While none of the other discussions surrounding this story should ever minimize what happened to the victims and their families, I have wondered, in addition to the obvious lessons, what else can you, as a business owner, learn from this story?

While no asset protection strategy is foolproof, proper use of DAPTs in conjunction with other legitimate asset protection strategies increases your chance of protecting your hard earned assets in our increasingly litigious society.

Hallock & Hallock joins WealthCounsel colleagues in promoting National Estate Planning Awareness Week, October 17-23, 2011.

The IRS has finally released Form 8939 "Allocation of Increase in Basis for Property Acquired From a Decedent".

A recent Consumer Reports article looking at three of the more recognized brands in this area stated: “All three are better than nothing if you have no will. But unless your needs are very simple—say, you want to leave everything to your spouse with no other provisions—none of them is likely to meet your needs. And we found problems with all three . . . .”

While it is true that there are tax benefits to charitable giving, the true benefit is the difference it can make in our lives and the lives of others.

One of the most common questions I am asked is - Do I Need a Trust? A common misconception is that Trusts are only for rich people with potential tax problems. Nothing could be further from the Truth.