Monday, March 6, 2023

Article: How the US Tax Code Can Save Our Most Endangered Species Part I: A Survey of Conservation Easement Law and How the Tax Code Helps Private Landowners Make the Most Beneficial Impact to Our Most Threatened Species

Elizabeth M. Hughes recently published an article, How the US Tax Code Can Save Our Most Endangered Species Part I, ABA Real Property, Trust & Estate Law Journal, 2023. Provided below is an introduction to the Article:
Ecologists around the world acknowledge that a single organism’s extinction affects other organisms in the ecosystem and that the loss of…
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Jeffrey L Carson and Trace Brooks recently published an article, Of Privacy and Publicity: Symbiotic Rights (or Wellspring of Obfuscation), 48 ACTEC L.J. [13], 2023. Provided below is an introduction to the Article:
This Article discusses the relationship between the rights of privacy and publicity. After reviewing the historical development of the law of privacy and publicity and the areas where privacy and publicity overlap and create a valuable, potentially descendible property right, they propose a planning strategy that can allow practitioners to help their clients preserve their commercially valuable publicity rights by utilizing Tennessee trust law.

https://lawprofessors.typepad.com/trusts_estates_prof/2023/03/article-of-privacy-and-publicity-symbiotic-rights-or-wellspring-of-obfuscation.html
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Friday, March 3, 2023

Arizona grandmother’s M&M-themed funeral casket goes viral

Mary Stocks Martin of Snowflake, Arizona, died in early February at age 86. She wanted her funeral to reflect her personality and chose an M&M-shaped casket.
The retired school teacher reportedly built her unique casket with the help from her son years before her death. It was modeled after her favorite M&M spokes candy, the blue M&M.
Funeral attendees wore M&M t-shirts and hats to honor Martin’s lifelong love of the candy. She was proud of her handy-work and wanted family members to share photos of the coffin. Her…
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Wednesday, March 1, 2023

Supreme Court Rules In Taxpayer’s Favor On FBAR Penalties

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled yesterday that penalties for non-willfully failing to file, or inaccurate filing, a Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) Form 114 applies to each report, not each account.
Under the Bank Secrecy Act, every U.S. person with a financial interest in, or signature or other authority over, one or more foreign financial accounts with the aggregate value of $10,000 must annually report the account to the treasury department. Failure to report can result in a penalty. Penalties vary depending on whether…
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Tuesday, February 28, 2023

We should be better by now at talking about grief in the workplace

Although the mortality rate is 100%, many employees fear discussing grief and loss in the workplace. A recent study suggests that nearly a quarter of employees are uncomfortable approaching their managers about the issue. Some of this may be due to companies traditionally failing at accommodating grief.
Experts advocate taking up to 20 days off of work, yet most US companies provide just a fraction of that. The average bereavement policy is somewhere between 1-5 days. In addition, most Americans take unpaid time…
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Saturday, February 25, 2023

How Kobe Bryant made his $600 million fortune– and who is in charge of it

Kobe Bryant was an NBA Most Valuable Player, a five-time NBA champion, and one of the highest-paid NBA players in history. He earned $323,312,307 from the Los Angeles Lakers while on the team. 
On top of being an exceptional athlete, Bryant also had a mind for business. He secured lucrative endorsement deals with brands like McDonald’s, Nike, and Mercedes-Benz and started a $100 million venture capital firm in 2013 with Jeff Stibel. His net worth at the time of his death…
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Friday, February 24, 2023

The world’s oldest person made it to 122—3 reasons she lived so long, from a longevity expert who knew her

Jean Calment lived to age 122, maintaining the title of longest living person on record. Before her passing, she spoke with Jean-Marie Robine, an expert demographer who studies longevity.
The top reason Calment was able to live so long was due to being a wealthy woman. She was from a bourgeois family in the south of France, which allowed her to pursue an education, which was unheard of for women at the time. She had very…
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Thursday, February 23, 2023

Lottery winner burns through nearly $50 million before death

Colin Weir of North Ayrshire, Scotland, won one of the largest EuroMillions jackpots in 2011. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2019, but not before burning through most of his fortune.
Weir spent an average of $131,900 weekly in an eight-year span, mostly purchasing luxury items and investments. For example, he and his wife bought a mansion, Frognal House, which they spent thousands renovating.
Weir also purchased a 55% share in the Glasgow soccer team, Partick Thistle, wiping out the team’s debt and funding the team’s youth academy.
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Wednesday, February 22, 2023

The Perfect Retirement Investment Nobody Wants

More than 20 years ago, Mark Warhawsky, an economist and current senior fellow at American Enterprise Institute, proposed a hybrid product combining long-term care insurance with an annuity, which would incur a steady stream of payments that last as long as the customer lives. However, insurers have never implemented this type of product. 
Under the current system, people with health problems apply for long-term care insurance without disclosing their illness, driving up premiums and discouraging healthier people from applying. On the flip side, only those who think they will live…
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