I have been reading about the debt ceiling for three months now. I am tired of it but was amused to read an article about how things have flipped.  On March 16, 2006, a democratic senator denounced George W. Bush’s request to raise the debt limit. “The fact that we are here today to debate raising America’s debt limit is a sign of leadership failure,” the senator thundered. “Increasing America’s debt weakens us domestically and internationally. . . . Washington is shifting the burden of bad choices today onto the backs of our children and grandchildren.”

That senator was Barack Obama, and he, along with most Democrats, voted against a higher limit that day. It passed only because almost every Republican voted for it, including many who are today among the strongest opponents of a debt-limit increase. Today the Republicans are dragging their feet and the President is telling them to eat their peas.   Now the Press is telling us that it is all for political gamesmanship.  I am tired of the games and am worried that the games could cost our country dearly.

Your estate planning is the same way.   If you don’t take care of things now, it may cause a lot of turmoil in your family later.  It may cost your family not only money, but it could also jeopardize family relationships. The sad thing is it is so easy to avoid these problems by just getting your estate planning done, yet so many people won’t take the time.

By Kristy Phillips

The IMF has announced that by the year 2016 China’s economy will surpass America. They are not the only ones seeing trouble on the horizon. John Mauldin, a financial analyst and the author of ENDGAME: The End Of The Debt Supercycle And How It Changes Everything, says that the US must confront the fact that it has borrowed too much and must cut back.

The US’s $1.6 trillion-a-year deficit must quickly be cut to about $300 billion a year, or the US will face a debt crisis. These cuts are going to be painful and ordinary Americans will bear the brunt of the impact. These ordinary Americans will pay higher taxes and have significantly reduced Medicare and Medicaid benefits according to Mauldin, along with cuts to almost everything else in the budget.

Now is the time to prepare your estate for future austerity. I can’t tell you where to invest or how, but I can tell you that if you prepare with the proper estate planning and asset protection now, the consequences will be less severe later. (more…)

By Lee R. Phillips

Brittany Murphy’s death has certainly come as a shock to the world.  In a way, it is even more shocking to learn that the death was “due to natural causes,” according to the Los Angeles coroner.  Her husband, British screenwriter Simon Monjack, is in shock and is quoted as stating, “I am feeling beyond devastated.”  The shock and grief associated with the death of a loved one can never be prepared for or softened.

The death of one as young as Brittany Murphy reminds us all of our fragile mortality and punctuates the uncertainty of life.  As an individual, I see a personal tragedy on several levels.  As an attorney, I hope she had her legal ducks in a row.  Her death reminds us of our obligations that need to be attended to.  It makes a huge difference.

Michael Jackson also died this year.  His death was also a personal tragedy, but he had done his legal homework, and his estate lives on.  You might remember that after his death the media squared off to have a heyday reporting on the financial dealings of his large troubled empire.  After the first week, it was disclosed that the foundation of his empire was a living revocable trust.  The trust had been maintained. (Just having a trust document isn’t enough.  It has to be used and “maintained.”)  I imagine the media gave a great groan, when they learned the trust was in place, because they were shut out of the juicy details of Michael Jackson’s estate. (more…)