There was a time when the preferred way to create documents was to use carbon paper. The sheets of carbon allowed you to create multiple copies of the same document at one time and it was considered the most advanced method of document production. Of course, anytime a mistake happened, the papers had to be […]

An Academy Member writes: “A woman and her amazing young adult children came for a consultation at the end of December. Her husband had passed away in October and she knew she needed to get her estate plan in order. It wasn’t a hurry, of course, just something she ought to take care of at […]

My blog posting on February 18th, “Client Suicide and Attorney Ethics ” got me thinking. Is suicide itself legal? It used to be illegal, dating back to British common law. As late as 1963, several American jurisdictions criminalized attempted suicide. But, today, no state has a statute against suicide itself. But, what about laws against […]

Part of working “On The Business” is analyzing your annual revenue streams. Now, the smart attorney not only has multiple revenue streams, but is also constantly looking for ways to add to those streams and build what we call “Continuity Revenue.” To do this, you’ll need to first consider where your existing revenue comes from. […]

We talk quite a bit about systems here at the Academy… systems that manage your workflow, your finances and your marketing campaigns, just to name a few. And while those systems will certainly continue to be the key to your success, there is another piece to that puzzle that’s equally as important … a piece […]

For your vision to truly take shape, you need to find a way to communicate them to the rest of the world – staff, clients and prospects included. Now, communicating with your staff can be as simple as holding regular meetings to be sure you’re all on track… But what about those clients and prospects? […]

Washington, D.C., joins the list of jurisdictions offering marriage to same-sex couples. In May 2004, Massachusetts became the first state to allow same-sex couples to marry.  Since then, same-sex marriage has been legalized in Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, and now the District of Columbia.  California allowed marriages for a brief period until a voter […]

Ever wondered why the images you so painstakingly pirated downloaded from the web for your newsletter end up printing so fuzzy when they were so sharp onscreen?It’s a matter of resolution. Not one of those resolutions you vow to follow each new year, but image resolution.Think of every picture as a tightly packed bunch of […]

Powers of Attorney can be wonderfully flexible documents. They allow the principal to appoint an agent to do all the things that the principal could do. That seems pretty straightforward.  However, it is significantly more complicated than it appears. State laws vary regarding how to interpret silence in a POA on various issues. For example, […]

I was actually thinking about calling this a “blog blog” but thought better of it. In conversations about the basics to have in mind before you start a estate planning blog, I jotted down notes that may be of help to many. Plan on blogging regularly At minimum of once per week or daily or […]