Do your clients inform you when they have been diagnosed with an end-stage or terminal illness? Do you ask them to tell you? Even if you don’t, you might find this information useful for yourself and your loved ones. Suppose your client learns that he/she has advanced cancer that isn’t curable. A recent study finds […]

We all know Facebook can be a great tool for engaging with customers and prospects, but did you know it can also help your search engine rankings? If optimized for search, your Facebook page can show up in organic search results, right alongside your website, blog, and YouTube channel. Here are some quick updates you […]

At the recent American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Summit in San Diego, I spoke about tax law changes that may be relevant to people who practice estate planning law. Among other topics, I spoke about the Patent Protection and Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.” Now that Obamacare has been upheld by the […]

 In my last post, I gave you five tips about preparing your blog so that you can maximize its reach, effectiveness and visibility. Organization is key to a well-maintained blog, but the most important element is content. Content makes or breaks a blog.As you celebrate the New Year with friends and family, remember that, like […]

Have you seen or spoken to ALL of your clients in the last few years? If not, you may want to consider doing so. Periodic client review meetings are valuable for both the client and the attorney. For clients, there are many reasons to keep their estate plans updated to incorporate the changing landscape of their […]

At the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorney’s recent San Diego Summit, I presented a seminar about some of the most common types of issues that lawyers might encounter in international estate planning. The most basic issue is one of citizenship. Is the person a citizen of the United States? If so, they are subject […]

 Are you thinking about your blog strategy for 2013? From determining post topics to scheduling frequency to back-end tools, there are numerous elements that will affect how successful your blog can be. If you are starting from scratch, or hoping to increase readership and visits to your existing blog, the number of factors involved in […]

Success is all about planning — it includes having a vision for where you want your law firm to be in the future and then creating a plan that makes that vision a reality. Around August of each year we start conversations with member law firms about planning for the coming year. The following includes […]

In a previous blog, I discussed taking advantage of the 2012 $5.12 million applicable exclusion now, before it goes down to $1 million on January 1st. As I mentioned in that blog, one way to use the exclusion is through the use of a trust for the benefit of the spouse which does not qualify […]

The Death Café is a new trend that estate planning attorneys can employ to help clients to consider their mortality and address the implications of everyone’s finite life spans. The objective of Death Café is “To increase awareness of death with a view toward helping people make the most of their (finite) lives.” People come together […]