Articles

Plan to protect kids with special needs

Raising a child with special needs can be a rich experience. It’s also a costly one that comes with unique challenges for your financial future and estate plans. There is no one-size-fits-all recommendation, but here are some things to consider: Your future security: Protect your children by securing your own financial future. Start saving for retirement as early as possible to take advantage of compound interest. Life insurance: Consider investing in enough life insurance to care

Land trusts provide anonymity, tool to avoid probate

A land trust is a private legal agreement that transfers a property title from the owner to a trustee. The trustee agrees to hold that title for the benefit of another party. The creator of the trust, known as the trustor, is typically the primary beneficiary for their lifetime. This party retains complete use of the land and owns the beneficial interest thereof. Land trusts are generally revocable, meaning the trustor may modify or terminate the

Estate planning for taxpayers without kids

If you’re single with no kids or married without kids, you have some unique estate planning needs. You’ll require special strategies for health care, emergencies, and division of your estate. Plan for extra care costs. Growing older without a built-in support team may mean you’ll have extra expenses for care. You may need to hire people to check in with you, to run errands or to drive you to appointments. If you plan to rely on

Increase in nursing home closures across U.S.

Choosing nursing home care can be a big, emotional decision. Long-term care is a sizable investment, and many people struggle with entrusting their loved one’s care to someone else. Now some families are dealing with an additional hurdle, as nursing home closures are forcing some seniors to relocate, widening the distance families must travel to visit. In what is described as an “epidemic,” rural nursing homes across the U.S. are closing. With staff shortages and low

Use caution when creating an IRA inheritance trust

When you hold an IRA, those funds can be distributed to the person you name as the beneficiary or to an inheritance trust. Some IRA owners choose a trust because it gives them a degree of control over how the assets are distributed after they die. Before you name a trust as the beneficiary of your IRA, however, consider the pros and cons. Designating a trust as beneficiary can be useful if the intended beneficiary has

Practice the art of responding to negative reviews

As a business owner in the internet age, you know a negative online review can discourage people from using your business. Research from Mintel indicates 70 percent of Americans go online to seek out reviews before making a purchase. Data from BrightLocal suggest 84 percent of people trust an online review as much as a recommendation from a friend. There’s a distinct art in learning to respond to negative reviews in a way that can help,

Get website content the right way

Content marketing is becoming a go-to tool for businesses, but generating enough quality content to keep your blogs and social media posts populated can be a challenging proposition. Here are some guidelines to avoid copyright infringement issues when buying and repurposing content. Assume copyright: When you find information, pictures, video or music online, you should always assume that material is protected. Using content without permission can lead to copyright infringement lawsuits and monetary damages. Get permission:

Know who owns your business IP rights

If intellectual property is a pivotal component of your business, you need to ensure you own the rights to that property. Demonstrating legal ownership does more than protect your IP from infringement; it adds to your business value when securing investors or new ownership. There are times in your business when you cannot assume ownership of certain intellectual property. Special consideration should be paid to IP as part of employee and contractor agreements, in third-party relationships

Take caution when offering credit monitoring

If your business is involved in an information breach, you are not generally required to offer credit services to your customers. However, many organizations do, offering services such as credit reporting, credit monitoring, identity theft insurance, and identity restoration services. Recognize that many data breaches do not actually involve risk to the consumer’s credit. Offering such services do not protect your customer from any harm that might result from the breach. What’s more, some courts have

Text messages could be binding contract

As more business communication is conducted via text messages, businesses need to be aware that they can have legal ramifications. In the eyes of the law, text messages may not be as informal as you think. An issue is emerging regarding whether a text message can constitute a binding contract. Many states have no legislation or case law on the issue. However, most states have adopted the Uniform Electronic Transaction Act, which stipulates that electronic writing

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