The talk of the town regarding possible changes to the transfer tax laws under a new Congress and administration has been what might happen to the estate and gift tax lifetime exemption.  Currently every taxpayer can shelter (either through lifetime giving or at death) up to $11,700,000 of their taxable...

Back in the old days when income tax rates were as high as 91% (Holy Mama!) income-shifting was the flavor-of-the-month as high-net-worth taxpayers took steps to get income attributed to persons or entities in lower brackets.  A popular depository was a trust which, back then, was taxed at much lower...

Little Harold ran into the kitchen where his Mother was preparing dinner and said, “Hey Mom!  You know that antique vase on the stand in the front hall that has been handed down from generation to generation?”  When she looked up he reported, “Well my generation just dropped it!” The transfer...

It was an eye-opener the first time I walked into the office of a civil engineer back in the 1970s and saw, spread across an entire wall, the flowchart mapping out the relationship and time sequence of all that was involved in getting an eight-story building there in the Burg from ground-breaking to grand-opening. The...

Few American publishers have had or will ever approach the influence of Henry Luce in his heyday. Through the middle half of the 20th century, Luce founded and successfully grew a family of magazines whose content was a major factor in shaping the thought and activity of American society. He named...

The greatest distinction of criminal Alphonse “Scarface” Capone is that he is, still, the best-known person ever to appear on the FBI’s “Ten Most Wanted List.”  But what is not as well-known is the reason why he was eventually imprisoned in 1933.  “Public-enemy No. 1” was jailed for tax evasion. ...

There's the old story about the hungry chicken and the hungry pig who agreed to both contribute to a mutual breakfast.  The chicken suggested they have ham and eggs, to which the pig replied, “That’s a contribution for you, but it’s total commitment for me!” When proposing life insurance we would...

Many argue that the best Super Bowl halftime show took place in Jacksonville, FL, some years ago.  In a forum known for mediocre performances that fail to meet the hype and fulfill the expectations, the lights and fireworks opened on a band named Wings, led by one of the last vestiges of an earlier...

How much does an insurance company think that your client is worth?  Many times it is much more than your client does, and you have their underwriting guidelines to prove it! Insurance companies don’t want to over-insure someone.  Too much coverage can often result in someone falling down a flight...

Back in the days before the development of things like the NiMH or lithium-ion battery, stand-up comedian Don Adams (who later became Maxwell, the original Get Smart secret agent) used to joke that electric cars were unpopular because of the high cost of the extension cord. Many insurance advisors...