At the end of each year, I like to reconnect with our clients for review and reflection. So much can happen over the course of a year — families grow, financial situations change, and new elements of your legacy...
Read Jeffrey Steele’s entertaining take on the importance of beneficiary designations. Michael Stuart weighs in on real-life situations and how to avoid unintentionally disinheriting your loved ones.
By Jeffrey Steele Originally appearing in the Chicago Tribune Primetime section May 9, 2014. Reposted with express permission of the author.
Everyone must leave something behind when he dies, my grandfather said. A child or a book or a painting or a house or a wall built or a pair of shoes made. Or a garden planted. Something your hand touched some way so your soul has somewhere to go when you die, and when people look at that tree or that flower you planted, you’re there.
Ray Bradbury, Fahrenheit 451
By now you’ve heard that Congress has acted — even if at the eleventh hour — and they made the estate tax ‘changes’ permanent. We can bet that permanence has some impact, but if later Congresses want or need to change...
When I went to law school, I knew that I wanted to become a tax lawyer. So I took all the tax courses I could, and after law school, I went to work in the tax department of the...
Thirty years ago, when a loved one passed away, you could typically find one box that contained all their financial, legal and personal information. This made estate management easier to handle, but things are much different today. Now, we...
A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and started to fill it with golf balls. He...
If you were not born into an affluent family or you did not marry an individual of “means”, chances are that you worked for a number of years to build income and eventually, wealth. After you have attained wealth,...
The beginning of the year always signals a time to review, reflect and plan for the coming year. It’s a way to get back on track and re-inspire your goals. This is the time of year we plan for...