Legislation

When California insurance broker Chris Thorndike awoke on Friday morning, he was besieged with an unusual amount of voicemail and inbox messages with the ominous title “Wildfire Updates”. From that moment on, Thorndike, who is President of NorthStar Risk Management & Insurance in Walnut Creek, California worked to help 15 of his clients under mandatory evacuation in the Malibu and Thousand Oaks area understand how their insurance would help them as the fires played out.

by Megan Gorman, Forbes 

In addition to expressing thanks for all that you have in this world, take the opportunity, while your loved ones are relegated to one table, to discuss, or at least investigate, the following topics that will surely give them pumpkin to talk about.

By Cori A. Robinson, Esq., Above The Law | Link to original article here.

Cryptocurrency is the latest financial innovation for exchanging assets.  What is it?  How is it acquired?  Can you incorporate into your estate plan?  

Estate planning is dead. Gone are the days of creating legal structures to hold your assets, pass your fortune on to the next generation and, of course, avoid paying estate taxes. Gone are the days of planning for your death. It’s time to plan for your life. 

Link to Original Article by Daniel Scott, Forbes, July 26, 2018

Aretha Franklin's recent passing brought to light another celebrity estate lacking the proper protection planning to avoid probate.  We have provided a reminder checklist to prevent this from happening to you and your family...

by Kathleen Pender, San Francisco Chronicle, August 25, 2018 

People who own just one or two rental properties might not qualify for the new 20 percent federal deduction that big-time real estate investors and other pass-through entities will get starting this year.

The federal tax law passed in December lets many pass-through entities such as partnerships and sole proprietorships deduct 20 percent of their “qualified business income,” with some limits. 

Link to Original Article

WASHINGTON — Architects and engineers are still in. Accountants, doctors and lawyers remain out — mostly. New rules floated by the Trump administration lay out what kinds of businesses can take a 20 percent deduction against income taxes under the new tax law. 

by Marcy Gordon, Associated Press | August 10, 2018, USA Today

This week marks the first week of school for many families.  While the kids are at school, we continue to discuss financial planning  in Part 2 of our Back-to-School Checklist.  Keep your preparation-game strong by using these planning tools!

Back-to-school season is all about fresh starts!  Inspired by the importance of preparation in starting a new school year, we have provided a two-part checklist that will help you and your family prepare for the future!

Read more for Part 1!

Beverly Nelson with StandUpForCaregivers.org, discusses the conversations in life that are just plain difficult - talking with your loved one about end-of-life arrangements. It’s a topic you’d rather put off until later, but you don’t know what the future holds. You can, however, make sure your loved one has a plan in place for when their Golden Years quietly come to a close.