From Lincoln’s Address before the Young Men’s Lyceum of Springfield, Illinois, a speech well worth reading in full: At what point shall we expect the approach of danger? By what means shall we fortify against it? Shall we expect some transatlantic military giant to step the ocean and crush us at a blow? Never! All […]
Scalia was possibly the best writer on the Supreme Court–ever. Kagan, almost his political polar opposite, will likewise rank as one of its best writers. These are generous, kind thoughts and a worthy example to emulate when we speak of someone we may otherwise disagree with.
“An often-neglected requirement of federal crop insurance is that the insured producer maintain complete records of crop production, harvesting, disposition, and inputs. Farm clients should be advised that they are to keep records of production and marketing for each crop by insurance unit. These records are an extremely valuable asset to the modern row crop operation, […]
A lot of wisdom in this quote and just one more reason to consider leaving your children’s inheritance in trust rather than giving it to them outright: “Those who inherit fortunes are frequently more of a problem than those who made them.” Congolese Proverb
Need a good story for a speech? Here’s one, courtesy of Bessemer Trust’s Steve R. Akers speaking at a CLE seminar I attended today at the Utah Bar in Salt Lake City. He got the story from Conrad Teitell, who spoke at this year’s Heckerling Institute (an annual estate planning conference) in Orlando: A son wanted […]
“A trust can be an effective foundation for asset protection planning. Trusts have been utilized for centuries as a means of conserving and protecting property for the beneficiaries of the trust. However, most domestic trusts do not provide protection from creditors. The typical revocable living trust, where the trustors are the lifetime beneficiaries and retain […]
Professor, attorney, and author of Business Planning: Closely Held Enterprises, Dwight Drake has some useful advice for would-be entrepreneurs: “When the entrepreneurial bug bites a group of charged-up business owners, they usually are focused on making the business succeed, maximizing revenues, and minimizing expenses. They have little interest in discussing potential breakups, the risks of the three big […]
One of 12 reasons Edwin P. Morrow III, J.D., LL.M. gives for keeping assets in a trust rather than distributing them outright to beneficiaries at death, from his outline, The Optimal Basis Increase and Income Tax Efficiency Trust: A trust allows the grantor to make certain that the assets are managed and distributed according to his/her […]
From the article “Communicating an Estate Plan to Heirs,” posted at Successful Farming at Agriculture.com: “For some children, money equals love. Therefore, if they receive fewer dollars, they assume they are loved less. With farm distribution, there are times when the farming heir appears to get a financial advantage on paper. Sometimes this may be […]
Shot: “For clients who are planning to stay in their homes, a reverse mortgage can be a good source of needed cash flow. This allows them to tap their home equity and supplement their retirement income. “Additionally, most reverse mortgages are Home Equity Conversion Mortgages (HECM), which are non-recourse loans insured by the FHA. If the balance outstanding […]