Category: Wisdoms
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Review Your Estate Plan Often
As we turn the page from 2012 to 2013, it is not a bad time to focus on your Rule Book (the set of documents in which you lay out your estate plan) and make sure that the rules you have in place are still consistent with your wishes and your needs. How often you…
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Who’s to Get My Personal Assets?
QUESTION: Should I write instructions for my jewelry and other personal assets in my Will? ANSWER: Yes. The best method to use is a “Personal Property Memorandum.” State of Hawai‘i law allows you to legally make your own list of beneficiaries of tangible personal property. It is as simple as making the list in your…
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Better Business Bureau: Deciding Charities
The holidays are a tough time to be in need, and unfortunately there’s way too much of that going around these days. Last year the U.S. Census Bureau said that 16% of people in the States live below the poverty line and that children in 3.9 million households across America went hungry. These are heart…
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Uplifting Choices: Playing a Significant Role
An Uplifting Story If you live long enough, you are likely to have an experience that is life-altering. Right now, there are two families living on the Big Island living out just such an experience; and it started out with a casual conversation between two mothers who are involved with their sons’ softball team. Angie…
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Financial: Retirement Confidence Boost
Dos and Don’ts on Preparing for Retirement As baby boomers near retirement, many are discovering that they aren’t yet financially prepared to leave their careers. Moving from a full-time job to a life of travel, volunteer work and time spent with family and friends may seem like a natural next step. For those who are…
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Queen’s Medical Center vs. Koga
The Honolulu Star-Advertiser has featured several stories by reporter Dan Nakaso about the plight of Karen Okada. Karen is a 95-year-old woman who signed a “Death with Dignity Declaration” and a “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Instructions” back in 1998. Both documents purport to control “in all circumstances.” The Queen’s Medical Center has…
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The Perfect Match
A living donor offers a two-for-one gift of life Nearly 15 years ago Andrea Lee’s youngest daughter Jenevieve was diagnosed with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a long-term autoimmune disorder that may affect the skin, joints, kidneys, brain and other organs. Jenevieve was 15, an age where her main concern should have been friends and fun.…
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Creditor-Protection Gets a Boost
Due to recent changes in our state law, Hawai‘i is one of a handful of states that affords creditor-protection to those who hold “Tenants by the Entirety” property. Tenants by the Entirety is a method by which married couples have equal interest in a property and hold the title together. Each owns the undivided whole…
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Important Tips for Giving Grandparents
If you enjoy supporting your grandchildren financially — or if this is one of your goals — you’re not alone. Eighty-four percent of seniors say that creating a financially secure life for themselves and their family is an important goal.* Yet, deciding how to best help your grandchildren can be a struggle, especially if you…
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Wire Fraud
How money coming in is actually going out Western Union, Moneygram and similar businesses allow you to send money quickly. Their services are useful for transmitting funds to friends, relatives and others you know well. But scammers frequently take advantage of victims by convincing them to wire money to a stranger, often someone in a…
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Add the Color Into Your Estate Plan
Leaving one’s legacy, in my opinion, involves much more than writing a Will to say who gets your things when you die. It involves reaching into your past and telling your life story including recalling specific memories, telling of family history, expressions of love and regret, and granting or requesting forgiveness. It also involves looking…