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Brought
to you by:
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| Jeffrey N. Schweitzer, EPA, CEP, ATP
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| Northeast Financial Strategies Inc
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About Our Firm:
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Offering Financial & Estate Planning, Investments, Insurance, Accounting, Payroll, and Income Tax Preparation for Individuals & Small Business. "Financial Strategies That Fit YOUR Needs!"
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| QUOTES from
the
Masters... |
| On Problem Solving |
On Results |
| "Neil
Armstrong once said, 'You only have to solve two problems when going to
the moon: first, how to get there; and second, how to get back. The key
is don't leave until you have solved both problems.'" -– Jim
Rohn
"Any
jackass can kick down a barn but it takes a good carpenter to build
one."
-- Lyndon B. Johnson
"Stop
talking about the problem and start thinking about the solution."
-– Brian
Tracy
"Problems
are good, not bad. Welcome them and become the solution.
When
you have solved enough problems, people will thank you." -– Mark
Victor Hansen
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"Always
focus on accomplishments rather than activities." -- Brian
Tracy
"There
are some things you don't have to know how it works – only that
it works.
While some people are studying the roots, others are picking the fruit.
It just depends on which end of this you want to get in on." -– Jim
Rohn
"As
we act 'right,' our right results are guaranteed." -– Mark
Victor Hansen
"The
reward of a thing well done is to have done it." -- Ralph
Waldo Emerson
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Looking Ahead...Wills
and Trusts...
| The Economic
Growth
and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001 (EGTRRA 2001) made numerous
changes
to the federal estate tax. These changes are being phased in from
2001 to 2010, culminating with the repeal of the estate tax in
2010.
The complicating factor for your estate planning purposes, however, is
that the entire Act will automatically terminate, or "sunset," at the
end
of 2010 unless a future Congress extends its provisions. If the
Act
sunsets, 2001 tax rules will then apply in 2011, as if the EGTRRA 2001
had never become law, meaning that the federal estate tax will be
reinstated
in 2011.
What impact
does
the repeal of the federal estate tax for one year in 2010 have on wills
and trusts?
| Estate
Tax Repeal... |
Provisions
in wills
or trusts may divide property based on tax provisions.
For
example, in order
to take full advantage of the unified credit, a will may specify that
an
amount equal to the unified credit equivalent be placed into a credit
trust
at the first spouse's death.
Since the
Act repeals
the estate tax for 2010, wills and trusts should be reviewed to
determine
that property will be distributed as intended if the estate owner dies
in 2010 when there is no federal estate tax.
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| Transfers
in
Trust in 2010... |
Any transfer
in
trust in 2010 will be treated as a taxable gift unless the trust is
wholly
owned by the donor or the donor's spouse under the grantor trust rules.
This may
mean, for
example, that transfers in trust that are not currently treated as
taxable
gifts, such as annual exclusion gifts and qualified transfers for
educational
or medical expenses, will not qualify for the gift tax exclusion in
2010
if, for example, the holder of a Crummey power (other than the donor's
spouse) is treated as the owner of a portion of the trust.
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Your estate plan,
including wills, trusts and life insurance, should be periodically
reviewed
to ensure that it continues to meet your needs and objectives.
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| MESSAGES
from
the Masters... |
PERSISTENCE
by Les Brown
I
believe there are three kinds of people. There are winners, who know
what
they want and understand their potential and the possibilities. They
take
life on. Next are losers, who don't have a clue as to who they are.
They
allow circumstances to shape their lives and their self-image.
I
believe
there is a third group as well. This consists of potential winners
whose
lives are just slightly out of alignment. I call them wayward winners.
It may be that they just need to learn how to be real winners. Perhaps
they've hit a bump or two that has knocked them off course and they are
temporarily befuddled. A failed relationship, a lost job, financial
problems,
unformed goals, a lack of parental support, illness...many things can
send
us off course temporarily.
Wayward
winners are not lost souls; they just need some tweaking and coaching
and
nudging to get them back on course. A map might be nice. Many of these
wayward winners are easily identifiable because they are always
searching.
Right
now, there are many wayward winners out there braving rain, sleet and
snow
because they too still believe that they have untapped talents. They
attend
motivational seminars and listen to inspirational tapes and they plunge
onward, believing that sooner or later they will find their way again.
Other
wayward winners have temporarily given up. They are damaged and
disoriented,
their confidence badly eroded. They tend to drift through life numbly.
The friends and relatives and loved ones of wayward winners see that
they
are out of sync and wonder why they can't be satisfied, why they don't
settle down. They wonder how people who have such obvious abilities and
great potential can be so disoriented and unsure.
It
is difficult for others to understand the rawness of a broken heart or
the aching emptiness of an unguided spirit. You and I know. We have
been
there. Wayward winners know that there are possibilities out there, but
too often they feel locked out from them. Some are afraid to risk any
more
because of what they have risked and lost already.
I
know
now that as difficult as it may be for you wayward winners to do, it is
necessary to continue to test yourselves. Even though you have been
hurt
before, it is the only way to grow. We all have the capacity to change,
to lead meaningful and productive lives by awakening our consciousness.
You
know there are going to be tough times as you go about changing your
life,
so brace yourself and you will be able to handle them. When you get
into
your seat on an airplane, what is the first thing they tell you to do?
Fasten your seat belt. Brace yourself for the turbulence.
When
you decide to move your life to the next level of accomplishment, you
must
fasten your mental and spiritual seat belts because it is going to be a
while before you reach that comfortable level again. You will reach it,
but you must endure the turbulence of change in order to grow.
Try
this technique to help you through the difficult times of change and
growth.
Find four reasons why you cannot succumb to your fears and your
troubles.
Find those deep sources of motivation that can lift you out of the
turbulence
and above the clouds. You must change your life because, for example:
You
have not yet tapped the talents given you.
You
want to leave something more for your children.
You
want to live life rather than letting life live you.
You
want to do what makes YOU happy.
It
is in these rocky early moments of bringing change to your life that
you
discover who you are. In the prosperous times, you build what is in
your
pocket. In the tough times, you strengthen what is in your heart. And
that
is when you gain insight into yourself, insight that leads to
self-mastery
and an expansion of your consciousness as a life-force in both your
personal
and professional lives.
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The purpose
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is to provide information of general interest to our clients, potential
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