Singer Prince Passing Proves The Importance Of Estate Planning Documents
As everyone knows by now, sadly, Prince unexpectedly passed away recently. In the days following his untimely death, questions began to arise as to whom would inherit his estate, which some have estimated to be worth between 300 and 500 million dollars. Surely he had a will, experts speculated. He had an army of attorneys working for him.
As it turns out, he apparently died with no estate planning documents in place. When asked how this happened, one of his many attorneys stated “Maybe he didn’t expect to die.” Unfortunately, this is the mindset that many of us have. We never would expect to die so soon.
Lack Of Estate Planning Documents Can Result In Repercussions For Surviving Family Members
Prince died leaving 1 full sister and 6 half siblings. Under Minnesota law, as under Ohio law, the 7 of them will share equally in his estate. Is this what he would have wanted? Possibly, but he was known to have given generously to charities, having developed a foundation and having already donated millions to … Read More... “Estate Planning: A Truly Sad Story, Prince – His Tragic Death and His Lack of Estate Planning”
It is axiomatic that ideally it is best for children to be cared for by their parents. Yet, on an informal basis, thousands of children reside for extended periods of time with a caregiver who is not their parent. Often they are the child’s relatives, sometimes they are friends or acquaintances of the child’s family. This may be done to accommodate unique family dynamics, after-school or social activities, or for a variety of other reasons. Such time-efficient and cost-effective parenting arrangements are accomplished without involving any lawyers or signing any legally binding documents. All things being equal, is there … 
A couple weeks ago, my brother and I went back to our homeland of California to visit our parents and help them get ready for their move back to Ohio. Nothing too crazy, just packing and re-sodding the yard. And an occasional beer or two in the morning hours while we worked. Don’t judge. We were on “vacation” and that whole time change thing was happening. In any event, one morning we finished up our chores and were watching some television. While flipping through the channels we came across Nightmare on Elm Street 2: Freddy’s Revenge. Not wanting to pass up a great slasher movie, we started to watch it. About fifteen minutes in it became more of a comedy than a slasher movie. But back in the 1980s that movie was crazy scary! Like most slasher movies it had all the elements of the main characters getting messed with by Freddy until the big finale where they have to take Freddy on. By now you have … 
A recent study claims that the key to a happy marriage may be simpler than we think. According to Raluca Petrican, R. Shayna Rosenbaum and Cheryl Grady of the Rotman Research Institute, a happy marriage is comprised of partners who are especially sensitive to their spouse’s positive news and experiences.
Generally speaking, the IRS does not allow a write-off for court costs and legal fees stemming from a divorce. It does, however, offer deductions for any portions of those fees related to tax advice and alimony.
Football star Cam Newton got it all wrong when he declared “show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser,” as an excuse for his rude behavior after his team’s defeat in the Super Bowl.