Your Family Business Legacy Matters Enough to Do These Three Things Your family-owned and run business can be the greatest gift or the greatest burden to the people you love, if and when something happens to you. If you’ve planned well and properly for your family business legacy to be continued, managed or sold, it…
The Benefits of a Business Succession Plan When most people think about planning for death, they envision personal estate planning. But even if you are already proactive in that area, you may not be finished if you own a business. A business succession plan is at least as important as a personal estate plan, maybe…
Conscious Money Challenge: Know How You Are Invested If you have money invested in the stock market, whether through a retirement account or a straight brokerage account, I challenge you today to find out exactly what your money is invested in and make a conscious choice about what you are supporting in the world. If…
Teach Children Open-mindedness and Embracing Differences When you picture a “normal” family, what do you see? Is it the traditional notion of one male parent and one female parent, two kids, and a family pet? Or do you see something different? Or perhaps you reject the notion of a “normal” family altogether? Recent court and…
Become More Successful by Recharging on Weekends The “work hard, play hard” attitude has infiltrated American sportswear and music. And it can also be applied to our attitudes about the balance between our professional and personal lives. A study from Stanford University examined the effect of working long hours on productivity. The results may surprise…
Common Ways to Finance a Small Business If you have decided to take the plunge into the world of small business, you are likely evaluating finance options. Most businesses require some initial influx to cover startup costs. Before you embark on the exciting journey of owning a small business, however, it is important that you…
Passing Down Family Values from Generation to Generation Most of us want to make a mark in the world. That’s a big part of what gives our lives meaning. And whether or not we have children, our history and stories can be a unique and irreplaceable gift to our families. With just a little effort,…
Why You Should Write Your Life Story How often do you wish you knew more about your family? When we’re young, we don’t necessarily pay attention to the stories our elders tell us. Later in life, we often become interested in knowing who and where we come from. We want to learn more about what…
For instance, Queen Latifah Cares for Her Aging Parents We may not think about it often, but even celebrities take care of their aging parents. Actress, singer, and songwriter Queen Latifah plays an active role in caring for her mother, Rita Owens, who was diagnosed with heart failure more than 10 years ago. Owens learned…
Signing Up for Medicare: The Facts For You or Your Parents Nearing Age 65 People who are nearing the age of 65 should be making plans for the transition from private health care to Medicare. It is not a simple process or one that happens automatically. You have to initiate the enrollment process at a…
Grow Through Failure—A Gift That Keeps On Giving Laws and rules are created within organized societies to regulate interaction and protect citizens. A classic example is the American system of traffic laws. They are designed to promote consistent traffic flow while reducing accidents. When everyone understands how a four-way stop works, expectations follow. We learn…
When Is It Worth It? Elder Care is emerging as a significant issue for many people as life spans continue to increase. It is nice to know that because of health care advances, we can expect to live longer, but there are no included guarantees on the quality of life in the later years. Many…
Support Your Child’s Ultimate Success If you are like most parents, your primary objective is to support your children to be prepared to handle the pressures of adulthood. If you have wondered what the most important thing you can do to support your child now, this article has your answers and it may not be…
Donate Empty Pill Bottles to Help Others When we pick up our prescriptions, we take the containers for granted. By contrast, in many countries medical care is very difficult to come by. It is expensive, and not many qualified medical providers work in impoverished communities. In developing countries, medicines when actually obtainable are often dispensed…
5 Valuable Traits Children Can Learn from Working Parents Those of us who work sometimes feel that we are doing our children a disservice. Sure, we bring home a paycheck that benefits our children, but we may miss their activities and other aspects of their daily lives. This can be especially true in two-earner families….
Are You Leaving Your Retirement Account at Risk Due to Poor Planning? You’ve spent your entire life building up your retirement account. It may even be the biggest asset you’ll leave behind for the people you love. If that’s the case, you may want to consider creating a special trust designed specifically to receive your…
Going into business for yourself means learning about a lot of things, and not all of them are necessarily fun. Take taxes, for example. Unless you’re an accountant, dealing with the tax issues that come with your business is probably not your favorite task. But once you get the hang of it, it really isn’t…
Partnerships and LLCs, Take Heed of New Tax Law Beginning with tax year 2018, all partnerships and limited liability companies (LLCs) taxed as partnerships will be affected by a new federal tax audit law. In 2015, the Bipartisan Budget Act repealed the earlier audit system, known as TEFRA, and replaced it with entirely new taxation…
Many of us like to fantasize about winning the lottery. We muse with our friends about how we might spend the money, and we dream about never wanting for anything ever again. The odds are against us, of course, at least as far as the lottery goes. But that doesn’t mean – at some point…
Is it time to have “the talk” with your kids? We’re not talking about a “birds and bees” talk but one that is equally important, perhaps more so. Specifically, we’re talking about discussing your estate plan with your family. Discussing Your Estate Plan Everyone has concerns about what will happen when they die. Some people…
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