August 2012

Ingrid Bergman

by Jen Santini August 29, 2012 Obits

August 29, 1915 – August 29, 1982 Today is one of those rare occasions when it is the anniversary of someone’s death but also the anniversary of their day of birth. It is has been [...]

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Viatical Settlements

by Jen Santini August 27, 2012 Incapacity Planning

The New York Times Magazine recently ran an article on life settlements or viatical settlements. These settlements are the process in which individuals sell their life insurance policies to investors to receive cash now. As [...]

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2nd Quarter Market Update

by J.B. L'Esperance August 24, 2012 Guest Articles

I’m going to begin this post with a personal tidbit.  I decided to run my first full marathon a few months ago.  After running five half-marathons in past years, I figured this would be rather [...]

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Torrens vs. Abstract Property: What’s the Difference?

by Jayne Sykora August 21, 2012 Real Estate

I have written many posts about various aspects related to real estate: life estates, titling real estate, and transfer on death deeds, to name a few. What each of these topics has in common, besides having [...]

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Don’t wait for the holidays – Gift Now!

by Maggie Green August 14, 2012 Estate Planning 101

Almost every week I receive an email from a tax or financial advisor about how my clients should take advantage of the current gift tax exemption. The exemption of $5.12 million allows an individual to [...]

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Creditors’ Claims Basics

by Jen Santini August 8, 2012 Probate

One of the purposes of probate is to provide notice of the decedent’s death to creditors so that they can seek payment for any unpaid debts. As Jayne Sykora mentioned in her post, What Happens [...]

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Marilyn Monroe

by Jen Santini August 5, 2012 Obits

June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962 It has been 50 years since the woman born as Norma Jeane Mortenson (later changed to Baker) passed away. Known as Marilyn Monroe, she died at the young [...]

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QR Codes … for Estate Planning?

by Jamie Held August 3, 2012 Estate Planning 101

QR codes, those squares made of square dots arranged in a pattern that you scan with your smart phone, are popping up everywhere these days.  Consequently, I was not at all surprised when I saw [...]

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