On 08-08-08, at 8pm Beijing time, the XXIX Olympic Games were ushered in with a lavish opening ceremony. The list of events is filled with old favorites and some of the more modern additions, but upon perusal of the list it became clear that some events were missing from the roster.  Most noticeably, the Olympic Events in Estate Planning.  For your convenience, we will list the events (along with brief descriptions) here:

1. The Distance and Sprint Handshake: These opening events can be deceptively simple, but the medal invariably goes to the athlete who thinks strategically, weighing the benefits of the firm vs. the gentle grip and the quick vs. the confident and lengthy shake. (Extra points awarded by the judges for athletes who remember names.)
2. Conversational Tennis: Played with two teams of single or double players, one conversational “ball”, and a net (most recently taking the form of a desk).  First serve is traditionally awarded to the visiting team, who sends the ball over the net with a question. The home team (or attorney) returns the serve with an answer.  This game gets more interesting the longer it continues, especially when the teams will occasionally swap strategies, with the home team posing a question to the visitors!
3. Speed Signing: This event requires speed and agility, and depending on the length and intricacy of the estate plan, more than a little endurance!
4. Synchronized Signing: Similar to speed signing, but played in teams of two or more.  This is an intricately choreographed event requiring precise timing and the ability to virtually read your teammates’ minds. This event has the potential to quickly degrade into fountain pen fencing when attempted by amateurs.
5. Document Weight Lifting: This final event requires brute strength and a fine sense of balance to carry your entire completed estate plan over the finish line.

**Qualifying Event** Phone Dialing: Requires quick and flexible fingers, and no small amount of determination. 

**Completion of this event is required for participation in all other events.

Most of our small business clients probably already know that the federal minimum wage increased this week from $5.85 to $6.55 an hour.  The increase is the second in a three-step process to bring the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour next year.

The increase will help workers deal with soaring energy and food costs, as described by Christopher Rugaber of the Associated Press, but many entrepreneurs are wondering if the increase will adversely affect their businesses.  In fact, according to an article by Angus Loten in Inc.com (published last year when the increase was first approved by the House of Representatives), most small business owners will not be hit by the increase, because they already pay their employees more than the state or federal minimums.

There is a web of interconnectedness in small businesses that is more readily apparent than in large corporations, which means that small business owners often can’t help but see and react to the financial well-being of their employees.  Loten, in his article, quotes Mark McCurry, the president of a small Atlanta-based delivery service as wondering “how you could pay anyone less than [the minimum wage] in good conscience?”

This seems to be the prevailing opinion of small business-owners across the country, who, according to Inc.com, generally pay employees more than minimum wage anyway, and 70% of whom reported that “raising the federal minimum wage would have little impact on their labor costs.”

Small business owners are struggling just as much as the next person with the current record inflation levels, but in an intimate work environment where the boss works side by side with employees, it’s difficult not to see how everyone is affected by the ups and downs of our recent economy. Perhaps it is for this very reason that these same small business owners are ahead of the minimum wage curve, providing for their employees and giving themselves some breathing room in the process.

Do dating and estate planning go hand in hand?  They do if you are one of the lucky people finding romance late in life.

With people living longer than ever before—and staying healthy and active longer as well—there are more cases of people finding love a second (or third or fourth) time around.  This is cause for celebration for widows and widowers, but it has many of their children and grandchildren worried.  When mom remarries at the age of 80, what happens to the estate that she and dad built during their lives together?

Without a prenuptial agreement or estate plan, all of mom’s assets could end up going to her new husband, which he could then choose to leave to his children.  With so much at stake it’s no wonder that the children of elderly brides and grooms are responding with less than unadulterated joy.

Luckily, this is one problem with an easy solution: Involve your estate planning attorney before the marriage takes place.  Executing a pre-nuptial agreement can go a long way towards protecting your assets and your children’s inheritance.  Another option is to create a trust which leaves all of your assets to your children or grandchildren upon your death.

Talking about prenuptial agreements with your new fiancé can be an awkward conversation, especial for the older, more traditional generation.  Creating a trust early can alleviate much of that awkwardness.

Romance is still alive, even at 80 or 90 years old.  Unfortunately, so are the financial risks that come with any second marriage.  Call our office today.  Let us take care of the risks, and leave the romance to you.

There has been much noise made in the news recently about Leona Helmsley giving all of her millions to her dogs.  But if you leave aside the incredible amount she left, her actions are not all that unusual.  There are many people whose definition of family includes a beloved pet; and for those people, providing for the pet when the owner has passed away is no small priority.

According to the AVMA US Pet Owners Demographic Sourcebook, more than half of U.S. households include some kind of pet.  If you are one of these animal-loving households you know that your pet is not only an integral member of the family, it is completely dependent on you for its basic needs as well. If anything were to happen to you, what would happen to your pet?  Can you be assured your pet would be well cared for?  Leona Helmsley is not the only one asking this question. Many pet owners have found that when they create trust to provide for their dependents, they can provide for their animal dependents at the same time.

The options when it comes to providing for your pets are almost as many and varied as any other part of your estate plan.  It can be as simple a memorandum of intent nominating caretakers, or as elaborate as Helmsley’s full-blown trust providing financial support and final expenses.  However you choose to put the pieces together, the most important component in providing for your pet is choosing a trustee and caretaker who understand and respect your wishes.  Having people you trust in those roles are your pet’s best insurance.

Pets don’t have the same rights and considerations under the law as people.  A memorandum of intent is helpful if you have caretakers and trustees who have the same values as yourself.  But as the New York Times article says, “an expression of [your] wishes is not necessarily legally binding.”  If you have a pet you want to provide for after your death, speak to your attorney about which option is best for you.

There are some people who might question the patriotism of those who would try to arrange their affairs to pay a lower amount of taxes. But how much truth is there in that?

Is it unpatriotic to want to work within the limits of the law to reduce the amount of taxes you pay?

Everyone will have their own opinion about this, and we welcome you to join the conversation by leaving a comment.  To begin the discussion we give you the opinions of two distinguished American jurists:

“Anyone may arrange his affairs so that his taxes shall be as low as possible; he is not bound to choose that pattern which best pays the treasury. There is not even a patriotic duty to increase one’s taxes. Over and over again the Courts have said that there is nothing sinister in so arranging affairs as to keep taxes as low as possible. Everyone does it, rich and poor alike and all do right, for nobody owes any public duty to pay more than the law demands: Taxes are enforced exactions, not voluntary contributions. To demand more in the name of morals is mere cant. “

— Honorable Learned Hand, U.S. Appeals Court Judge, Helvering v. Gregory, 69 F.2d 809 (1934).

“I live in Alexandria, Virginia. Near the Supreme Court chamber is a toll bridge across the Potomac. When in a rush I pay the dollar toll and get home early. However, I usually drive a free bridge outside the down- town section of the city, and cross the Potomac on a free bridge. The bridge was placed outside the downtown Washington D.C. area to serve a useful social service: getting drivers to drive the extra mile to help alleviate congestion during rush hour. If I went over the toll bridge and through the barrier without paying the toll, I would be committing tax evasion. If, however, I drive the extra mile and drive outside the city of Washington, I am using a legitimate, logical and suitable method of tax avoidance, and I am performing a useful social service by doing so. For my tax evasion, I should be punished. For my tax avoidance, I should be commended. The tragedy of life today is that so few people know that the free bridge even exists.”

— U.S. Supreme Court Justice Louis D. Brandeis

Celebrity divorces can hardly be considered news anymore, they happen so often, but the recently finalized divorce between Bill Murray and ex-wife Jennifer Butler Murray is news because of something they did before the wedding:  They signed a prenuptial agreement.

And it worked.  At least it seems to have worked so far according to the Associated Press.

Preventing painful, drawn out court battles and protecting your individual property is exactly what a prenuptial agreement is designed to do.  And prenups are not just for celebrities or millionaires anymore.  If you have property, or a business, or even a burgeoning career, a prenuptial agreement is worth looking into.

If you have an elderly parent or grandparent, you know how much time and research goes into finding the right care, the right doctor, or the right living situation for them.  Caring for the aging population is a growing industry, with new services and options almost every day. Trying to keep up with it can feel close to impossible.

Enter the new professional: Geriatric care managers.  This “new” profession is poised to play a significant role in the near future.  This article in the New York Times describes geriatric care managers as “guides through the fragmented care landscape, connecting clients with local services, assisted-living facilities and a wide network of paid caregivers, elder law attorneys and financial advisers. They help families find living options, assess the abilities of older people, write care plans and sometimes hire and supervise home help”.

In actuality, geriatric care managers have existed in the United States for about 20 years, but the profession is only now starting to boom.  And with a description like the one above, it’s easy to see why.

The aging process in the United States is evolving more quickly than most people thought possible.  And more and more baby-boomers, who have yet to reach the age where they need elder care, are planning for their own sunset years rather than leaving it in the hands of their children.  Geriatric care managers are likely to become an invaluable resource for the “sandwich generation” AND elderly individuals themselves.

If you are caring for an aging relative, or trying to plan for your own future, consider contacting a geriatric care manager in your area through The National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers.

Do you know anyone who has been the victim of elder abuse?  As the pre-baby-boom generation ages, and as the cost of healthcare rises, so do the numbers of elder abuse victims rise as well.

Elder abuse encompasses many things, from targeting the elderly in a bank or credit card scam, to the physical abuse of one too weak to defend his or herself.  The former often results in the victim’s loss of retirement or life savings; the latter can result in loss of life, as evidenced by this recent article in the Kansas City Star.

In an effort to bring this dark issue out into the open, Sunday, June 15, 2008 has been declared World Elder Abuse Awareness Day, a day devoted to recognizing and raising awareness of disabled adults and those over the age of 65, who have been victims of abuse, neglect, or exploitation.

If you are the victim of elder abuse, or if you suspect someone you know is being victimized, don’t be afraid to speak out.  The following organizations can help you identify and stop elder abuse: The Elder Abuse Foundation, The National Committee for the Prevention of Elder Abuse, and the National Center on Elder Abuse.

The sad truth is that elder abuse is a growing problem of which we should all be aware.  The next victim could be your mother or father . . . or even you.

Most of us have “To Do” lists filled with tasks like ‘pay the bills’ or ‘wash the car’, but how many of those lists evoke a feeling of heavy obligation rather than pleasant anticipation? If you were to take your list of “Things to Do” and add onto the end of it “Before I Die”, would that change your list?

The movie “The Bucket List” addresses this question. How would having such a list change the way we live our lives?

If you don’t have your own list of “Things To Do Before I Die” a recent series of books seeks to help you make one. The series includes such books as “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”, “1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die” and the book recently reviewed in the New York Times by William Grimes “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die”.

In a world where it’s easy to get caught up in the demands of the every day, a “bucket list” of things to do before you die can give you perspective, and keep you focused on what’s really important. Make your own “To Do” list one that will bring you a sense of pleasant anticipation at the dawn of each day, and of happy contentment when you turn the final page.

Change is in the air for same-sex partnerships in California.  The CA Supreme Court ruled yesterday to recognize gay marriage, a ruling that is meeting with mixed but strong reactions throughout the state—and the country.

The overall significance of this ruling has yet to be seen.  California was one of the few states sympathetic to gay partnership, according to the LA Times, and had already “passed one of the strongest domestic partnership laws in the country, giving registered same-sex couples most of the rights of married people.”  The opinion of the court, however, was that the domestic partnership law was not enough. “Giving a different name, such as ‘domestic partnership,’ to the official family relationship of same-sex couples imposes appreciable harm both on the couples and their children.”

The ruling could presage change in other states across the country.  Although recognition of marriage is a state issue, and other states would not be required to recognize same-sex marriages performed in California, Pennsylvania constitutional law Professor Kermit Roosevelt predicts that more states will eventually follow California’s example.

Under the circumstances, it would be wise for same sex couples to consult their estate planning attorney if and when the change becomes law.  Regardless of how the court ruling plays out in the months to come, the priority of every family is going to be protecting and providing for the ones they love.