These are the some of the most dangerous words a business person can speak: “It is not about the money; it is about the principle.” I cannot tell you how often I have heard those words spoken to me as I sat across the table from a client, or would-be client. I shudder to think…
DetailsThe Magna Carta is 800 years old this month. I was signed 800 years ago on June 15, 1215, (to be exact) at Runnymede, England. The Magna Carta is a pivotal document. It set a foundation for the Rule of Law in the West unsurpassed by any written document other than Scripture. The Magna Carta was…
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Social pundits have said that kids who grew up in the 1970’s are part of the “me generation”. They are forty and fifty somethings now. Our survival-of-the-fittest world encourages people to “look out for number one”. In that context, the fiduciary idea is counter-cultural.
During the time that I have been representing people doing estate planning, handling probate estates and other estate administration and similar matters, I have come across many, many stories, both good and bad, of examples what to do and what not to do in regard to estate planning. Most of the bad stories involve not…
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If you have an estate plan, count yourself among the responsible few. Most people do not have one. Even if you have an estate plan, however, you need to review it periodically to be sure it will meet your needs as times and circumstances and how you view your world change – and they will.
President Dwight D. Eisenhower declared May 1st to be Law Day during his presidency on February 5, 1958, and it was made official by Act of Congress on April 7, 1961. In the President’s Declaration, he declared, “In a very real sense, the world no longer has a choice between force and law. If civilization is…
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I have been doing estate planning for nearly 20 years, and I am surprised at the relatively small number of my clients who have incorporated charitable giving into their estate planning. Many of those same people have been charitable during their lives, giving to various organizations and their places of worship, but people do not…
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If you have substantial medical debt, but know that you will incur additional medical expenses (or other debts) soon, it may make sense to postpone filing for bankruptcy. The reason is that a bankruptcy case will only discharge those debts incurred as of the date the case was filed. By postponing the filing until after…
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THE EXECUTOR I had a friend who died and he, On earth so loved and trusted me, That ere he quit this earthly shore, He made me his executor. He tasked me through my natural life, To guard the interests of his wife, To see that everything was done, Both for his daughter and his…
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In my high school psychology class, my history teacher came and spoke to us one day about his disabled son. He read to us a short story in which he compared having a disabled child to a trip to Europe. The story began with a couple planning to go to Italy to tour all of…
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