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All the Knowledge At Your Disposal
“The rise of the internet, along with thousands of health-oriented websites, medical blogs, and even doctor-based television and radio programs, means that today’s patients have more opportunities than ever to take charge of their medical care.” So begins Tara Parker-Pope’s article in the New York Times entitled You’re Sick. Now What? Knowledge Is Power. If […]
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Leaving a Legacy to Your Child
As an estate planning attorney and the mom of the wonderful “kid” in the picture, I meet a lot of parents with the same concern: they want to leave a legacy for their children, but they worry about the repercussions if the children are given too much financial obligation before they are mature enough to […]
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Preparing for Long Term Care
My conversation with a client yesterday regarding his aging parents’ Long Term Care needs inspired this post. If you are the child of parents who are now over the age of 65, you’ve probably given at least some passing thought to the day when one of your parents may need Long Term Care. Perhaps that […]
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Zen and the Art of Estate Planning
We have said a number of times in our blog that Estate Planning will bring you peace of mind, and apparently we aren’t the only ones who think so! In fact, Andrew Flusche believes Estate Planning brings enough peace of mind to warrant an entire blog post about it for Leo Babauta’s blog Zen Habits. […]
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Stale is for Crackers
If you’ve been reading our blog, then you know by now why it is so important to create an Estate Plan. However, you might not yet realize how important it is to review your Estate Plan regularly, and keep it updated. The primary reason to review your Estate Plan regularly is the simple fact that your […]
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The Cure for Back to School Excuses
I just moved my 18-year-old son to his college dorm last weekend. The beginning of September always brings with it a lot of groaning from the back-to-school set. After months of fun and freedom and sleeping late, they have to go back to doing hard things, and boring things. You hear a lot of those […]
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The Lighter Side of Estate Planning
Estate planning isn’t always serious business. Perhaps you’re familiar with this well known joke that was recently emailed to me: When a shy and homely young man found out he was going to inherit a fortune when his sickly father died, he decided he needed a woman with which to enjoy it. So one evening he went […]
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Don’t Let Your Vacation Home Become a Memory
The end of summer is upon us, with many people closing up the summer cottage, and—with wistful backward glances—returning to the hubbub of everyday life. But those happy summer memories, and looking forward to next summer, will keep us going through the winter. And so, to conclude our series on real estate protection and investments, […]
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Leverage Unproductive Real Estate
I personally love real estate investments. Real estate also plays an extremely large role in the estate planning process. As mentioned in previous posts, your home (or other real estate holdings) often forms the bulk of your assets, and figures largely in the creation of your family’s estate plan. But real estate can serve as […]
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Four Reasons Not to Create an Estate Plan (And Why You Should Ignore Them)
I always tell the audience at my seminars that the biggest enemy in estate planning is not the IRS, nor the state, nor conniving relatives. The biggest enemy is procrastination. We know we need to do an estate plan, but we say to ourselves, “I’ll do it next month” or “I’ll do it next year.” […]
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