http://www.bregmanandburt.com Wed, 10 Mar 2010 18:26:09 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Social capital is the money or time you contribute to worthy causes that improve society.  A favorite saying around charitable causes is the phrase “give or get” which means members can either contribute an amount of money toward the goal or they can go out and raise that sum of ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/leaving-a-legacy-improving-the-world-with-social-capital/ [caption id="attachment_277" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="(image courtesy of www.treasurechestproducts.com)"][/caption] Back in December I blogged about estate planning not being about money and described the beginning of a journey to find the legacy you want to leave to your children, today I’m going to write about another part of that journey… finding your ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/leaving-a-legacy-your-own-voice-in-your-estate-plan/ I recently described the marvelous manner in which George Washington used a simple bequest of his swords to express his devotion to freedom and liberty and to instill those values in those who followed. His Last Will and Testament also stands as a shining beacon of how failure to think through ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/george-washingtons-estate-planning-mistake/ [caption id="attachment_262" align="alignnone" width="232" caption="President George Washington painted by G. Stuart, engraving by H.S. Sadd"][/caption] At a recent symposium, the presenter described the almost magical way the father of our country turned his bequests of personal property into a legacy that lasted generations. He described the portion of Washington’s Will that bequeathed ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/what-george-washington-taught-us-about-estate-planning/ I know this title seems strange. Almost everyone thinks they need an estate plan to insure the comfortable transition of their money.  With few exceptions, I feel that my clients are burdened with the prospect of making decisions about how to pass along their accumulated wealth.  It drives home the point ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/leaving-a-legacy-estate-planning-is-not-just-about-money/ In my last blog post I described the emotional and practical reasons why there is so much probate litigation and how to hire an experienced probate litigator; in this post I’ll mention some common contested probate allegations and measures that can be taken to avoid them or to keep them ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/the-perils-of-probate-part-two/ Probate litigation is a burgeoning and fertile practice area for lawyers.  There are many reasons why probate cases spawn litigation, but most grow from inadequate or defective estate plans nurtured by emotional dissatisfaction or greed. As an estate planner since 1979, I encourage my clients to create an estate plan that ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/the-perils-of-probate-part-one/ Does never paying income tax on your retirement income sound too good to be true?  Well believe it, because on or after January 4, 2010, anyone can convert their traditional IRA to a Roth IRA, pay the taxes in 2 installments in October 2011 and October 2012 and never again ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/forever-to-never-retirement-accounts/ [caption id="attachment_229" align="alignnone" width="300" caption="Pablo Picasso's "Death of Casagemas""][/caption] On July 13, 2009 Arizona governor Janet Brewer signed HB 2616 into law.  The law, hailed by the right to life movement as a great victory, intrudes on your right to privacy and injects the state into the midst of the dying ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/you-think-its-your-time-to-go-not-so-fast-says-the-state-of-arizona/ If you are currently or soon may be serving as the trustee of an irrevocable trust you should be aware that the Arizona Trust Code (ATC), which became effective January 1, 2009, imposes certain new obligations on trustees of irrevocable trusts. Prior to January 1, 2009, ARS §14-7303 required the trustee ... http://www.bregmanandburt.com/changes-to-trustee-reporting-requirements-under-the-arizona-trust-code/