American Academy Mentioned in Money Magazine!

Robert Armstrong, President of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, was interviewed by Money Magazine senior writer Penelope Wang for her article " A Midlife Money Checkup" in the March 2008 Issue. The article was part of the Cover Story "A Boomer's Guide to Financial Freedom" that included multiple articles focusing on financial trends, aging well and other issues Baby Boomers are facing today. This is the third mention of the American Academy of Estate Planning by Money Magazine in the last seven issues.

The "Midlife Money Checkup" is a nine-step test that highlights questions Boomer's should be asking themselves at this point in their lives. Mr. Armstrong's expertise in estate planning was highlighted in question five, "Is your estate plan in order?" Make sure you don't have to ask yourself that question by meeting with a qualified attorney.

  American Academy Recommended by Nationally Syndicated Talk Show Host

The John Tesh Radio Show recommended the Academy as a resource for finding an estate planning attorney. The segment focusing on money and finance originally aired in September 2007 and was repeated in December 2007. Mr. Tesh recommended that listeners go to the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorney’s website to find a qualified estate planning attorney in their area. The Academy website is also recommended on his site.

The John Tesh Radio Show airs on 260 stations across the United States and Canada with an audience of over 8 million listeners. John Tesh is known as a popular television host, singer and syndicated talk show host.

  American Academy Mentioned in Money Magazine

The September issue of Money Magazine has an article entitled,"20 Timeless Money Rules." Rule 17, Exiting Gracefully, is particularly significant because it emphasizes the importance of putting together your estate plan. The recommendation of Money Magazine is that you search for a member of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys: "To find a lawyer, ask friends and colleagues for recommendations or get referrals online at the website of the American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys (aaepa.com)." The American Academy is an exclusive membership organization for law firms dedicated to estate planning. We are proud of our Academy membership and pleased to be one of three firms in the greater Houston, Texas area accepted into this prestigious organization. For more information about why our membership is so important to your family, click here.

The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. Receives Top Rating from LexisNexis(r) Martindale-Hubbell(r)
The Mendel Law Firm, L.P. . has received the distinguished rating of AV from LexisNexis(r) Martindale-Hubbell, the highest rating issued by Martindale-Hubbell. The AV rating is held by only 5% of all the law firm in the U.S.

Stephen A Mendel Co-Authors Total Wealth Management
Attorney Stephen A. Mendel, an authority on Estate Planning and Asset Protection has co-authored a book with well-known author Gordon K. Williamson. Mr. Mendel's advice shows clients how their financial planning works with or against their estate planning. Mr. Mendel believes that clients can no longer leave their planning in someone else's hands, and that they need to actively participate in their own financial security. Without planning now, there is little security tomorrow.

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Firm Partner Promoting Strictly Business
Esperti Peterson Institute and Quantum Press announce that Stephen A. Mendel is a contributing author to their recently published book entitled Strictly Business. Strictly Business is the 7th text in the highly successful Esperti Peterson Institute's Contributory Book Series. This book is expected to have a major impact on the way American small-business owners plan for their future. Mr. Mendel was selected for participation in the Strictly Business research project and resulting publication for his accomplishments in the field of estate planning.

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ESTATE PLANNING NEWS
 SuperBowl Champ’s Final Pass Incomplete
This article examines the life and death of Jack Kent Cooke and his $1.3 billion estate. It tells the tale of his expensive, drawn out probate and what could have been done to achieve a better result.

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ESTATE PLANNING NEWS
 Katharine Hepburn's Private Life and Public Death
Katharine Hepburn was a legend of stage and screen whose career spanned several decades. Hepburn's best-known films included Little Women (1933), The Philadelphia Story (1940), The African Queen (1951), Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967), and On Golden Pond (1981). She and her films were a reflection of American society, from early innocence to the stresses of the civil rights movement to issues on aging. Katharine Hepburn, a private and independent woman, forged a path for gender equality and in so doing became a role model for millions of Americans.

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CLIENT NEWSLETTERS
 Your Estate Matters Newsletter Vol 7.4

Articles included in this issue:

• Qualifying for Medicaid: When is it Fraud?
• True Story: Ted Williams Strikes Out With A Bad Estate Plan
• SOS - Save Our Savings! How Long-Term Care Insurance Can Preserve Your Estate
• Social Insecurity - Rebuilding Your Safety Net
• The Biggest Tax Planning Failure Is Failing To Plan
• The Trust Issue: Choosing A Trustee

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EDUCATIONAL ALERTS
 Taxpayers Fight and Win State Estate Tax Battles
In 2001, the federal government passed the Economic Growth and Tax Reform Reconciliation Act of 2001 (“EGTRRA”). One of the provisions of EGTRRA was the gradual reduction and then elimination (in 2004) of the state death tax credit on the federal estate tax return. About three-quarters of the states limited the amount of the death taxes they received to the amount of the state death credit. With the reduction in the credit, these “pick-up” states started to see their tax revenues decline and as a result about one-third of them “decoupled” from the federal system. The decoupling states implemented their own estate tax regime based on federal law that was in existence prior to EGTRRA. In some circumstances this resulted in taxpayers paying a higher combined federal and state estate tax than they would have paid under the law before the enactment of EGTRRA, even though EGTRRA was heavily promoted as a tax reduction.

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EDUCATIONAL FYIs
 Power of Attorney, Lacking Gift-Giving Authority, Does Not Authorize Gifts to Agent
Mother, suffering from mild dementia, executed a general power of attorney in favor of her son--the power of attorney did not include any language specifically authorizing gifts.  Shortly thereafter she moved in and lived with him, and after about eight months moved to a nursing home.  At the time of her move to the nursing home the son, using his power of attorney, transferred all her real property, stocks and other assets to himself.  The mother died a little over a year later, leaving a will that devised all her assets equally to her son and daughter.  After securing appointment as executor of the estate, daughter filed suit to recover the remaining assets, arguing that the purpose of the original conveyance was solely to protect the assets from being depleted by nursing home expenses and that with the mother's death they should be reconveyed to her estate.  Trial court ordered reconveyance and on appealed. Intermediate state appellate court affirms, noting that without a specific gift-giving provision in the power of attorney, a gift to the agent "carries with it a presumption of impropriety and self-dealing."  In order to overcome that presumption, the recipient of the gift must make "the clearest showing of intent" on the part of the principal; evidence that the mother in this case trusted her son more, wanted him to manage her money, and may even have been fearful of her daughter did not meet that high standard of evidence.

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 Critical New Privacy Regulations Impact You and Every Member of Your Family
In April 2003 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services issued final regulations regarding the privacy provisions of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, commonly known as "HIPAA."

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