Posted on December 7, 2021

Saturday, December 4th was the night we gathered our School of Music Alumni Council and the Friends of the School of Music to sponsor our annual bourbon-tasting fundraiser, this year at Ricky B’s Club Café. (Roz Carothers is President of both the School of Music Alumni Council and the Friends of the School of Music.)… read more

Posted on December 3, 2021

If you need to provide for someone who’s physically or mentally disabled or chronically ill but don’t want to jeopardize his or her public assistance disability benefits, creating a special needs trust is a popular strategy. Usually, such programs as Social Security Supplemental Security Income, Medicare, and Medicaid impose an income or asset ceiling. However,… read more

Posted on December 2, 2021

Recently, singer Britney Spears testified in court about the 13 years she has spent in a legal structure called a conservatorship. In vivid testimony, she described her father and lawyers seizing control of her rights to make personal, financial, and legal decisions. How can this happen to an adult with a successful career, and why… read more

Posted on December 1, 2021

When you retire, your needs change. That’s why many people decide to move to a new city at that point. Perhaps you want to move somewhere you’ve always loved but never lived because there were no jobs in your field nearby. Once you’re serious about moving, the first step is research. Before you decide on… read more

Posted on November 5, 2021

If you’re named the executor or personal representative in a will, you’ll be the final administrator of a deceased person’s estate and have many details to manage. The following estate executor checklist can help you more easily navigate the process while making sure none of your duties slip through the cracks: You’ll find that being… read more

Posted on November 4, 2021

Every day, you make choices about your finances that affect your long-term happiness. But if you’re like most people, you never had any formal education in money management. You’ve had to seek out advice and resources as you go. And unless you’ve been very lucky, you’ve found it contradictory or downright nonsensical. Let’s debunk some… read more

Posted on November 3, 2021

“What is your exit plan?” Business owners should start asking themselves this question on the day they open their doors. But they don’t. There are many reasons for this, beginning with the hope that the business will never fail. Even in the rare businesses that do last, however, there inevitably comes a day when the… read more

Posted on November 2, 2021

Firm founder and principal Roz Carothers was recently interviewed about common estate planning pitfalls for Next Avenue. Tips in this article address joint ownership of bank accounts, multigenerational bequests, and what happens when a spouse or adult child remains in the home. Next Avenue is public media’s national journalism service for America’s booming 50+ population…. read more

Posted on October 6, 2021

You don’t necessarily create a trust and just forget about it. You may revise a revocable trust whenever your circumstances change. Perhaps you want to add a beneficiary. A trust can be revoked or amended at any time as long as you, its creator, are mentally competent. Having an updated trust will reduce the chances… read more

Posted on October 5, 2021

A spousal lifetime access trust (SLAT) is an irrevocable trust that authorizes the trustee to make distributions to a spouse if a need arises. It can be designed to benefit one’s children, grandchildren or future generations. A lifetime gift tax and a generation-skipping tax exemption can be used to shield contributions to the trust and… read more