We know that section 522(b)(3)(C) of the bankruptcy code provides protection for “retirement funds.”  However, up until now, we did not know whether an Inherited IRA was such an account. The U.S. Courts of Appeals had split decisions on this issue. Certainly, when an IRA was started by the original participant, the IRA account was […]

Growing up I played competitive baseball with Tony Gwynn’s son who was a few years older than me. In my college days, I played at USD and never lost touch with Tony. I’m still in a daze this morning from the news that Tony Gwynn passed away at age 54. Most who know me are […]

Funeral planning probably isn’t high on your clients’ lists of things to do. However, planning ahead has many benefits: reducing stress and family conflict; saving money; and giving the time to create a meaningful, memorable “good goodbye.” These ten tips will help you and your clients get the conversation going with a light touch on […]

Every once in a while we organize educational, entertaining and thought-provoking sessions for non-Members of the Academy… and we’ve been working on a doozy.We have a great 2-Part Series not to be missed! JULY 16 at 2pm PacificALL SYSTEMS GO! (All 11 of them)Academy founder, Robert Armstrong will lead the session covering the 11 Systems […]

Clients often struggle with how to leave assets to their children or other beneficiaries. This blog will give a brief overview of some of the most common and useful ways and their advantages and disadvantages. Divorce Protection Trust. This trust gives the beneficiary a right to withdraw whatever they choose at any time. This keeps […]

“It’s natural to avoid discussions about the end-of-life. It is a difficult and complicated topic. Although thinking about death can be uncomfortable, the hospice community’s mission is to create the most positive end-of-life experience possible: free from pain, comfortable at home or in a home-like setting, surrounded by loved ones.” – Moments of Life campaign, […]

When considering the issue of Internet security for your law firm, you likely conjure up images of nefarious strangers attempting to hack your website and social media accounts. To protect yourself, you make use of firewalls and security software, configure strong security settings, and dutifully update your passwords on a regular basis. What many don’t […]

When clients walk into the office to do estate planning, they think they are all prepared. They know exactly who and how they want to leave their assets. In fact, they may have that down to too fine a detail. (I’ll blog about that next week). However, many people struggle with the decision of whom […]

After over 20 years of working with hundreds of business owners, we have noticed a number of key characteristics that stand out in those Academy Members who are the happiest with their results, their practices, and general balance in their lives. Keeping an Open Mind – Starting with the big picture, those who continue to […]

Daily messages make their way to me via email, snail mail, Facebook, LinkedIn, text and phone (fortunately, the carrier pigeons have not yet arrived). While in the process of sending responses, deleting messages, and blocking senders, I was delighted to find a very interesting piece by Adam Vandoski posted on Proformative.com’s blog. Vandoski identifies four […]