Estate planning attorneys often strive to obtain valuation discounts. We set up Family Limited Partnerships and carefully supervise their administration, at least in a perfect world. We advise clients to fractionalize their real estate to obtain a fractional interest discount. But, discounts may not make sense for many clients. Remember, discounts must be taken consistently. […]

Every year, the co-founders of the Academy share a year-end message to the Membership. To me, it is always a breath of fresh air and I thought that our many blog subscribers might enjoy it as well.Happy New Year!Jennifer Price ON YOUR MARK, GET SET… STOP!We’ve all heard the first part of this phrase before. […]

If you have an email marketing program through an ESP (email service provider) you have access to powerful analytics, and you should pay attention to this data every time you send an e-news. Why? Because it helps you develop better email programs, although you have to know what to look for and how to act […]

Huguette Clark was nearly 105 years old when she died in May 2011. Heiress to a copper mining fortune, she lived an extraordinarily reclusive life. The last time she was even photographed was in 1930. Although she owned several opulent properties, she chose to spend the last two decades of her life in seclusion at […]

This story is so extraordinary that if it didn’t really happen, no one would believe it. It seems life truly is stranger than fiction. The story involves two men, a hearse, a dead rock star, five gallons of gasoline, and a promise. Remember the influential country rock musician Gram Parsons? He played with Emmylou Harris, […]

Sanford Fisch recently blogged about finding your primary aim: creating a detailed picture of the lifestyle you want, encompassing your work and personal life as well as your involvement in the community. Once you’ve painted this vivid portrait of your ideal life, how do you bring it into being? The next step is finding your […]

Hardly a week goes by without news of yet another wealthy person giving away a large sum of money to a college, university, hospital, medical research facility, cultural institution, or any one of dozens of other institutions or causes. The very wealthy are giving gifts at an astounding rate. The top five Forbes 400 Members […]

Being a former Marine, I know all too well that the holiday season is often bittersweet for our deployed military personnel and their families. It’s hard to be joyful when you’re a world away from those dearest to you. Here are three ways you can make the holidays a little warmer for our military personnel. Whether or […]

 Newly released online: a short video encouraging Americans to think about their health care wishes. Accompanied by moving music, it aims to reach the viewer emotionally as well as intellectually ― more so than I’ve seen in other video pieces on this topic. In fact, its tone reminds me a bit of the emotional ASPCA […]

Are you guilty of this deadly mistake? Like many of your colleagues, do you assume that because you know how to do estate planning work, you automatically also know how to run a successful estate planning firm? The truth is, running a successful law firm requires its own skill set, separate from and in addition […]