Conscious Money Challenge: Know How You Are Invested

by Leslie Marenco | Aug 12, 2016 | Articles, Estate Planning, IRAs / 401(k)

If you have money invested in the stock market, whether through a retirement account or a straight brokerage account, I challenge you today to find out exactly what your money is invested in and make a conscious choice about what you are supporting in the world. If...

Kelly Clarkson Starts Blended Family: What She Needs to Consider

by Leslie Marenco | Jul 1, 2016 | Articles, Celebrity Estates, Estate Planning

Starting a new family is always exciting and even a tad scary. This natural apprehension can be enhanced when a couple creates a blended family. Bringing children from different parents together presents challenges – and those challenges are multiplied when the couple...

ABLE Accounts: A Powerful New Planning Tool for Families with Special Needs Children

by Leslie Marenco | Jun 30, 2016 | Articles, Estate Planning, Guardianship, Special Needs Planning

Thanks to advances in medical treatment and the development of assistive technologies, individuals with special needs are living longer and more productive lives today, than ever before. While this is positive news, it presents a unique set of estate planning...

Prince’s Largest Heir Will Still Be the Government

by Leslie Marenco | May 3, 2016 | Articles, Celebrity Estates, Estate Planning

We don’t yet know exactly what caused the death of pop icon Prince, but we do know who will be his biggest heir. Nope, it’s not a family member. It’s the government. Between Minnesota’s top death tax rate of 16 percent, combined with the...

Recent Superstar Death Brings Estate Planning to the Forefront of Discussion

by Leslie Marenco | Apr 29, 2016 | Articles, Celebrity Estates, Estate Planning, Trusts, Wills

The untimely death of superstar Prince has brought a surprising issue to American living rooms: estate planning. If current reports are correct that Prince died without a will, state law and the Court system will dictate who controls and inherits his sizeable estate....

What to Do With a Cash Windfall

by Leslie Marenco | Apr 8, 2016 | Articles, Estate Planning

Many of us like to fantasize about winning the lottery. We muse with our friends about how we might spend the money, and we dream about never wanting for anything ever again. The odds are against us, of course, at least as far as the lottery goes. But that doesn’t...