Archive for October, 2011

There’s a short film we’ve shown here at the Foundation many times, to many different groups of people.  It’s called Celebrate What’s Right with the World.  The whole film is this one man, a photographer for National Geographic, telling stories about people he’s met who have helped shape his vision of the world as a place full of small instances of wonder and magic that happen every day.

Through the news and the internet, in the stories from people we meet and work with and eat with, we can see that this is a tough time in which to be living.  We see hardship and tragedy and we begin to believe that’s what the world is like nowadays.  We see it, and we believe it.  Sounds like a clichéd motto, doesn’t it?

But instead of looking at this picture of the world and finding what’s wrong with it, what would happen if we tried to find what was right with it?

At the heart of Celebrate, the narrator, Dewitt, looks at the camera and says, “if you believe it, you’ll see it.”  If you believe there is goodness and beauty and joy in the world, then you’ll see goodness and beauty and joy everywhere.  It’s a small shift in thinking, and it makes a world of difference.  If you believe it, you’ll see it.  And if you see it, you should celebrate it.

What’s right with your world?  What can you find to celebrate today?  Look for something.  Then look for something else.  Then look for something else.  Share those things with others.

Is there someone who has made a difference in your life, shaped how you view the world today, or got you your first start in business, or gave you the best parenting advice ever?  Have you thanked that person?  Do so today.  And don’t forget to look for others who might need a similar helping hand or word of encouragement.

Do we stick our heads in the sand and pretend everything is okay and nothing’s wrong?  No.  Denying reality is childish.  But adults could probably stand to have a little more child-like optimism and faith about the world.  Choose to focus on the positives while seeking opportunities for improvement and actively work towards solutions to problems.  Don’t be afraid to celebrate what’s right with the world, especially in times of pain or hardship or tragedy.

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I’ll get back to financial matters next week.  If your family or a group of people you represent would be interested in seeing the film Celebrate What’s Right with the World, email me.

What if the worst happens?  What would we do?  What can we do now to help guard against the worst case scenario?

Instead of thinking “I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it,”  it might be worth thinking about “what ifs” today, even if things are going well for you right now.

Take a look at this insightful post by frugality blog The Simple Dollar.  It’s worth five minutes of your time.

1) The Brits are even less likely to create a will than Americans are.  Also of note:

Portuguese aristocrat Luis Carlos de Noronha Cabral da Camara made 70 strangers picked from a phone book his beneficiaries.

2) What your heirs need to know about life insurance (alternatively: life insurance, a primer)

3) John D. Rockefeller might have been worth over $660 Billion (in 2007 dollars) at the time of his death.  That would place his fortune at more than twice the amount of Andrew Carnegie, the next most wealthy American of all time.

4) Emotion in investing (hint: it doesn’t help).

5) And, relatedly, Average is Not Normal.

The following is a little bit “inside baseball”, but it’s useful to know if your situation is relevant.  I promise I won’t do posts like this very often.

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The WSJ has an article on the IRS clarification of some estate tax laws affecting people who die in 2011 or 2012.  The issue here is the new idea of estate exemption portability, whereby the surviving spouse can co-opt any unused portion of the deceased spouse’s estate tax exemption.

If a couple’s combined estate is worth $8M and the deceased spouse’s portion of that is $2M, that leaves $3M of the estate tax exemption unused.  That $3M can be added to the surviving spouse’s $5M exemption, giving the surviving spouse enough exemption coverage to eliminate any estate tax.

But according to the IRS, the surviving spouse will only get credit for the unused exemption amount if the executor of the deceased spouse files an estate tax return.  However, many advisors and executors don’t go through the process of filing an estate tax return if the size of the estate is under the exemption amount, or so says the article.

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In other news, the IRS has made some concessions towards the estates of those who passed away in 2010, particularly late December 2010.  Because of the extremely late Congressional action to act on the 2010 repeal of the estate tax, the IRS has conceded that estates may need more than the typical 9 months to file an estate tax.  Thus, just by asking nicely, estates that meet certain requirements can have up to a penalty-free 15 months to file the estate’s tax return.  Interest will, of course, be charged after month 9.

Some of you may have seen the picture of Faulkner University’s 61-year old football placekicker Alan Moore on the front page of the (printed) Christian Chronicle a week or so ago.  There was also a segment on ESPN about Moore a few weeks ago.

Yahoo produces a series called “Second Act” about people who have reinvented their lives as they’ve aged.  Here is their video about Moore.

1) Business opportunities are everywhere.

2) When you are wealthy and famous, you can be criticized for not being philanthropic enough.  Or, maybe you are philanthropic enough.  It’s all a matter of perspective.

3) Buying the world’s oldest car.

4) A touch of nostalgia.

One story about connecting the dots.

One story about love and loss.

One story about death.