Pony Of Prey Blog

Benjamin Franklin famously said, “In this world, nothing is certain but death and taxes.”

Unfortunately, you can’t avoid death. But a carefully-drafted estate plan can help avoid
taxes, family conflicts and a lot of unnecessary heartache. The following provides a general overview of the estate planning process, and what to expect.

Why do I need an Estate Plan?

Many of us spend our earthly lives accumulating assets which, unfortunately, upon our death, will not go with us. The top 2 reasons for having an estate plan:

1. So you can transfer your wealth to your chosen heirs, in your chosen manner;

2. So you can plan for and effectively limit the taxation of your estate;

What if I don’t have an Estate Plan?

If you die “intestate” (which is without a will) or without an estate plan, lots of things can happen, such as:

1. Intestate Succession: When someone dies without a will, the government will step in and decide who gets what.

2. Probate: The estate could go to probate, a costly and very public process. (See below: What is Probate?)

3. Guardianship of Minor Children: If both spouses pass away, it is a good idea to list who they want as a guardian.

4. Higher Estate Taxes. Higher estate taxes = less for beneficiaries.

What is Probate?

Probate refers to process of legally validating a person’s will. Such a procedure takes approximately 9-12 months. The court appoints a person designated as an “executor” to handle the assets and to administer the estate. The fees that the executor and attorney receive are set by law (a percentage of the value of the assets which go through probate.)The total fees can be approximately 5-6% of the estate assets.

How Do I Avoid Probate?

Please note that wills DO NOT avoid probate. (See Below: Wills v. Trusts).

In California, the first $100,000 of an estate is exempt from probate, meaning that the first $100,000 can be collected without a formal Probate procedure. All else is subject.

Some probate-avoidance techniques are:

1. Revocable Living Trusts;

2. Joint Tenancy;

3. Life insurance and retirements accounts which name a beneficiary;

4. “Pay-on-death” accounts

5. In California, “spousal confirmation proceeding”, where a petition is filed with the court, notice is given to certain parties, and if no one objects, the court approves the assets as going to the spouse. This procedure can only be used for husband and wife.

Is Probate Always Bad?

Nowadays, people tend to associate “probate” with the bad and ugly. However, there are some instances that probate can provide benefits. For example, if your estate owes a lot of debts, to a lot of creditors; or if you believe someone may challenge your estate in court. You should discuss these issues with a qualified estate planning attorney.

Wills v. Trusts

As explained above, wills do not avoid probate. Even if you have a will, upon your death, the will becomes a public document. A will is subject to probate, which can be a painful, drawn-out process that most people would want to avoid.

A living trust, however, avoid probate. The principle behind a Revocable Living Trust is this: When you establish a Living Trust, you transfer all your property into the Trust, and then name yourself as trustee (or spouse as co-trustee). You will also name “successor trustees”, who will take over your assets and handle them pursuant to your instructions. Since the “successor trustee” will be following your decisions, the probate courts needs not be involved.

The trustees maintain complete control over the property, the same control you had before your property was placed in trust. You can even discontinue the Trust if you choose.

Another important difference between a trust and a will is that a will is not effective until you die. A trust, however, is effective as soon as you make it, and can offer protection if you become disabled or incapacitated.
How Do I Transfer My Assets to a Trust?

In order to fulfill the purpose of your estate plan, you should fund the revocable trust you have by transferring your assets to the trust. For all transfers, title should be transferred to the trust. For example, if I were to set up a trust, I would transfer title to my property to “Kelly Chang, as Trustee, or the acting successor Trustee, of the Kelly Chang Revocable Trust Dated March 6, 2006″.

The following describes the transfer process for basic types of assets. For assets not listed, please consult with a qualified estate planning attorney.

1. Real Property In California: It will be necessary to prepare and record a new deed in order to transfer title of real property to your trust. It is also necessary to submit a Preliminary Change of Ownership Report with the deed notifying the local county assessor as to whether the property is subject to reassessment. A transfer to a revocable living trust is exempt from reassessment.

Please note that if there is a mortgage, you should contact your lender and request a waiver of enforcement of any due-on-sale clauses contained in the loan documents.

2. Real Property Outside of California: Laws vary from state to state regarding transfer s of real estate. Best to consult with an attorney located in that state who is familiar with local rules regarding property taxation, income taxation, and law regarding mortgages as it affects such property. We can help you find such an attorney who will assist you.

3. Cash Accounts: You should contact all banks and let them know that you have a living a trust and wish to transfer assets to it. You should change the name on the bank accounts and CD’s by completing new signature cards as the Trustee.

4. Stocks and Bonds: Your broker should help you with this.

5. Life Insurance: The beneficiary should be changed to the trust; however, if it’s a small policy, you may wish to continue the designation of your original beneficiary.

6. New Assets: All new assets should be acquired in the name of the trust.

If I Have a Living Trust, Do I Need a Will?

Yes, most trusts will have a “pour over” will, which simply provides that any assets held in your name alone at death, which were not in your living trust, will be transferred to your living trust. However, these assets not originally in the trust will not avoid probate.

Should I Change or Update My Will?

Congratulations, you’ve made your estate plan. When should you make changes or update the documents? It truly depends. Generally, if something major happens, such as a death of spouse or beneficiary, divorce, adoption of new child, or winning the lottery. Please consult a qualified estate planning attorney.

Kelly Y. Chang, Esq. is the owner/founder of the Law Offices of Kelly Chang, a Professional Law Corporation. The firm specializes in Estate Planning, Real Estate Law, and Family Law. Ms. Chang was born in Taiwan, and is fluent in Mandarin Chinese, Taiwanese, and French. She is passionate about international issues and has traveled to 30+ countries. In addition, Ms. Chang is an accomplished classical pianist and composes and performs music in her spare time.

The Nokia 3120 classic is a Bar style phone which has proved popular since its launch in March 2008. The Nokia 3120 classic is a good general purpose handset that would be appropriate for a wide range of customers.

Regardless of the fact that getting a good deal on the 3120 classic is quite easy, it can be a tedious task. There are a large number of online stores all offering a large number of of deals from different network providers. To quicken your search you should consider making use of a mobile comparison site to get the best deal on the Nokia 3120 classic .

In terms of colours the 3120 classic is available in, Graphite, Plum, Powder White, Deep Red and Chestnut Brown. The mobile handset is pretty light weighing in at 85 g. When compared to other models currently on the market the Nokia 3120 classic is compact and easy to carry. The 3120 classic supports 2G GSM 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900 and 3G UMTS 850 / 1900 . The 3120 classic has an integrated 2 MP, 1600×1200 pixels, video(VGA); secondary VGA video call camera. A WAP 2.0/xHTML, HTML browser allows this handset to be used for mobile Internet access. Getting on to the all important battery life the Nokia 3120 classic has 1:30 talk time and 290 hours reserve time. The battery cell fitted to the 3120 classic is a Standard battery, Li-Ion 1000 mAh (BL-4U). Polyphonic, MP3 ring-tones are enabled on the Nokia 3120 classic including a vibrating alert . In terms of the the display the handset is fitted with a 2 inch screen, which, if you look at what else you can get for this sort of money is a bit disappointing. The display type is TFT, 16M colors. This phone is bluetooth enabled making it effortless to integrate with devices, like wireless headsets. The 3120 classic has a number of other useful features such as , Calculator, MP3/MP4/AAC/AAC+/eAAC+ player, Built-in handsfree, Stereo FM radio, Java MIDP 2.0, Voice memo and Calendar.

The 3120 classic is amongst the most recent handsets , never the less it is still possible to get a bargain on this mobile handset.

On Line Mortgage Quotes

The mortgage industry is a very competitive one, so if you are on the market for a mortgage, or refinancing your existing one, you may want to consider getting a few quotes on line.

By obtaining a few quotes on line, you are in no way committing yourself to anything.

Due to the competitive nature of the mortgage industry, it really wouldn’t hurt to post an on line application at a secure sight, and allow for four or five loan officers or brokers to compete for your business.

Obtaining an on line quote is very simple, not to mention, very safe. When going through this simple process, you are asked for very limited information. At least enough for a loan officer to get a general idea of what you are looking for.

One of the many benefits of obtaining on line mortgage quotes is the fact that you barely have to do anything except point and click. Once this is accomplished, you will receive anywhere between three and five phone calls, usually within forty-eight hours from loan officers who are interested in doing business with you.

Another benefit of having four or five loan officers assess your situation is that you will have the option of choosing the best rate and loan program to meet your needs and your budget.

When shopping for on line mortgage quotes, most loan officers understand that you are shopping around and speaking with other mortgage companies.

The last thing a loan officer wants is for you to take your business to their competitor. This puts them in a situation to find you the best rate and program available.

Shopping for an on line mortgage quote is definitely worth a try, and costs absolutely nothing. Remember you are not committed to anything, so why not give it a shot? Good luck.

Jennifer Hershey has more than twenty years of experience in the Mortgage Industry as a loan officer. She is the owner of www.explainingmortgages.com/, a mortgage resource site devoted to making mortgage terms and products easy to understand.

What would you do if city authorities ordered you to evacuate ?

There are only two choices - comply or refuse, and neither is going to be much fun. For many it means loading up the car with their family, pets and anything else that fits, then joining heavy traffic to shuffle towards an uncertain future. While the upheaval is inconvenient at best, choosing to stay could be the biggest gamble of your life.

Some types of disasters allow for warnings and time to evacuate. Bushfires frequently reach the edges of the suburban sprawl, initiating rushed evacuations, sometimes with only minutes to spare. In the case of hurricanes, sophisticated weather analysis and satellite images can give those in danger up to 3 days warning.

In the case of Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the city government of New Orleans issued a mandatory evacuation of the entire city two days before disaster struck. While there were a large number of people who did not have the means to leave, others remained in the city by choice to face the fury of nature.

One factor in this seemingly crazy decision was the regularity of hurricane warnings over the years. Most hurricanes had amounted to nothing worse than a heavy downpour, so many residents calculated the inconvenience of leaving against the amount of actual danger they would face, and figured there was no good reason to walk away, not when so many storms billed as the Big One had ended up heavy rain and hot air. People have jobs, people have commitments, organising to uproot your life at short notice would surely test the preparedness of anyone. And of course, many folk would simply have no money, no transport and no contacts out of town.

A tourist performed her own calculations shortly before the city was ruined - “They say it’s mandatory evacuations except for the hospitals and hotels. So it can’t be that bad.”

Tourists who couldn’t organise transport out of the city did what they called vertical evacuation - getting rooms high enough in buildings that were known to have survived earlier major storms.

Despite the huge inconvenience of evacuating, it should be remembered that authorities do not like to shut down their cities unless there is a compelling reason. Almost everyone who stayed to face Hurricane Katrina regretted their decision.

*******************************************************************
Written by Darren Robinson, author of “Hurricane Katrina - The Destruction of New Orleans”, available from Amazon.com
This article may be freely reprinted provided this resource box is included. Copyright Darren Robinson 2005 . book.moviesearch.com.au
*******************************************************************

One World Order; The “Return of the Khalifate” An Opinion. Part 1.
Could the Anti-Christ be a Jewish Muslim from Syria? Is this the reason that The Anti-Christ will fight against the first three nations? Lets look into this.

Before we begin I want to let you read some news that isn’t broadcast to the general public. Many times the things that we read are just propaganda and sometimes what we read is made a little flamboyant, to sell papers, and then again the things that we don’t get to read are the things that are really devastating to us.

Lets Read.
Arutz Sheva News Service; MUSLIM PREACHER ON TEMPLE MOUNT: RESTORE WORLDWIDE ISLAMIC RULE
By Hillel Fendel;

Sheikh Ismail Nawahda, preaching to Moslem masses on the Temple Mountain Jerusalem on Friday, has brought it out into the open: the call to restore the Moslem Khalifate, or, “Genuine Islamic Rule.” A plan for the “Return of the Khalifate” was published secretly in 2002 by a group called “The Guiding Helper Foundation.” The group explained that it wished to “give direction to the educated Muslim populace in its increasing interest in the establishment of Islam as a practical system of rule.”(I.E. Dictatorship.)

This past Friday, Feb. 24, 2006, however, the plan went public. Sheikh Nawahda called publicly for the renewal of the Islamic Khalifate, which would “unite all the Moslems in the world against the infidels.” (create a massive army against all who will not bow down to Mohamidism.)
The Khalifate system features a leader, known as a Khalif, who heads worldwide Islam. Assisted by a ten-man council (Sometimes referred to as 10 Kings.), his decisions are totally binding on all Moslems.
According to the Foundation’s vision of the Khalifate, significant
punishment can only be meted out for 14 crimes, including “accusing a chaste person of fornication,” “not performing the formal prayer,” and “not fasting during Ramadan.”( This could possibly be a prelude to the mark of the beast (666), knowing who and whom isn’t a follower of the Khalifate.)
The Foundation recommends working to restore the Moslem dictatorship using a system of small groups around the world. (These pockets of followers are many times called “Cells.”)

The purpose is so that the “enemies of Islam” who “will definitely try to stop us” will have a “much harder task, if not impossible, if they are faced with a myriad of small groups of differing locations, ethnicities,” etc. ( A world wide Moslem dictatorship isn’t that far fetched an Idea, considering the vast number of their followers, located, may I add, all around the Globe.)
This method also “ensures that if one group is found and cut off, other similar groups will remain undetected.”

Sheikh Nawahda reminded his Temple Mount audience that the first step taken by Muhammad in stabilizing his rule was to form the nucleus of the first Islamic country in the city of Medina (Medina is a city located North of Mecca and north east of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.). Nawahda also said that the status of Moslems around the world has dropped drastically ever since the collapse of the last Khalifate in 1924, after Turkey became a democratic republic. (This was the beginning of a divided Muslim State. Now we have many divisions of Muslims and civil war between all factions, noting that they are all of the same religion.)

Nawahda called upon the Arabs of the Palestinian Authority to rise above their personal and party interests, and said that Moslems must return to Islam and join forces in the struggle against the West. (To have one single man in charge of all Muslims around the world, would be a great disturbance to all Christians and the Gentile Race of people.)

He praised the worldwide protests against the anti-Mohammed cartoons, and encouraged the Moslem public to continue such activities. He implied that those who insulted Mohammed are liable for death. The Sheikh designated the Moslem masses as a strong point that can be utilized in the fight against the West. ( This type of rhetoric is a start in the direction of united muslim Force.)

In The Book of Revelations and especially in Daniel, we see an upcoming ruler that will take three Kingdoms by force and the other seven by capitulation. Isn’t this the way of the Khalifate?
Dan 7:23-27. Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.

And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: ( The times and laws, could be what the Muslim Khalifate will desire to do.) and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.

But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take away his dominion, to consume and to destroy it unto the end.

And the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the saints of the most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. end part 1. In Part 2 we will dig into the Scripture to find some answers. ars

Dan_7:20; Rev_12:3, Rev_13:1, Rev_17:3, Rev_17:12, Rev_17:13, Rev_17:16-18. Dan_7:8, Dan_7:20, Dan_8:9-12, Dan_11:36; 2Th_2:3-10; 1Ti_4:1-3

Temple of Spirit & Truth Ministries
A.R.Smith Ministries
http://www.ourchurch.com/member/a/arsmithsermons/