Category: Strategy
-
Is your revocable trust a ticking time bomb?
Will Your Pre-2011 Trust Create expensive problems for your surviving spouse and children? A revocable trust written before 2011 might contain provisions that would cause the trust’s beneficiaries expensive tax problems. Why? To avoid federal estate tax on the first death, many older trusts have an AB formula with a bypass trust. These made sense…
-
WHEN TRUSTEES ARE SURPRISED AND TOO BUSY
This trust property sale had a few unexpected elements. First, the appointed co-trustees didn’t know each other well. And while one of them was especially surprised to be named, oddly, neither was close to the deceased. Without the trustees’ built-in perspective on the property, it required some investigation to find out about this top-floor Cow…
-
Estate Planning Decisions Come From The Heart
I was recently asked to “submit my elevator pitch” in writing for a networking group. This is what I usually say when I introduce myself to a group of professionals: My name is Patricia De Fonte. No one ever wants to start working with me. It is not easy to tell a stranger about strained…
-
One Client’s Story
“Without goals, and plans to reach them, you are like a ship that has set sail with no destination.” –Fitzhugh Dodson Mary walks her dog in her neighborhood along the same route she walks every day, when a driver fails to stop at the stop sign. The driver doesn’t see Mary. At the last part of…
-
The Top 7 Ways The New Tax Law Could Affect Your Startup
This article first appeared on Forbes. On December 22, 2017, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 into law. The Act was the biggest change in tax laws in more than 30 years and brought about many changes for individuals and companies. Overall, we believe that the changes will benefit new…
-
Why Are Generations So Different At Work?
Our work ethic, trust and commitment are developed during our formative years. We learn these traits from our parents, teachers, world events, media, etc. If we look at the generations currently in the work force and associate their behavior to the world during their developmental years, it will help us understand each other. Understanding each…
-
Don’t Unintentionally Disinherit Your Child
Leaving Your Assets to a Trusted Adult to Care for Your Child is a Mistake I recently met with a potential client who had created his estate plan just after his son was born. He had every intention of taking care of his son. But this trust cut his son out of the picture: 70…
-
Trouble in Trump Times
“Know thy self, know thy enemy.” Sun Tzu I recently finished a trial where the defendant admitted to running a red light and slamming into my client. When the jurors awarded minimal damages, I was reminded of what sociologist are calling our present times ‘America’s Cold Civil War’ and the success of President Donald Trump.…
-
Challenges lawyers face, and how the attorney action club can help you meet those challenges.
As I help attorneys grow their firms, there are certain obstacles I’m sure you’ll recognize: Feast or Famine: I’ve just finished being very busy and don’t have work waiting for me. On top of that, I don’t know where to get it! Growing pains: How do I hire? When do I hire? What kind of…
-
Lawyers: What’s Your Number One Referral Source?
Who is your number one referral partner? The likely answer is another lawyer. It may be counterintuitive, but we are not each other’s competition; we are each others best referral source! If you are a startup lawyer you may have discovered that IP lawyers are a good referral source, if you are a criminal defense…