The talk this year about changes in the availability of Roth IRAs has raised questions from many people eligible for the benefits of these individual retirement accounts. One of the hottest topics of discussion is the advantages of a traditional IRA versus a Roth IRA, and whether or not you have to convert your traditional IRA to make it a “stretch” IRA. First of all, the answer is no, you don’t have to convert Read More
Summertime and the Living is Easy
Summertime in the U.S.A. Kids live for it… Parents spend much of the year trying to plan for it… It’s the perfect time of year to get out of our comfort zone and break free from the safe routine of daily life. Yet along with pushing those boundaries and living the adventure comes the increased possibility of accident or injury - those unexpected events we spend the least amount of time planning for and years Read More
The 15 Estate Planning Mistakes That Could Leave Your Family in Danger (Part 1)
Does Your Plan Make One of These 15 Fatal Mistakes that Can Endanger Your Family, Result in the Government Taking Too Much of Your Money, and Leave Your Family With a Huge Problem? (Part 1 - Counting Down: Mistakes #15 -11) Regardless of whether you've prepared a plan for what will happen in the event of your death or incapacity, a plan is in place. It’s the people you love the most who are going to have the Read More
“The Kids Are Alright” Authors: Protect Your Kids
Orphaned Children and Authors of the Bestselling Book “The Kids Are All Right” Partner With Personal Family Lawyers® Nationwide to Ensure Parents Have Affordable Access to Name Guardians for Kids Liz and Diana Welch, bestselling authors of the Kids are All Right and daughters of late soap star Ann Williams have partnered with a national team of lawyers to make sure parents have affordable access to name guardians Read More
Citibank Does Customer Service Right
Citibank has been taking a bit of a pounding in the press lately - most recently on the front page of the Wall Street Journal because of their $400 million deal for naming rights to the New York Mets' new stadium (while also accepting TARP money). But, I have a very nice story to tell about Citibank. I have a business credit card with Citibank. It comes with a very low interest rate (the kind of interest rate that Read More
Can’t Pay Your Mortgage? Don’t Pay a Fee For a Loan Modification Until You Read This!
If you are having trouble paying your mortgage or afraid you might be in trouble once your adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) resets, please read this blog post by Alexis Martin Neely, founder of the Family Wealth Planning Institute. Read More
The 5 Documents Every Parent Needs in 2009
Today, I am passing along a true story originally published in Parents magazine. This story is repeated more often than you realize. The sad part is that this should not happen to any family... When Aliina Laine was 8, her mother died suddenly, leaving six children, ranging in age from 8 to 26, and no will. After his wife's death, Aliina's father decided to write a will, but he died of a heart attack five weeks Read More
Have You Read Paul Newman’s Will?
What's the story with Paul Newman's will? As is often the case with celebrity wills (Heath Ledger, Leona Helmsley, and Anna Nicole Smith, most recently), Paul Newman's will is posted to the Internet. You can go ahead and read it here if you're interested. There is a lesson for you in Paul Newman's will. It's this - all wills are public documents when they are filed with the probate court. Yours will be too. Now, Read More
Why I Do What I Do
This fall, I celebrated the 10th anniversary of my law firm. At the ribbon-cutting to celebrate our achievement, I mentioned a story I wrote several years ago, as part of a coaching group exercise, titled "Why I Do What I Do." The story is even more meaningful to me today, in part because I have niched my practice down (from litigation, business planning and real estate to almost exclusively estate planning - Read More
How to Avoid Disaster
I was supposed to publish two weeks ago, but a potential disaster intervened. I say "potential disaster" because the unthinkable did not happen - but it could have. And, there is a lesson for you in my "potential disaster." Here's what happened .... I came into my office on a Saturday afternoon intending to tie up some loose ends and do some writing (including this blog). After about 10-15 minutes, I noticed Read More
