter’ - in a few weeks when I am retired. I can throw out a lot of stuff in our filing cabinet and put more relevant stuff in it. I have a few active binders.
One binder is recent house maintenance stuff/new items purchased relevant for new owner - we have a box of subs and home building information which we can go through prior to when we sell the home. In the next few years as we upgrade things on the home, and upgrade our home feature list.
I need to look to some other relevant documents and estate planning as we move forward. Plan to stay in the state, but also potentially will look to city where DD2 lives - which is OOS/FL.
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Yes, this is all part of my grand plan to make moving easier should we decide to do it – we need to know where all the house stuff is, including receipts for upgrades, etc.
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With the way housing prices are escalating, it is probably ‘nice to know’ info for next homeowner, but less necessary in a seller’s market. Two higher priced homes a few houses away have sold for $30K over listing, and a lower priced home sold for $62K over listing. We have a growth in high paying jobs and super area growth, continuing the seller’s market for homes near things and in the excellent school district.
I want the info for capital gains purposes. My bff sold her home for more than $150k over asking, which was four times what they paid for the house when they bought it.
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IDK about one time or multiple time gains for primary residence with retiring, but I suspect we will not be taxed in our state for our gains - long time at this place plus our age. Federal (IRS) threshold is high for much higher priced areas - East and West Coast, and some others. But someone knowledgeable might post for people’s general information w/o looking details up.
There’s this: 2022-2023 Capital Gains Tax Rates & Calculator - NerdWallet
I expect to sell my house for close to/more than $500k more than I paid for it (bought it as a foreclosure 30 years ago).
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So if you have kept up with your money in - and some of it may need to be within a year of selling - certainly consult a tax attorney with specifics for your situation. Wow on the gains - but certainly par for the course for some areas. A HS friend of mine bought a brownstone in West Harlem during a bit of a down market, and he has had phenomenal gain after what he has put into it. It was a short walk to the subway; had a few steps down with a rent out apt; it was two stories plus a game room ‘basement’ level below the tenant unit - the main level had the turn of the century ceiling wood and built ins. A lady retiring to FL should have sold it earlier - the roof had water damage on 2nd floor and a lot of gutting.
After I got married (41 years ago) H and I went to the SS office to report my name change and get my new card. I insisted that my new name would be: First name, Maiden name, new last name. I was given a card with First name, middle name, new last name. I had to fight to get them to create a new card and record my preferred name! I won, but geez…
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Regarding capital gains on the sale of a house: If your spouse dies and then you sell the house, you now pay more in capital gains because you lose half of the exemption?
Yes, but the basis of half of the house steps up to the market value at the time of the spouse’s death, which could offer savings in capital gains taxes owed if the amount of the basis step-up exceeds $250K.
An example, in case my wording is unclear. Home purchased for $100K with value of $1M at time of spouse’s death. If sold the day before the spouse died, capital gains taxes would have been owed on $1M - $500K - $100K, or $400K. (I am ignoring real estate transaction costs & any other additions to basis for sake of simplicity here.)
Same house, sold after the first spouse dies. New basis is $500K + 50% of $100K = $550K. Capital gains would be $1M - $550K - $250K = $200K.
It is worth obtaining a professional appraisal after the first spouse dies, if one expects to be affected by this calculation.
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