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Father Wants Apple to Unlock Son's iPhone
April 22nd, 2016
Law enforcement agents in the U.S. are not the only people who would like Apple to create a way to bypass the iPhone's security features. The dispute between the FBI and Apple over the iPhone of the San Bernardino shooter appears to have been re…
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Upcoming Changes to Gun Trusts
April 21st, 2016
Gun trusts are a great way to keep firearms in a family. They have offered a cheaper and easier way to pass certain firearms between generations. However, new rules will make them somewhat less beneficial. Certain firearms, such as machine guns and s…
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Categories: Aging Issues, Charitable Giving, Current Affairs, Estate Planning, Succession, Trust Funding, Weblogs, Will
Is Elizabeth the True Queen of England?
October 21st, 2015
Queen Elizabeth II has asked a court to decide if DNA evidence can be used in disputes over hereditary titles. If the court says yes, then it could mean that her own lineage and right to the throne could be called into question. One significant diffe…
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Categories: Blended Families, Current Affairs, Estate Planning, Family Business, Succession, Weblogs
Dodging the Family Feud over Your Estate
June 11th, 2013
Unfortunately, estate planning can cause family feuds over inheritance, often leading to litigation that can become lengthy and costly with no clear winner. From our experience, family litigation occurs not from a lack of trying to solve the issue, b…
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Estate Planning Does Not End at the “Unified Credit”
May 28th, 2013
This post concerns potential estate tax saving from establishing a separate revocable trust for each spouse and dividing the marital estate between the two trusts. What is a “unified credit” and how does it affect your estate plans? Forbes recent…
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Categories: Estate Planning
Tax Savvy Financial Tools in the Form of Life Insurance and Annuities
May 28th, 2013
“Oftentimes these products are sold based on the moment in time,” said Richard Coppa, managing director of Wealth Health, a financial advisory firm. “A couple of years ago, they were sold on guaranteed returns of 6 or 7 percent because people w…
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Categories: Estate Planning
Creating a Thorough Living Will
April 25th, 2013
Even if a copy of your living will ends up at the hospital with you — that's hardly guaranteed — doctors routinely don't know how to interpret them. They may still leave friends and family confused about what you want. End-of-li…
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Categories: Estate Planning
Valuation Discounts: The “Art” of Estate Planning for Artwork
April 4th, 2013
Artwork can be really valuable. Thus, it is hardly surprising that artwork will be a contentious matter in estate tax cases. When it comes to estate planning, determining the value of artwork can be disputable and very difficult to pin down. However,…
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Categories: Estate Planning
Can Mediation be the Referee in Your Estate Battle?
March 29th, 2013
…In general, the lasting anger and bitterness of litigation doesn't seem to occur when matters are settled by mediation. Inheritance battles are nothing new. We see several of them make their way into courtrooms far and wide, exposing the fami…
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Categories: Elder Law
The Gun Trust: Your Estate Planning “Weapon”
March 15th, 2013
The national trend is driven by the National Firearms Act (NFA), which regulates the transfer or sale of certain guns and other weapons, in part by requiring a sheriff or police chief to approve the transfer with an authorized signature. However, NFA…
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