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 […]
As reported on Forbes.com, September was World Alzheimer’s Month. It hasn’t been officially extended to October but the topic is so relevant that we should continue to consider the impact of the disease on our society. In particular, the impact of the disease on individual sufferers and their families. Here are a few relevant points […]
Personally, I have never been one to purchase U.S. Savings Bonds. Nor have I received any as gifts. However, I have worked with many clients that one way or the other, have many Savings Bonds. When helping these clients with their estate plan, I have learned more than I ever imagined I would about Savings […]
With the recent deaths of Steve Jobs, Apple co-founder, and Al Davis, owner of the Oakland Raiders, we are reminded how important it is to properly plan for the transfer of assets upon death. While the average American does not have the wealth that Mr. Jobs had (estimated at $7 billion1) or Mr. Davis (estimated […]
January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849 Today is the 162nd anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s death at age 40. Poe led a difficult life, which started when both of his parents died within three years after he was born. Poe spent many years of his short life impoverished while he wrote numerous poems, short stories, […]