Perhaps the first time most people would've heard of a green burial was in the last episode, aired during summer 2005, of the blockbuster HBO series, Six Feet Under. The featured family ran a conventional funeral business and, at the end of five...
Yes, it's true that the commercial real estate industry is suffering from increasing vacancies, decreasing rents and declining property values. Call it a trifecta of bad news. Yet, for bottom-feeders er, contrarians this might be a good time to...
Even though the value of your clients' homes isn't reflected in the assets you manage (and don't get any funny revenue-boosting ideas), these residences do represent a significant chunk of their net worths. And the sentimental value they attach to...
Clients are often more global than their U.S. advisors. But we can change that. Here are some key trends in trusts and estates internationally: Trusts are gaining ground; family business succession advice is in high demand; family offices are...
The evil eye of Congress, much like the eye in The Lord of the Rings, is focusing on Middle Earth and Middle Earth is us. Rumors abound about the details of massive new tax legislation. We will see the much-awaited new law probably in October of...
The economic crisis is hitting the family offices of America's wealthy. Expect closings of both single family offices (SFOs) and multi-family offices (MFOs). Those that were just hanging on before the economic crisis won't survive. Even the well...
Elder law experienced no cataclysms in 2008. But significant trends emerged and public benefits planning continued to mature. First, the good news: Medicaid asset protection is being extended, state by state, to same sex couples. Also, all states...
Steven J. Best, chief executive officer of Best Law Firm Solutions, has wisely observed that the recent economic hardships only increase the need to have electronic capabilities enhance efficiency. Best advised: Take heart that a sluggish economy...
Back in the summer,1 I warned that the financial markets were headed for serious problems. But even my worst fears pale in comparison to what actually happened: nothing less than a near-death experience for western finance. The markets survived...
Today's investment and political climate is causing a perceptible change in the way many clients approach the role of life insurance in their financial and estate planning. I see clients aggressively reassessing their life insurance needs, whether...
