I would like to welcome the Molder Legal Group to the South Florida Estate Planning blogging community. Their Florida Parents Page blog recently launched. It looks like their blog will be more tightly focused on planning for parents with young children. Good luck, Jason and Nicole.
Blog
A Website Internet Will/Trust Experiment Part 1: The Challenge.
I keep hearing from people what a great “deal” a certain internet website is. You just log on, type your information, and you can instantly get wills, trusts, corporations, trademarks, etc, just as good as one prepared by an Estate Planning or other Attorney for a lot less money. As I posted before, I believe… Read More
Six Ways to Save Taxes
I found this article from Newsday interesting. They list six ways to save taxes, based mostly on depressed asset values, something that I’ve written about before. Convert your traditional IRA to a Roth IRA. “Undo” or recharacterize a Roth IRA conversion if your initial conversion was in 2008 when values were significantly higher. If you have… Read More
NY Times: Smaller Though it May Be, It’s Time to Look at the Estate
The New York Times published a good article yesterday laying out what I’ve been telling everyone lately — that it’s time for everyone to reevaluate their estate plan. In Smaller Though It May Be, It’s Time to Look at the Estate NYT writer Paul Sullivan states: But estate planning is not primarily about avoiding a… Read More
Estate Planning for your Digital Life, or, Why Legacy Locker is a Big Fat Lawsuit Waiting to Happen)
Like many people today, I love the Internet. It is a great business, social, and financial tool. I am member of a number of various discussion forums (legal, technological, social, and personal), have a Facebook Account, a twitter account, multiple email addresses for business and personal use, and now have friends all over the world,… Read More
Be Careful of Store Bought “Fill in the Blank” Wills and Software
This post concerns what I see are the dangers of people buying fill in the blank Wills in stores, over the internet, or using consumer software. And I am going to admit right up front that I have a personal and financial bias. My job is to provide estate planning services, which may include wills,… Read More
“Who Provides Your Content?” I do!
Since I started my blog I have been asked on more than one occasion, “Who Provides Your Content?” At first, I didn’t understand the question. I explained that a company called LexBlog worked on the design on the website (and I have to say they did a fantastic job) and provides hosting and other technical… Read More
When a Will or Trust is not Enough: Beneficiary Designations
In the past, I have discussed the importance of everyone, single or married, gay or straight, to have either their Will or Revocable Trust properly drafted and executed. The reason for this, of course, is so that you can decide how your property is distributed upon your death and the state doesn’t decide for you… Read More
Do You Need a Revocable Living Trust?
I was at a networking event today, and I was talking with a guy in his twenties — healthy, unmarried, no children, minimal assets and minimal debt. He said he wanted to talk to me about me doing a “revocable living trust” for him. When I asked him why he thought he needed one, he… Read More
Breaking: IRS Commissioner Sets Forth Plan for Deductions for Madoff Victims
In testimony before Congress this morning, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman [No Relation] testified that the Service will be issuing guidance as to how victims of Ponzi schemes can treat their losses for tax purposes. According to the New York Times: The plan, which applies to victims of all Ponzi schemes, is likely to provide major relief… Read More
