CNBC has this article with helpful year end tax and investment tips. Call or email me if I can help you with your year end planning.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Category Archives: Uncategorized
An IPO for Christmas?: How Families Cash Out of Family Businesses
Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal regarding the Schusterman family’s recent $7 billion pay day from the sale of their family business’s assets. If I can help you or your family handle your family business’s legal needs or wealth transition issues, give me a call or email at your convenience.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
2011 Year End Tax Moves
Here are the Wall Street Journal’s recommendations. If I can help you with year end estate planning, gift, or other needs, call or email me at your convenience.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
New York: America’s Wealth Center
Not surprisingly, New York City has once again claimed the prize for highest concentration of wealthy Americans. Ever since America’s primary wealth creation shifted from rural, agricultural landowners to the financial industry, New York has been America’s wealth center.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
When Life Imitates Fiction
This Daily Mail (British newspaper) article on the reclusive New York heiress Huguette Clark caught my attention recently. Despite being a wealthy New York socialite with opulent homes around the country, she opted to live a reclusive lifestyle for some 80 years. She executed one Will leaving her estate to her family, some cousins. Two weeks later, she executed another Will leaving her estate mainly to a foundation run by her lawyer and accountant, while entirely disinheriting her family. John Grisham fans may recall some parallels to the opening of his bestselling novel The Testament, though fortunately Ms. Clark died of natural causes and old age, not foul play or suicide (as Mr. Grisham’s imagined testator died in the opening chapter). If I can help you or a loved one execute a Will, revise your Will, or discuss your estate planning needs, call or email me at your convenience.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Private Foundations: an Estée Lauder Estate Planning Tactic
Interesting NY Times article regarding the heirs of the Estée Lauder empire and how they use private foundations and other legal entities as part of their comprehensive estate planning strategy. If I can help you develop your estate planning strategy or implement some part of it, call or email me at your convenience.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
Estate sales
Here’s a fascinating Washington Post story about an estate sale for the wife of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart. The estate sale offered a window into Washington social life during Justice Stewart’s career and also allowed a few aspiring lawyers to obtain some classic memorabilia, such as the Justice’s briefcase. A lawyer’s soft leather briefcase, just like his or her pen and legal pad (or computer and smart phone), is an integral part of the lawyer’s practice and professional image and reputation.
If you need help organizing an estate sale, administering the estate of a loved one or close friend, or advice on your own estate plan, give me a call or email at your convenience.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The Return of the Millionaire Next Door
Reading this recent profile of the paradoxes of Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney in the NY Times reminded me of the classic financial and investment advice book, The Millionaire Next Door (1998). Whatever one thinks of Governor Romney’s politics, his apparent embrace of the frugal millionaire philosophy appears wise from a financial, investment, and estate planning perspective. Those interested in studying this frugal philosophy would also profit from The Millionaire Mind (2001), by the same author. A good estate plan should protect you and your family’s interests from unnecessary taxes and/or probate proceedings, while also staying out of your way to let you live your life with purpose and pleasure, enjoying the good and simple things of life that you’ve worked so hard for.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The Challenges of Caring for Aging Parents
Via the Will, Trusts & Estates Prof blog, comes this Financial Advisor Magazine article about various challenges faced by younger generations in caring for aging parents and older generations. As the American population ages and demographics shift, older and younger generations would do well to consider how best to care for parents and older generations, and how best to plan one’s own long term care, including retirement, Medicare, and Medicaid planning, and long term care insurance, as assisted living or nursing home bills can often devour an individual’s hard earned life savings within a few months or years. Call or email me if I can help you explore these issues and figure how to best care for aging parents or plan your own long term care.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
End of Life Planning – Thinking about the Unthinkable
A thought provoking LA Times column by Steve Lopez, the columnist featured in the 2009 feature film The Soloist. While end of life planning and “thinking about the unthinkable” isn’t always enjoyable, it does makes life easier for your family and friends, because no one wants to create an impossible end of life conundrum a la Nancy Cruzan or Terry Schiavo. If I can help you or your loved ones with a living will or medical durable power of attorney, or simply review your existing estate plan to ensure it meets your needs, call or email me to schedule a convenient appointment.
(c) 2011, Stephen M. Johnson, Esq.
The KC Estate Planner 