Hi all,
I am excited to be joining the Internet world and I hope to contribute useful or at least entertaining content. I’m an tax/estate planning attorney obsessed with ashtanga yoga, fitness, and family. Professionally, I work for a small 9 attorney law firm in Palm Beach, Florida. We practice all kinds of tax law, and I specialize in estate planning. On this blog, I will be mostly concentrating on estate planning, tax law and my life as a young attorney, as well as my love for yoga.
“A Son can withstand the Death of his Father, but the Loss of Inheritance will Drive Him to Dispair” – unknown
“I Died, Now What?”
What happens to your property and creditors at your death?
Upon your death, an executor will be appointed to handle all the affairs relating to your estate (the distribution of your property, and the payment of taxes and any debts and expenses). The executor is a person who is named in your Last Will and Testament (or if you died without a Will, a person who is appointed by the court who is qualified to serve as an executor). In most instances the executor is the surviving spouse or a child.
Most states require the executor to hire an attorney for the estate to assist him/her in Probate Administration. Probate Administration is the legal process of administering your estate by resolving all claims and distributing your property. Probate Administration can last a couple months to many years depending on how well you planned before your death.
During the probate process your attorney and executor will inventory all your property, and will contact all the persons named in your Will to receive property. If you are married this usually includes your surviving spouse, as many states do not allow a person to disinherit their surviving spouse (unless there is a valid pre nuptial agreement). If you die without a Will, the state law where you reside controls who will receive title to your property. If you die without a Will you cannot control who will inherit your property.
Also, your attorney and executor will uncover all your creditors and notify them of your death. The creditors will be able to make a claim against your estate. However, after your creditors are notified of your death, they will have a limited time frame in which they can bring a claim against your estate. If they do not file a claim against your estate within this time frame they will be barred.
Your estate will also pay all expenses incurred during the probate process (e.g., funeral expenses, professional fees, etc.) and will be required to file and pay taxes. (Your estate will be required to file a Federal estate tax return if your estate is valued at over $3.5 million dollars). Your estate will also be required to file an income tax return.
Probate administration does not govern (1) assets that are owned by a Trust, (2) assets that are held jointly with another person, if rights of survivorship exist, or (3) assets for which a beneficiary is named contractually, such as an annuity, IRA, 401(k) or life insurance policy, unless the beneficiary is your estate.
If you have any questions regarding probate administration, please do not hesitate to contact me.
“A Son can withstand the Death of his Father, but the Loss of Inheritance will Drive Him to Dispair” – unknown
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” – Margaret Mead
I have been an athlete for as long as I can remember. I played everything from soccer to basketball to roller hockey to softball. If it included a ball or puck, I played it. Not too long after graduating high school and deciding not to play college soccer, I found the gym. It was not a love love relationship at first. Nevertheless, I knew the importance of being physically fit and went to the gym all throughout my college years at the University of Florida. During this time, I went to the gym like every other sorority girl at UF and did not really understand exactly what I was doing , but knew it was important to be going to the gym. My gym experience consisted of mostly cardio and minimal weight training. I did not really focus on my nutrition at all.
Then I went to Law School in Nashville, at Vanderbilt University, and I met “INNERSTRENGTH“. I had a very negative outlook on personal trainers, as I had been coached by many in the past though never with any results. I mostly assume they really do not know how to tailor a routine per individual, they just use one approach they believe works for all their clients. This “one size fits all” approach DOES NOT WORK.
Anyways, Matt Royka, the owner of InnerStrength, and his partner Anita Nathan totally changed
my perception of trainers, or at least I now believe in Matt and all of his trainers , and I know how to spot a fraud (and there are too many out there).
Matt Royka taught me the importance of a balanced workout routine with proper nutrition. You must do cardio and weight training and EAT RIGHT! Without one of these ingredients, you will not get “fit”. Matt Royka has a program called “BodyCollege“. His program will transform any body!
I saw Innerstrength not only transform my body, but everyone at the gym who utilized their training got results and looked and felt amazing! All the mommy’s in the gym kept up with me, a 22 year old law student, some even kicked my butt. As a women, I had body fat of 9% which is equivalent to a man’s 1%. Pretty amazing stuff. You want abs, InnerStrength can give you abs!
Innerstrength can not only transform your body and make you feel amazing, but most importantly can also teach you how to make a life change.
The purpose of writing this post it to let everyone know there are great trainers out there and you should not quit until you find them. Also if anyone has any questions, please contact Innerstrength or you can contact me at sashaaklein@yahoo.com.
InnerStrength trains everyone from the novice to the celebrity in music to the professional athlete and cheerleader. Please visit their site for more information, www.innerstrength.com.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act but a habit.”
– Aristotle
Every complete estate plan should include a Durable Power of Attorney. A Durable Power of Attorney is a document where you give another person the authority to act on your behalf. This person is called the attorney-in-fact.
The attorney-in-fact will have the legal authority to make certain decisions on your behalf (similar to them “stepping into your shoes” for that decision”). Even though another person has the authority to make decisions on your behalf, does not mean that you cannot make such decisions for yourself. The Power of Attorney is only giving another person the right to act on your behalf in case you are otherwise occupied or unable to handle your affairs.
For example, if you are in the hospital, the person you name as your
attorney-in-fact can take care of important legal and financial matters for you, e.g., paying bills, depositing checks, etc.
The Durable Power of Attorney can take effect immediately or upon your incapacity (“Springing Durable Power of Attorney”).
The Durable Power of Attorney can be revoked by you at any time for any reason.
A Durable Power of Attorney cannot be executed if you are mentally incapacitated because at the time of execution you must know and understand what you are doing.
If you do not have a Durable Power of Attorney and you are unable to handle your affairs (e.g., become incapacitated), your loved ones will be required to go to court to get authorized to handle your affairs. The court case can be lengthy and costly, as well as emotionally draining. Therefore, taking the time now to execute a Durable Power of Attorney is worth the minimal effort it takes.
There are 3 different federal income tax paradigms (Internal Revenue Code Subchapters, C, S & K) governing the income taxation of C Corporations, S Corporations and Partnerships, respectively.
Income Taxation of C-Corporations
A C Corporation (“C Corp”) is subject to “double taxation”. The C Corp pays tax on all of its earned income for the year (the “entity level tax”). Then when the C Corp distributes its earnings (i.e., pays a dividend) to its shareholders (“SH”), the dividend is taxed to the SH,
but the C Corp does not receive a corresponding deduction (“the individual level tax”).
For Example: Ben, the sole SH, invests $10,000 in Corp X. In yr 1, Corp X earns $200,000 and pays $80,000 in income tax (“entity level tax”). Corp X then has $120,000 of after-tax earnings that it distributes to Ben. This distribution is a taxable dividend to Ben and Corp X will not receive a corresponding deduction. Ben will have to report the $120,000 dividend on his personal income tax return and pay approx. 40% tax (“individual level tax”). Ben will only have $48,000 left to spend.
Income Taxation of S-Corporations
S Corporations, (“S Corps”) are gnerally not subject to “double taxation”. S Corporations generally do not pay the entity level tax. When an S-Corp pays a dividend to its SH, the SH is generally not taxed. This results in more value for its SHs.
For example, assuming the above facts, Corp X would not pay any income tax on its earnings of $200,000. Those earnings would flow through to Ben, the SH, and Ben would report the $200,000 on his personal income tax return. Ben would pay $80,000 of personal income tax. Corp X could then pay a dividend to Ben in the amount of $100,000, which Corp X does not receive a deduction, but the $100,000 dividend is generally not taxable to Ben.
S Corps only have 1 layer of taxation.
Income Taxation of Partnerships
Partnerships, including LLCs taxed as partnerships, are similar to S Corps in that they do not incur “double taxation. Partnerhsips only have 1 level of taxation. The income earned in the Partnerhsip flows through to the partners (owners), who in return report the income on their personal income tax returns.
I practice Ashtanga Yoga. As soon as I discovered I was pregnant I confirmed with my OBGYN that it was safe for me to continue to practice yoga. So continuing to practice, I did.
However, over the past 5 months, I have had to overcome various struggles within my yoga practice due to the changes in my body, and the modification of many asanas (postures) to make sure I was not hurting my baby while practicing yoga.
The changes of I have made to my practice are due to the intense twisting or bending from the midsection that pushes into the uterus or any asanas that insert the heal of my foot into my uterus/midsection.
Some of the asanas I have modified in my practice to assure my babies safety and the flow of my practice are as follows:
(1) Sun Salutation A & B, Padagusthasana, Padahastasana, Tiryang Mukhaikapada Paschimatanasana: In those asanas, the main change is that I split my legs apart so that my belly is never touching or pressing against my legs.
(2) Ardha Baddha Padma Paschimatasan
a: I do not lean forward or bring foot into my midsection. I rest my foot on my quad and sit up straight, reaching hand to foot.
(3) Marichasanas: I do not bring my foot up in Marichasana B, 
I turn the opposite direction for Marichasana C, and I do not bring my foot up & I turn the opposite direction for Marichasana D.
**I am very careful when practising any Marichasana, to make sure my belly has enough space and I am not impinging my midsection by twisting. As an attorney I am in front of the computer all day rounding my shoulders ; therefore, I find I get a lot of benefit from the Marichasanas.
Some asanas I just skip altogether:
(1) Ardha Baddha Padmottanasana
(2) Bhujapidasana (I stopped doing this pose as soon as my belly popped),
(3) Kurmasana,
(4) SuptaKurmasana
(5) Garbhapindasana,
(6) Kukkatasana,
(7) Sirsasana (headstands, I just recently stopped because I could feel my belly pulling toward gravity, with this asana and any others you need to know your body to determine what asanas you should & shoud not be doing).
Believe it or not while you are pregnant, you can still drop back into backbends and then return to standing. I find my back is a little tighter, but I am still enjoying dropping back. We’ll see if I can go all 9 months.
I would love to hear if anyone else is enjoying practicing yoga while pregnant!
Namaste!
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