I really appreciate a good alliteration in a title. You know what else I appreciate? Being part of a team at the Academy that takes time to give back to our communities – across the world. In recent months, our own Tech Support Manager, Donna Hooper, from Birmingham, Alabama, started what she titled “Project Cover […]

If you’re like me, right now you’re looking forward to the New Year and the clean slate that it brings. Unfortunately, some of the SEO baggage from 2014 still needs to be addressed if you want to leverage the opportunities that the New Year will bring. Here are five significant changes that we saw last […]

“There is nothing either good or bad,but thinking makes it so.”Shakespeare It’s hard to believe that 2014 is drawing to a close. It’s been an extraordinary year for the Academy as we’ve rolled out many new programs, strategies and tools for Members, but the longer we’re at this business of coaching estate planning attorneys, the […]

As my prior blog indicated, as the end of the year approaches, your tax liability is beginning to solidify. As the ball drops in Times Square tonight, most of your ability to plan for your 2014 bill goes out with the old year. You could make a contribution to a 529 plan yet today. You […]

You hear an awful lot about the Disney Way, the Culture of Disney, and how wonderful it is to work for Disney. Can it really be that wonderful? Well, not long ago, I spent 2 full days — I mean 13 hours a day — at Disneyland in California. This was not an intentional experiment, […]

Do you know the cost of turnover for your organization? Experts say that the cost ranges from 50% to 400% of base salary. So, for an employee making $10.00 per hour, it could mean $10,000 -$80,000! Regardless of the exact number, it’s a hardship on any organization to budget for and plan accordingly when turnover […]

As the end of the year approaches, your tax liability is beginning to solidify. As the ball drops in Times Square next week, most of your ability to plan for your 2014 bill goes out with the old year. Consider your income and expenses for 2014 and 2015. Would you be better to defer some […]

Life’s pace is ratcheted up a notch during the fourth quarter. Drivers appear more aggressive, shoppers more frenzied, children more rambunctious, parents more frazzled, employees more restless, and managers more cantankerous. But for many attorneys, the office can be a little quiet this time of year. Are you using the holiday season effectively for your […]

Tis the season when you hear people making the same old resolutions… “Next year I will lose ten pounds, next year I will call my mother more, next year…” This time, instead of forcing yourself to make vague resolutions for the year ahead, I have an even better mission for you…Sit down in a quiet […]

The holiday season is a traditional time for giving. It is also a traditional time for doing more substantial estate planning. Gifts of a “present interest” of up to $14,000 are excluded and need not be reported on a gift tax return. Gifts are complete when the donor has parted with dominion and control over […]