“So long as men can breathe, or eyes can see, So long lives this, and this gives life to thee.” (Sonnet XVIII by William Shakespeare, b. Apr. 23, 1564, d. Apr. 23, 1616) People do some strange things with their Last Wills and Testaments, and Shakespeare was no exception. One item in William Shakespeare’s will, for […]
Read moreThe internet has changed the way we live…and divorce. It started with video wills, and now Fox News just reported that Playwright Tricia Walsh-Smith is ranting about her divorce from the wealthy husband on YouTube. It is undeniable that technology and the internet have changed all areas of our lives, and the law is no […]
Read moreApril 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day dedicated to “ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions.” Our firm is in complete support of such a goal. In fact, we include a Health Care Directive as an important […]
Read moreWhat is the most important word in your estate plan? It is the key word that determines when your successor trustee takes over, when the agent nominated in your Healthcare Directive gets the authority to make health care decisions for you, and when your financial Power of Attorney goes into effect. That word is “incapacity”. With so […]
Read moreI am not a baseball fan, but watch the games occasionally. April marks the opening of baseball season, the season of the great American past-time; a season when, every few years, an average Joe can step up to the plate and make himself a national hero. One of the most famous of those heroes is […]
Read moreWill your business still be in the family 400 years from now? The answer to that is “probably not”. Statistically, only 40% of family owned businesses survive to the second generation, 12% to the third, and 3% to the fourth. One reason for this might be lack of interest by subsequent generations, another might be […]
Read moreThe most frequent fights upon the passing of a parent are not about the money, but about the objects that have sentimental value; your mother’s wedding ring, the family bible that has been passed down for generations, or your grandmother’s quilt. These are objects that may have very little financial value, but are filled with meaning […]
Read moreYou may not know that autism is the fastest growing developmental disability in the country, according to the Autism Society of America, with a 10%-17% annual growth rate. These are disturbing numbers for parents and parents-to-be, especially when doctors aren’t always aware of the signs and indicators of autism. When doctors aren’t aware, and parents […]
Read moreYou’ve created your estate plan. Your trust is in place, your health care directive is signed, guardians for your children have been nominated and informed. Now you can sit back, relax, and breathe a huge sigh of relief . . . except you still feel there is something missing. How will your guardians know to pay for Kevin’s […]
Read moreI love movies. Reading about Laura Linney’s interview about her role in the 2007 movie, The Savages, reminds all of us the issue of caring for aging parents. "The biggest gift you can give me is to help me figure out what to do during that period of time. If we can talk about this […]
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