During professional conversations with clients, I often ask them to describe the most important thing that they can leave to their children and grandchildren. “Money?” I’ll ask.
“No,” a typical client will respond, “They can blow the money or do foolish things with it. I don’t think that the money means a whole lot when you […]
Despite our rough economy, Lee County grew by more than 20,000 residents last year, the largest increase of any county in Florida. Many of these new residents are actually people who owned vacation homes here, but are now retired or semi-retired. Since they no longer have occupations “back home” they can now declare Florida as […]
Many people visit with their attorney, prepare their estate planning documents only to shove them into a drawer and forget about them. Since the trust code changes, the tax code changes, along with fluctuations in family and financial circumstances, prudent measures require a review of your estate plan every so often.
With the arrival of Revocable […]
I spent the third week of January in Orlando at the University of Miami’s Heckerling Estate Planning Conference. This is a top national conference covering estate planning topics, where you will find many eminent attorneys both lecturing and attending. Topics include what’s new in the tax laws, IRS challenges and court cases, and what planning […]
The New York Times recently ran a story painting a gloomy picture about the Southwest Florida real estate market. Some say that it was too gloomy. Bill Valenti, President and Chief Executive Officer at Florida Gulf Bank tells me that he was interviewed for the story by the Times correspondent. Mr. Valenti’s points didn’t make […]
During a discussion of Republican Presidential candidates on ABC’s “The View”, Whoopi Goldberg said, “I’d like somebody to get rid of the death tax. That’s what I want. I don’t want to get taxed just because I died.” The studio audience started applauding, but she wasn’t done. “I just don’t think its right,” she continued, […]
On November 20, 2007 I had a conversation with Dr. David M. Jones. You may know him as the “Fed Watcher” on CNBC and CNN. His opinions regarding the Federal Reserve and the economy are widely sought out, especially in these times of financial turmoil. Dr. Jones is the President of DMJ Advisors, a Denver […]
With each passing year it seems like the New Year rolls around sooner. This is also the time of the year when many start thinking about what they can give their children and grandchildren. Uncle Sam limits the amounts we can give “gift tax free” to anyone, so I thought I would review some of […]
Forbes magazine recently reported that in July the Vanguard group sent 170,000 customers a form letter innocuously labeled: “Change in beneficiary policy will help you simplify your planning.” A more candid heading would have been: “Warning! Unless you act, we’re about to change who gets your Individual Retirement Accounts when you die.”
Vanguard has decided that, […]
I came accross an interesting article in today’s New York Times that discusses For Those Born Rich, Lessons in How to Stay That Way
Is money, financial assets or land the bridge to everlasting wealth? When I ask my wealthier clients what is most important to them - how they earn and retain wealth - money […]