Cyber security. What can we do to protect ourselves? Every day we hear about people losing money and having their privacy violated by criminals who steal financial information. And the criminals don’t just go after the “big guys.” They go after small businesses and individuals too. So, even though it may seem like a lot…
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Third-Party Special Needs Trusts I have previously posted a discussion of planning with special needs trusts (see my post of April 8, 2011) which focused on the two types of special needs trusts – – one created with the beneficiary’s money (self-settled or first-party trust), and one created with someone else’s money, such as the…
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Update on the Military’s Survivor Benefit Plan and the Disabled Child About four years ago I posted a blog noting that there was a dilemma for military families planning for a disabled child through the use of special needs trusts and the military’s Survivor Benefit Plan (SBP). At the time, it was a problem that…
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Estate planning with a team-based approach I recently finished the book, “The Boys in the Boat,” by Daniel James Brown. The book tells the story of the University of Washington’s eight-oar crew team that won the gold medal at the 1936 Olympics hosted by Nazi Germany. It is a story that ended in triumph up…
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A Great Book about our Inadequate Healthcare System for the Elderly I think a lot about the healthcare options we have in our “golden years.” I’ve just read a book on that subject that I highly recommend if you have the same concerns I do. It is Being Mortal by Atul Gawande, a Harvard Medical School professor.…
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Update – Montana has now implemented the ABLE Act In my blog post of January 21, 2015, and in one of our firm’s previous newsletters, we reported that in late 2014 the ABLE (” Achieving a Better Life Experience”) Act was signed into law by Congress. You can refer to my previous post for more…
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“Knowledgeable, Experienced and a Nice Guy.” I recently had a personal injury lawyer refer a client to me for estate planning. When I found out about the referral, I emailed the lawyer and thanked him and went about my day. He, in turn, responded to me by copying a portion of an email he had…
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Simple estate planning We all want to keep things simple. What does that mean for your estate planning? What it doesn’t mean is how many pages your planning documents are. “Simple” means how easy to administer and effective your plan is when you need it to work, such as if you become disabled or you die. …
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Giving to Charity Next week I am going on a short vacation. The first few days of my time away from the office will be spent in Whitefish as I tag along with my wife, Rhonda. She will be there along with her colleagues at Special Olympics Montana, and the many volunteers and athletes, as…
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An Overview of the ABLE Act What follows is an abbreviated version of our article that appeared in our firm’s most recent newsletter, the ElderCounselor. Late in 2014, the ABLE (“Achieving a Better Life Experience”) Act was signed into law. The law is aimed at achieving a manner in which those with special needs can save…
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