Category: Wisdoms

  • What Hawai‘i Law Requires Regarding Condos, Foreclosure & Mediation

    By virtue of buying a condominium, each unit owner becomes a member of an association and agrees to share the costs of operating that association. For example, owners share the cost of community lighting, water and grounds-keeping, usually via a set monthly maintenance fee.

  • Donating with Care

    Hawai‘i’s residences are often targeted by door-to-door solicitors asking for donations. Here in Hawai‘i, we are a generous people. We take pride in living the Aloha Spirit, but we must exercise caution as well. We must know the basic things about charitable giving in the event that anyone tries to take advantage of our good…

  • Meaningful Legacies

    What are you leaving behind? This is a question that all too many of us fail to address before it’s too late. It’s not just a question about money, but about the entire heritage that you want to pass on to future generations—to those in your family and even to society as a whole.

  • Internet-Drafted Estate Plans Don’t Save Money

    If you want to, you can devise your own estate plan without the benefit of lawyers or other trained advisors. All you need is a credit card, a computer, a printer, and access to the Internet. With those tools, you can come up with a set of documents that may or may not accomplish your…

  • Crisis Communication

    If a parent suddenly fell unconscious or required emergency medical attention, would you know what do? Would you know what paperwork, insurance cards and medical records to bring with you to the hospital? Once a medical crisis occurs, it’s too late to prepare for the large amount of information that is needed by doctors, hospital…

  • Let the IRS Take a Bath for Change

    Nobody likes to pay taxes, but most of us like to take baths. Unless the bath is the kind where money flows out of your pocket and down the drain. If you feel like paying taxes is a lot like seeing your money go down the drain, you will be glad to know about an…

  • Savvy Shoppers: Find a Charity You Can Trust

    The New Year is here and, because of the rough economy, it’s more important than ever to become a savvy shopper to both save money and prevent identity theft in 2011.

  • Smart Advice; How to Choose a Financial Advisor

    A financial advisor can offer valuable strategies and guidance to help you grow your savings and meet your financial goals and dreams. It’s important to select a qualified individual who is also a good match—personally and professionally.

  • Beware: It’s the Return of the Estate Tax

    The good news is that the federal estate tax took a vacation in 2010. The bad news is that it spent the whole year lifting weights and taking steroids. The estate tax is coming back in 2011, as big and bad as it has been in a long time. Now is the time to review…

  • Tis the Season for Holiday Scams

    The holiday season is a happy time celebrated with food, family and friends. Unfortunately, it’s also a time for fraud at the hands of identity thieves, computer hackers and deceptive sellers. Hawai‘i’s Better Business Bureau (BBB) offers advice on how to recognize and avoid common holiday scams.