STEPS TO TAKE:

VISIT
the county’s Probate Court to see if a will was ever filed.

LOOK
for a copy of the will in the deceased person’s home, especially in fireproof boxes and file cabinets.

SCAN
checkbook registers and bank account statements for payments made to attorneys. A will may have been filed with the deceased person’s lawyer.

FILE
a petition with the Probate Court seeking permission to access the person’s safe-deposit box to look for a will, if there is no living co-owner of the box.

HOW IT WORKS:
You commit to pay a specific amount each month until the debt is wiped out. To start the process, fill out IRS Form 9465, Installment Agreement Request, and staple it to the front of your Form 1040. For more information, go to www.irs.gov and type “can’t pay taxes” into the search field.

Want your heirs to be comfortable?
Too many people think of estate plans as a series of expensive documents for the superrich. As a result, they never get around to having them drawn up, which is a serious financial mistake. Everyone needs basic estate planning. Without these documents, your heirs could wind up spending a fortune trying to collect assets you wanted them to have. Estate-planning essentials:

Will.
This document states who you want to receive specific assets.

Beneficiary forms.
Assets in your retirement plans are counted as part of your estate at death—but who gets them is determined by your account beneficiary forms, not your will. Call financial institutions to be sure beneficiary forms are filled out correctly and up to date.

Durable power of attorney.
This document names someone to legally manage your affairs if you become incapacitated.

Living will.
This document tells healthcare professionals which medical procedures you do or do not want if you are incapacitated.

Durable power of attorney for health care.
This document names someone to make medical treatment decisions if your physician declares you incapacitated.

Letter of instructions.
While not legally binding, this letter tells surviving heirs who you want to receive assets of modest or sentimental value. It also can express how you want children raised by guardians. Such personal letters go far to limit family feuds and estate litigation.

Trusts.
If you want assets left to heirs protected from taxes and spending abuse, consult an attorney to set up a trust. A trust can outline who is to receive assets, when they will get them, and under what specific conditions.

Protect your will from greedy relatives

While you can’t stop heirs or relatives from legally contesting your will’s validity upon death, you can discourage such actions.

WHAT TO DO:
Simple solution—add an in-terrorem clause to your will. This clause says that anyone who contests your will loses what you left him or her.
Greater protection—set up a living trust that will receive your assets upon death, making it more difficult to challenge a will or claim you were incompetent when the will was drawn up and signed.

  Is your favorite charity on the level?
Before writing a check to a charity, be sure that the organization is legitimate and financially committed to its cause. What to check:

Tax status.
Verify that the IRS recognizes the organization as a charitable group. Go to www.irs.gov and type “search for charities” (online version of Publication 78) into the search field.

Commitment.
Before you give money, take a look at how much money a charity uses to cover administrative costs vs. how much goes toward its cause. Three watchdog groups: www.charitywatch.org, www.give.org, and www.charitynavigator.org.

Legitimacy.
Check the charity to be sure it’s the one you had in mind. Some charities have names that sound like other, more respected groups but may not be as well operated. Also avoid spam e-mail charity appeals that follow major disasters. They may be scams.

HYBRID VEHICLES

For alternative fuel.
Take a tax credit up to $2,400 when purchasing an alternative fuel vehicle with a fuel efficiency of 250 percent of a 2002 gas-only powered vehicle.

For fuel conservation.
Buyers of hybrids also are eligible for a conservation credit that’s calculated using the lifetime fuel savings of the vehicle. This credit ranges from $250 for savings of at least 1,200 gallons of gas to $1,000 for 3,000 gallons.

OTHER VEHICLES

For non-gas vehicles.
Credits are available if you buy a car or lightweight truck that operates on fuels other than gas or diesel, (electric vehicles are no longer eligible). For alternative fuel vehicles, credits range up to $4,000 for a car weighing up to 8,500 pounds. For a fuel-cell vehicle, two credits are available—up to $8,000 for vehicles up to 8,500 pounds and a fuel-economy credit of up to $4,000.

HOMEOWNERS

For insulation.
Take a 10 percent credit when you install insulation materials or systems that reduce heat loss or gain, exterior energy-efficient windows and doors, and certain roofing materials.

For heating/cooling.
Install energy-efficient electric or geothermal heat pumps and/or an energy-efficient central air conditioner and take up to $300 for the cost. You also can take up to $150 for natural gas, propane, and oil or hot water heaters. This credit and the insulation credit above are capped at $500 combined, and no more than $200 of the credit can be attributable to window expenses.

For solar power.
If you buy and install residential solar water heating and photovoltaic electrical equipment, you can take a tax credit on each for 30 percent of the cost up to $2,000. A 30 percent credit is also available up to $500 for each 0.5 kilowatt of capacity when you install fuel cells to supply electricity.

Seek a review.
If you disagree with your insurer’s decision not to approve a claim or pay a bill, you can ask for an internal review.

Get an advocate.
If a medical bill seems unfairly high and your insurer refuses to cover it, consider consulting a billing advocate. Advocates charge hourly or base their fee on the amount recovered. Ask for an assessment of the problem at the outset and decide if it’s worth the potential savings to proceed.

Check online.
Start by looking at policies offered on www.ehealthinsurance.com. Or ask friends who have purchased policies on their own about their coverage.

Tap a pro.
Consider hiring a licensed health-insurance broker to find a policy for you. To locate an agent, visit the site of the National Association of Health Underwriters (www.nahu.org). Most members are independent agents representing several plans.

Compare policies.
List your key questions so you can compare potential policies. You want to compare premiums, deductibles, co-pays and coverage for out-of-network providers, which medical services are covered and which are excluded, and limits on annual or lifetime visits to mental-health professionals and other specialists.

Know the risks.
You can lose your coverage if you lie on an application or do not pay premiums, or if the insurer decides to no longer operate in your state.

POOLS.
In most states you can now get coverage in a high-risk pool if you are sick and no private insurer will accept you for individual coverage. Eligibility requirements vary by state. Call your state department of insurance for more information.

MEDICAID.
If you are facing a serious health problem, you may be able to turn to this state-federal program. Medicaid provides coverage for people with few assets and low income based on federal poverty guidelines. Some states waive the income guidelines for those who are “medically needy.” To enroll in Medicaid, you must apply to your state department of social services.

Seek a referral.
Know whether you have to seek a referral from your primary-care doctor before visiting a specialist. Even if you get the proper referral, any treatments that arise from that visit may still require preauthorization.

Know the limits.
Your plan’s benefits and payments may have limitations. For example, if your plan pays $50 for a visit and you consult a more-expensive doctor who charges $85, you must pay the $35 difference.

Know the deadlines.
If you want to dispute a denial of your claim or the insurer payment, you typically have up to six months. Know the cut-off date—otherwise, you could lose an appeal by missing a deadline.

Know the deductibles.
Understand how much your deductible is and what it applies to. For example, a preventive checkup might be covered even if you haven’t met your deductible, but a subsequent treatment that the doctor prescribes during that visit might not be. Or your plan may cover a visit but not a procedure performed on the same day.

Price the drugs.
To avoid being charged for lots of expensive brand-name prescription drugs, ask your doctor to prescribe an equivalent generic or a less-expensive medication whenever possible.

■ Are pre-existing conditions covered?

■ Is the plan’s physician/hospital network suitable?

■ Is the insurer financially sound based on data from A.M. Best, Standard & Poor’s, or other ratings services?

■ Is there a cap on how much you will be required to pay in any given year?

■ Once your deductible is met, what percentage of costs will you be required to pay?

Get health insurers to pay more

If you have health insurance, you probably have found that your insurer increasingly isn’t picking up its maximum percentage of charges once your deductible has been met. That’s because insurers pay based on “usual, customary and reasonable” (UCR) charges for and your care may have exceeded their price list. The UCR varies from region to region, and you won’t know how much you’re getting back until your Explanation of Benefits arrives.

WHAT TO DO: If you find a large gap between the doctor’s bill and the insurer’s UCR amount, call other doctors and labs in your area to find out what they charge for the same procedures and tests. Then call your insurer and ask how to appeal its decision, or appeal to your state insurance department. Or inform your doctor about your insurer’s UCR and ask for a price break.