This is the time of the year when many island condominiums, townhouses and homes are rented to third parties. The rental income helps carry the costs associated with these residences, and in some cases provides a decent income stream to the rental unit owners.
Many owners, however, fail to consider how to limit their liability exposure […]
We’ve all recently learned that Wall Street financier Bernie Madoff’s surreal investment returns was just that – surreal – built on a Ponzi scheme that collapsed amid FBI and SEC investigations. Initial reports indicate that investors were bilked out of at least $50 billion.
While Madoff may not have been well known here in Southwest Florida, […]
My wife’s grandmother, who is 94 years old, annually gives each of her nine great-granddaughters a fifty dollar Chanukah check. “I get social security” G.G. (short for great-grandmother) laughs, “so each of my beautiful darlings should also get social security.” The kids, of course, joyfully cash the checks to spend the money during the holidays. […]
Since Barack Obama’s election many have asked me what I think will happen to the estate tax. My reading of various news reports, tax industry analysts and other sources leads me to believe that the Obama team hasn’t yet decided exactly how to handle their campaign promises regarding taxes. They appear to be gauging the […]
I recently participated in an interesting conversation with economist Dr. David Jones, Chairman of Investors’ Security Trust Company, who is also known as the “Fed Watcher” on CNN and CNBC. Jones criticized Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson’s uncertainty how to best utilize the $700 billion Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), which, he states, has contributed to […]
Over the years a good friend of mine consistently represented that he can do as good or a better job than the professionals can in managing his own money. Encouraged by advertisements promoting index funds, he proclaimed that most money managers fail to outperform stock index funds over long periods of time.
“Why should I pay […]
For the past several weeks we have been watching two men, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke attempt to repair the United States investment banking system. As I watched the continuing developments of the US government intervention into the financial crisis, it occurred to me that three historical milestones may have […]
Foraging through our living room cabinets the other day, my three daughters found my old high school yearbooks. They laughed over some of the inane notes scribbled by classmates within the pages, and had even more fun seeing their old man as a teenager in his 1970s style haircuts. They especially guffawed at my high […]
Not too long ago I received a call from a child of a client that hasn’t visited with me in almost eighteen years. We drafted a revocable trust for this client back then. At the time the federal estate tax exemption was lower than it is today, but she also had fewer assets, and those […]
While watching the evening news the other day, my teenage daughter Gabrielle asked me whether everything is going to be okay. Tuning in to major network news is a lot scarier than Halloween specials that air this time of year. In her case, Gabi was referring to news stories discussing the economic crisis. I assured […]