Posts Tagged: Hawaii

The Perils of Joint Tenancy

While joint tenancy is not necessarily to be avoided at all times and at all costs, it is very important to understand its ramifications. He (or she) who puts other people on title to assets for probate avoidance/estate planning purposes may be making a huge mistake. Joint tenancy costs very little at the front end, but it exposes your back end to some very unpleasant possibilities.

The Doomsday Prophet Profits

Notorious doomsday prophet Harold Camping, whose past predictions of the end of the world proved overblown, is now absolutely certain that the world will end on October 21, 2011. Don’t be surprised if you are reading this on or after October 22, 2011, but don’t get lulled into thinking that estate planning is one of those things you can put off indefinitely.

It is National Estate Planning Awareness Week

It’s probably fair to say that “National Estate Planning Awareness Week” is an invention of estate planning professionals who would like to promote their businesses. On the other hand, that does not mean that estate planning awareness is a bad thing. In fact, most people fail to take simple steps that could make their lives, and the lives of their loved ones, much easier when inevitable bad things occur, like a death in the family or the incapacity of a loved one. One of those steps is the creation of a revocable living trust.

Al Davis, RIP

Oakland Raiders owner and former head coach Al Davis is famous for a lot of things, including his quote, “We don’t take what the defense gives us; we take whatever the hell we want.” Mr. Davis has gone on to his eternal rewards, leaving his family to face an adversary that is more intimidating than the Raiders in their glory years. But there is good news for the rest of us. Even when you are up against the IRS, there are ways to, in Mr. Davis’ immortal words, “Just win, Baby!”

What does the Debt Ceiling Deal mean for Seniors?

The U.S. Debt Ceiling was raised before the magical August 2 deadline amid great hand-wringing and “the sky is falling” rhetoric out of our nation’s capitol. Despite the tireless efforts of our tireless representatives, our stock market still plunged, and global markets followed suit. Making sense out of the baloney sandwich we have just been fed is tricky.