by John C. Martin | Nov 18, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance, Estate Planning for Families
Budgets do control spending behavior. However, budgets also allocate resources to the areas of highest impact or interest. When a budget is structured based on priorities and values, much of the controlling element is removed.Using budgets at work is understood and...
by John C. Martin | Nov 11, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance, Estate Planning for Families
You’ve made the hard decisions, your documents are signed, your trust is funded, a business succession plan is in place. Congratulations, you’ve finished your estate planning. But have you, really? Have you explained your planning to your family? Will they understand...
by John C. Martin | Nov 4, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance, Estate Planning for Families
There may be people close to you (spouse, parents, children) who are practicing financial behaviors that are unproductive or destructive. You want to help them get back on track, but you don’t want to come across as judgmental or condescending, or put them on the...
by John C. Martin | Oct 31, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance, Estate Planning for Families
If you have a revocable living trust, you probably named yourself as trustee so you can continue to manage your own financial affairs, but eventually someone will need to step in for you when you are no longer able to act due to incapacity or after your death....
by John C. Martin | Oct 30, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance, Estate Planning for Families
When you establish a trust, you name someone to be the trustee. A trustee basically does what you do right now with your financial affairs—collect income, pay bills and taxes, save and invest for the future, buy and sell assets, provide for your loved ones, keep...
by John C. Martin | Oct 29, 2013 | Estate Plan Maintenance
Think for a few moments about what would happen if you suddenly became incapacitated or died. Would your spouse or family know what to do? Would they know where to find important records, assets and insurance documents? Would they be able to access (or even know...