Legacy Planning with a Pinch of Imagination


January 29, 2019
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So a funny thing happened when we introduced an amazing new idea to the funeral service industry. Using one-off manufacturing technologies, we were able to completely reinvent what was known as the common cremation urn. So a funny thing happened when we introduced an amazing new idea to the funeral service industry. Using one-off manufacturing […]

Finding Fiduciaries: The Attorney as Fiduciary, Part 3


December 7, 2018
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Occasionally a client will ask her attorney to serve as trustee (or trust protector). Any attorney considering acceptance of a fiduciary appointment must be mindful of several practical and ethical considerations. First, the attorney should determine whether her professional liability insurance covers acting as a fiduciary. The attorney should then consider the following ethical obligations […]

Finding Fiduciaries: General Considerations, Part 1


September 21, 2018
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Fiduciary selection is often given insufficient consideration in estate planning engagements. Too often the process of choosing a fiduciary is limited to the consideration of which family members are disqualified from acting as trustee; with little or no consideration of the skills required of a trustee. An attorney must help her client understand the fiduciary’s […]

Millenials Need an Estate Plan, Too


July 25, 2018
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I’m twenty-four.  I don’t have a home, a family I support, or any of the assets I typically see in an estate plan.  On top of that, I’m young and plan to live at least into my sixties, so what is the point in investing in an estate plan?  Over the past year learning more […]

Tidbit #57 on Life Insurance


July 12, 2018
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I read a lot. I much prefer non-fiction over fiction though the other day, the (very) fictitious article entitled, “Whole Life Insurance vs. 529 College Savings Plans…Who Wins?”, got my interest as no other piece of fiction that I can recall. The author’s position (which I deduced from the title alone), is that whole life […]

Are Your Affairs in Order?


May 14, 2018
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A commonly overlooked piece of a person’s financial affairs is their digital footprint. In today’s digital world, online accounts to manage investments, savings, expenses, etc. are becoming more and more conventional. If tragedy strikes and you become incapacitated or if there is a death, would your family know how to access your online accounts? Where […]

An Overview of Estate Planning Tax Changes


February 23, 2018
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As most know, on December 22, 2017, President Trump signed significant tax changes into law. Known as the “Tax Cuts and Jobs Act”, these changes have a significant reach in virtually every facet of the financial world. Here are a few things to keep a watch on with respect to estate planning. Tax Exemptions: A […]

Cemetery Lots, Burial Plots, Mausoleums, and Niches: Investing in Your Future, Part 5


October 27, 2017
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Definition of Terms “Alkaline hydrolysis” (coined “wet cremation”) means the reduction of a dead human body to essential elements through a water-based dissolution process using alkaline chemicals, heat, agitation, and pressure to accelerate natural decomposition; the processing of the hydrolyzed remains after removal from the alkaline hydrolysis vessel; placement of the processed remains in a […]