It is generally estimated that more than half of all Americans have absolutely no estate planning documents. This can potentially create a lot of hassles for your loved ones.
But even those Americans with very good estate planning documents often fail to focus on asset protection for their children and other beneficiaries. If you simply
A June 8, 2011 New York Times article by Steven M. Davidoff (a law professor at the University of Connecticut School of Law) notes that personal liability for directors and officers of large publicly held companies is less common than most of us think. Professor Davidoff argues that the upside of serving as a director
A fascinating article by Daniel J. Wakin in the November 29, 2010 New York Times reveals that even Mozart should have done some asset protection planning.
An aristocratic friend of Mozart’s sued him and won a judgment for an amount of more than two times Mozart’s annual income. The judgment called for garnishing half of
Trusts are not only for the rich. Anyone with minor children (and even children in their 20’s) should consider a trust for their family.
If any property passes to a child under your will, from a bank account "payable on death" or otherwise, the child will generally get all of that money at age 18. The
The recent economic downturn has caused creditor problems for many wealthy Americans who never dreamed they would be in this kind of situation. A front page article in the July 9, 2010 New York Times reported that one in seven homeowners with loans in excess of $1 million is seriously delinquent. Foreclosures are occurring at shocking rates
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 324 points last Friday, its second worst slide of the year. The drop pushed the stock market back into a "correction" — meaning a decline of at least 10% from its recent high.
While I remain optimistic about the economic future of our country, we obviously face great challenges in
In a post last month, I emphasized that a business can be lost or severely damaged by lack of a meaningful succession plan. The title of an article in yesterday’s New York Times says it all — "Lack of Succession Plan Puts Family Venture at Risk". The article has some useful suggestions for closely
Asset protection planning can bring a lot more certainty to our lives — at least with respect to financial matters. And there is a lot of evidence that certainty makes us happier.
Personal planning — whether financial planning, estate planning, or asset protection planning — clearly brings a degree of certainty to our lives. A good
