blog

One of the things that makes managing legal issues so challenging is that the laws are always changing. This blog is designed to help you stay current on many of the latest changes.

Naming a Guardian

Being a new parent might mean deciding what bedtime lullaby to play or who has diaper duty next. But while you are enjoying this new chapter in your life, you must now also be proactive with naming guardians for your children. Naming a legal guardian for your child is possibly the most important reason for […]

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Estate Planning: naming names (and checking them twice!)

In her FORBES column, tax expert Kelly Phillips Erb described recently the nightmares and glitches that can occur when the IRS, an airline, or even the DMV disagrees with how your name is spelled, capitalized, hyphenated, or just appears differently from what they have on record.  It’s not really about mistaken identity, but mistakes about […]

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What to do as Trustee

You have just found out you were named trustee of your friend’s trust, and immediately accepted the position without any hesitation. But what does being a trustee actually mean? While it is great that your friend has entrusted you with such a responsibility, it is important for you to understand what that responsibility entails.   […]

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CHOOSING A BUSINESS ENTITY

You’ve finally decided to venture out on your own and start your company. Congratulations! The next big decision to make is choosing what type of corporate entity you should be.   There are many different corporate entities available; you just have to make sure whichever one you choose is right for your business. You can […]

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Pros and Cons of Designating Beneficiaries on Financial Assets

Most financial accounts allow beneficiaries to be designated, so that upon your death, the funds in the account can be directly distributed to those persons. Such accounts include your bank accounts, retirement accounts, and brokerage accounts. With such designations, probate (the court supervised procedure for the distribution of your estate if you die without a […]

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Top Three Estate Planning Mistakes

While having an estate plan is extremely important to protect your and your family’s interests, simply executing any plan can cause even larger problems if not prepared properly. Here are a few common mistakes that we have seen unnecessarily complicate an estate plan:   1. Improperly identified personal property. It is almost always a common […]

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Women’s rights and responsibilities in estate planning

A recently announced movie featuring Meryl Streep and Carey Mulligan will focus on the issue of women gaining the vote.  The film will tell the story of the British women who championed the suffrage movement in early 20th century England.   It wasn’t really all that long ago that women could not vote, hold public […]

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Year-end Business Check up

2015 is coming to a close. If you run a business, there are a couple of things you should do, before the year ends. First, you should speak to your CPA and see if there are any end-of year tax planning you can do. This can help you minimize your tax liability and get you […]

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Blended Families: Celebrity Edition

The fashion world lost a great icon, Oscar De La Renta, late last year and now his estate is being subjected to media scrutiny. The fashion designer did not have a living trust in place, but instead he had written a will. By having a will, all of the details of his estate and distribution […]

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Can an estate repossess what it doesn’t own?

A high-profile lawsuit was recently settled between singer Harry Belafonte and the estate of  Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. The lawsuit was brought in order to determine who had legal claim to specific personal papers of Dr. King’s, including notes for a speech and a letter from then-President Lyndon Johnson. Belafonte’s possession of the papers […]

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