One of the things that guides my practice is the gap between what clients want and what most advisors and planners can deliver. In my experience, clients want a caring advisor who can help them build and leave a legacy to their loved ones (financial and otherwise). However, most professionals lack the skills and tools[...]
The term "trust fund" conjures up images of mansions, yachts and huge fortunes. But once the province of the very rich, trusts have found themselves into the lives of many families who've never thought of themselves as wealthy. Trusts come in myriad forms, but for middle-class families, the living trust is popular because the person[...]
I thought folks would be up for a change of pace. Here is what Steven Colbert thinks about the estate tax repeal. Pick it up at the second segment at minute 12:00. Enjoy.[...]
Folks in the Princeton area are probably familiar with the US 1 newspaper that is handed out free to area businesses. It's a good paper that offers a lot of insightful articles on business-related issues and items of interest in the Princeton area. Usually, the newspaper includes an editorial, and a few months ago, one[...]
Amber Watson-Tardiff, who posts a regular column on NJ.com about Parenting Advice for New Jersey parents asked me to comment for an article she was writing about the fallout from Balloon Boy, including anticipating court intervention with the parents. You can read the whole article here - and I've pasted most of the column below[...]
Most people think of "doing estate planning" as the act of creating and signing a will. While in some cases, a will is the best instrument, you can't get to that answer without engaging in a comprehensive process where the lawyer gets to learn about you and your family, your goals and desires, your values[...]
In my first post, I talked a little about those attorneys who offer to do it all for you (real estate, commercial litigation, business representation), including your estate planning. Just as not all estate planning attorneys are the same, Myth #2 is that not all estate plans are the same. Despite what Suze Orman will[...]
The websites of general practice lawyers, as well as those of large, mega law firms, almost always include "Wills & Trusts" or "Wills & Estates" as practice areas. If you went by the sheer number of lawyers with this listing, you would probably conclude two things: First, almost everyone in a community has, or is[...]
President Barack Obama has been making the rounds across the country to promote his health care initiatives. One of the places where President Obama showed up was an online forum sponsored by the AARP. In his response to a question about a proposed health care bill, President Obama said that he and First Lady Michelle[...]
Recently, I posted about the need to pass on your "on line" information as part of a comprehensive estate plan. My article examined the various companies that offered to guard that information for you. It seems like the Wall Street Journal reads my blog because they just published an article of their own on Sunday[...]