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Estate Planning Essentials

With both humor and knowledge, a local attorney and estate planning specialist will address fundamentals of estate planning. Essentials: Estate planning is not just for the wealthy—or the old. Nearly everyone has an “estate,” consisting of everything you own: your car, home, other real estate, checking and savings accounts, investments, life insurance, furniture, and personal possessions. Regardless of the size of your “estate,” good planning lets you control how your assets are given to the people or organizations you care most about; sets up your heirs for success by passing on their inheritance in a way that helps them; helps you and your heirs pay substantially less in taxes, fees, and court costs; minimizes family strife; and makes it easier for your loved ones to handle your affairs during a time of loss. Advanced Concepts: Dive deeper into end-of-life planning as we cover how to structure trusts for children and heirs to support them on their life journeys, while still encouraging their personal growth and achievement. We’ll discuss additional tax planning techniques to minimize estate and capital gains taxes, potential new tax law changes, provide a brief overview of long-term care planning strategies, and discuss charitable giving tools that can build family unity and shared purpose

Tue, Apr 23

7:00 - 9:00 PM

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

Tue, Apr 30

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

Financial Strategies Toward a Secure Retirement

The investment landscape has changed dramatically over the last few years and many near retirement need to better understand how to prepare for their future with less risk and volatility. We will look at the big picture for developing a hierarchy of spending and investing, including strategies that provide a better outcome, regardless of investment performance. Discover how to manage your 401(k), 403(b), and pension as you approach retirement and what you need to know about target funds. Find out why investment strategies must be different in retirement; when a Roth IRA makes sense; exploring the hype around annuities; forgotten financial pitfalls; and alternative ways to preserve your nest egg against long-term care costs. Many who attend this course are on the cusp of retirement. However, those who learn these strategies decades in advance not only improve their outcome at retirement, but also have better financial results along the way.

Tue, Apr 30 - May 7

Getting Started in Project Management

Are you curious about the field or considering a career in project management? We will explore the basics of project management, including how to manage the project lifecycle from initiation to completion. Learn about the importance of creating a solid plan, enabling collaboration among a team, monitoring and optimizing your plan, and ensuring successful delivery. Some basic understanding of project documentation will be covered and we will use a few interactive activities to engage with lesson materials.

Tue, May 7 - May 21

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

Marco Verch (flickr) (CC BY 2.0)

Introduction to Digital Accessibility

Learn how to make websites and electronic documents accessible to everyone, including more than 20% of Americans and one billion people worldwide who have a disability. Through real-world examples and hands-on experience, learn how to recognize and remove common barriers encountered by blind, deaf, neurodiverse, and physically disabled users. Get the knowledge, confidence, and tools to ensure that your entire audience can fully engage with your website, Word documents, PowerPoint presentations, and other electronic documents.

Maximize Your Social Security Benefits

Making the right choices on how and when to access your social security benefits is more important than ever, considering the current volatility of other assets and the unexpected losses experienced by many people. Learn how to get the most from this significant piece of the retirement puzzle and coordinate this income with your overall retirement strategy. We will talk about the current state of Social Security, what to consider when planning your benefit start date, spousal benefits, options for divorcees, buy-back strategies, tax reduction strategies, and coordination with state and federal retirement plans. We will also review recent changes in benefits and special planning considerations for self-employed individuals.

Tue, Apr 23

One-on-One Technology Tutoring

Get one-on-one help with your iPhone, iPad, Mac, or Windows computer. Focus on a specific software application (Excel, Word, PowerPoint, email, Facebook, etc.) or receive more general assistance, such as how to organize and find your files, delete unneeded items, and more. Please call, 781-316-3568, or email the ACE office, communityed@arlington.k12.ma.us, to learn more and register for a two-hour in-person or online

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

CTF-Technology

One-on-One Technology Tutoring

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

TFC-Technology

Preserving & Passing On the Family Cottage (without destroying the family!)

Vacation homes often represent some of a family’s most cherished memories and legacies for children and grandchildren. However, planning for their transfer to the next generation can be messy and lead to family conflict. Plus, adding your children as co-owners during your lifetime can have significant adverse tax consequences down the road, as well as expose your treasured home to your children’s creditors. This class will cover planning techniques to promote a smooth transition of your vacation home, protecting this important asset for future generations. We will review issues such as: Who can and should be an owner and when? Who can use the home and how to divide up time? How best do owners make decisions regarding repairs and upkeep? What are options to fund future costs? Come with your toughest questions!

Tue, May 14

7:00 - 8:30 PM

Arlington High School

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Python Programming

Boost your career by learning the most popular programming language in the world, Python. Used by nearly every business out there, it is easy to learn and will help upgrade your career and open the door to new possibilities. We’ll also cover the basics of data science, learn how to understand data, and gain knowledge using scientific methods, processes, and algorithms. Each session will combine lecture and practice time, leaving you with the skills to program in Python and analyze a data set like a data scientist. Please note: Bring your own laptop to each class with a web browser like Chrome, Edge, or Firefox. No special software is needed for in class exercises. Extra office hours are offered every Sunday from 1-2 PM as an optional part of the course where students can ask any question at all.

Tue, Apr 30 - May 28

6:30 - 8:30 PM

Wall Street Bootcamp

This fast-paced course covers the fundamentals of investing. Appropriate for beginning as well as experienced investors, learn how to allocate assets, research investments online, pick appropriate securities, and monitor performance. We’ll cover mutual funds and ETFs and distinguish their advantages and disadvantages, and discuss how to successfully build diversified equity and fixed-income portfolios. We’ll consider the pitfalls of Target Retirement Funds as well as the risks inherent in Bond ETFs and Bond Mutual Funds. Develop skills as amateur “equity analysts,” and learn how to assess the performance of a professional mutual fund manager or advisor.

Tue, May 28 - Jun 11

Ages	18 yr. - 105 yr.

Welcome to Medicare

Led by a state certified Medicare benefits counseling professional, this class is designed for those who are either new to Medicare, planning for retirement, or caregiving for elders who need insurance information. Learn how the four parts of Medicare work together to provide comprehensive health insurance coverage; where, when, and how to enroll in Medicare Part A and B; how to avoid late enrollment penalties; and find the best supplement plans available using the Medicare Plan Finder tool. Receive a SHINE kit with information about Medicare and other health care plan choices/costs available to Massachusetts residents.

WordPress: Websites Made Easy

Easily build your own business or personal website and blog using the most popular website publishing system in the world, WordPress. Learn to create, edit, and customize your site, without any knowledge of HTML. We’ll go over technical setup and creative customizations, tailoring our focus based on the interests and needs of the class. Basic computer skills and internet literacy are required.

Wed, May 15 - Jun 5

6:30 - 8:30 PM