Credit cards seem to be a blessing and a curse for many individuals. Establishing credit history is important for consumers to earn a high credit store, which will help in securing loans for large purchases such as homes and cars and starting up businesses. However, many people mismanage their credit cards and find themselves in […]
When I heard about the scandal at Penn State, I never imagined that it would lead to an Epilawg article on estate planning. But somehow, the topic of federal tax planning worked its way into this news story. An article on InvestmentNews.com reported that in July of 2011, Joe Paterno transferred his interest in the […]
It seems that the volatility in the stock market has continued our roller coaster of ups and downs this past quarter. Can this continue? Well it seems that it will with the daily changes of positive and negative news in Europe. As of last week the announcement has come! The European Central Bank has decided […]
This summer, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) issued a policy statement making clear the responsibilities of debt collectors when collecting the debts of a decedent. The FTC (along with private plaintiff attorneys) is tasked with enforcement of the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act (FDCPA) regulating third-party debt collectors collecting consumer debts. Of particular interest to […]
September 17, 1935 – November 10, 2001 Ken Kesey was an American author who wrote the great works of One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest and Sometimes a Great Notion. In 1964, Kesey traveled across country by bus with a group of friends to appear in New York for the publication of his book Sometimes […]
I read a recent “LA Times” article and the message hit home. My parents have been telling my sisters and me for years now that we are receiving our inheritance when we need it most … now, for expenses such as our education, purchasing our first homes and our weddings. Apparently my parents are not […]
Name: Mary A. Szondy Employer: Self Position: Attorney Practice Area: Guardianships, Conservatorships, Estate Planning Location: Grand Avenue, Saint Paul Education: Undergrad at Hamline (’90) JD University of St. Thomas (’04) How long have you been practicing? I was admitted to the bar in 2004. I began my solo practice June 1, 2005. I was […]
2010 Tax Relief Act The 2010 Tax Relief Act (a.k.a. The Tax Relief, Unemployment Insurance Reauthorization, and Job Creation Act of 2010) provided us with a $5 million federal estate tax exemption and a federal estate tax rate of 35%. It also introduced a feature called “portability” (see previous Epilawg articles summarizing the 2010 Tax […]
November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971 Born Howard Duane Allman, Duane was a founding member of The Allman Brothers Band. He died 40 years ago today, just shy of his 25th birthday. For the 35th anniversary of his death, Michael Ventre wrote a nice tribute to Allman (which can be read here), who is […]
We’ve written on Epilawg before about the importance of choosing the right individuals for the various roles that need to be filled in your estate plan. In this post, I will focus specifically on choosing a trustee.
Maggie Green recently wrote about instilling charitable values in children in her post Raising Young Philanthropists. While this post is a little off topic from most of our estate planning articles, in honor of the 2011 National Pro Bono Celebration, I thought it was appropriate to extend the conversation not only to charitable giving but […]