CNBC has this interesting article about using annuities as an investment option in your 401(k) retirement plan. Good retirement planning and estate planning is critical to providing for yourself and your family as you journey into new seasons of life. Call (913-707-9220) or email (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) our office to explore your estate planning options to help provide for and protect you and your family for generations to come.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Dave Ramsey, the noted popular financial planning speaker and author, has this interesting discussion of deciding who should get what in your will. If you’re an adult, you need a will. If you’ve recently gotten married, divorced, had children, received an inheritance, retired, or had other major changes in your life, you need to update your will. Give me a call (913-707-9220) or email me (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) to schedule a convenient appointment to review your estate planning needs together.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Caren Chesler has this interesting article in the March/April edition of Private Wealth magazine. The article addresses the inheritance wars that often arise between siblings when another sibling gets a larger inheritance for their caregiving work for the deceased parent, or one sibling grew up more frugally than a younger sibling who was born after their parents made a fortune, and the business succession disputes that can break out and threaten companies, especially where one sibling is deeply involved with the company’s operation and another sibling is not in the family business.
All of these inheritance wars boil down to a lack of communication. Communication is critical in estate planning and business succession. Your desires, wishes, and intent need to be clearly laid out for your children or grandchildren and business partners. And your documents need to be crystal clear to help avoid potentially divisive and costly disputes.
Estate planning and business succession planning can be an excruciating process where raw emotions and decades-old resentments and grudges are laid bare and flare up over the continuation of the family name/money. San Francisco attorney John O’Grady is quoted in the article as recommending a healthy alternative where:
“Everyone has a voice. Everyone knows what the plan is. And in the end, [the siblings] participated in that plan, whether or not mom and did did it their way.” Without good communication about estate planning and business succession, siblings may feel ignored, as if “their parents mentioned a plan but never showed it to them, and they have no idea what’s going to happen when their parents die.” The unhappy result of a lack of communication is that the estate planning process may “end in tears.”
Please give me a call (913-707-9220) or email me (steve@johnsonlawkc.com) if I can help you or your family with estate planning and business succession issues.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
An interesting discussion on CNBC’s website of what happens when you die with different types of debt. Spring is the perfect time of year to review and update your estate plan. Give me a call or email me if I can help you with the estate planning process this spring.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The Wall Street Journal has this story about the latest demographic study of wealth concentration. The WSJ notes that (1) the concentration of multi millionaires mainly tracks the population and (2) the number of high network individuals in a community and their relative concentration within that community may be very different. As always, if we can help with your estate planning or small business needs, call or email us for a convenient appointment.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Here’s the first part of the Trusts and Estates annual roundup from the Heckerling Institute in Florida. The Heckerling Institute is America’s premier estate planning seminar for attorneys and other professionals. If we can help you with your family business, gift planning, or other estate planning, call or email us.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
If you’re a member of the Baby Boomer generation, you would be well advised to read this demographic study regarding investment returns and retirement planning. If we can help you optimize your estate plan for your retirement needs, please give us a call or send us an email, and we look forward to meeting with you.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Here’s an interesting Wall Street Journal story regarding a colonial era gift to a Massachusetts school and the meaning of forever as it applies to the donor’s intent. Clearly expressing donor intent in charitable giving or in your estate planning documents is vital. If I can help you clearly express your charitable intent or discuss your estate plan with you, please call or email me to schedule a convenient appointment.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The Wall Street Journal has this interesting article on offshore estate planning tactics with reference to Mitt Romney’s IRA. If I can help you with offshore or domestic estate planning issues, please call me at your convenience.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The Wall Street Journal offers some interesting insights about different ways families can keep a vacation home or similar special property in the family for generations to come while minimizing taxes. If I can help you pass your vacation home on to the next generation in your family, give me a call at your convenience.
(c) 2012, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Estate Planning, Entrepreneurial, and Entertainment Law
Estate Planning, Entrepreneurial, and Entertainment Law
The KC Estate Planner 