Estate Planning as a Career

This is a transcript of a presentation delivered by Certified Manuscript Appraiser Brian Kathenes, May 23, 2003 at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Society Annual Meeting.

Moderator— Steve Carson: with: Chris Coover, Christie’s auction House
and Dr. James Hutson, Director Library of Congress

Presenter:
Brian Kathenes, ISA CAPP
Managing Partner
National Appraisal Consultants
Hope, NJ

It is an honor to speak here at this wonderful institution and before my friends and colleagues of The Manuscript Society.

Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the program.

“Finding a home for your collection.” — an interesting phrase.

Depending upon the “home” you are considering for your collection, the services of a professional appraiser may be beneficial, or even required.

By the end of my short presentation, you will have a better idea of:

how an appraiser can help you find your collection’s home
when you might need an appraiser
how select the right appraiser.

And, interestingly enough, you’ll probably know more about the appraisal process than most people who call themselves appraisers.

Now, before you even consider retaining the services of an appraiser you need to know one important fact.

Anyone can call himself or herself an appraiser. There are no laws or licensing requirements in any US state pertaining to personal property appraisers. That may seem unusual, especially with the antiques road show craze, but it’s true. It seems that anyone who ever bought or sold an antique or a manuscript is an appraiser.

There are dozens of recent incidents, and court cases, of unqualified people that got themselves and their clients into big trouble by calling themselves appraisers.
You’ve probably read about a few of them in Manuscripts News. We (more…)

Quick, who is the beneficiary in your IRA, how about your 401(k) and life insurance? The truth is that most people, depending on how long it’s been since they designated the beneficiaries on their accounts, probably don’t know off the top of their heads. What they don’t know is that an incorrect or non-existent beneficiary can cause you and your heirs a lot of trouble.

Review Beneficiaries When Your Life Changes

Most people give considerable thought to who they’ll name as beneficiary when they originally establish their retirement accounts or purchase their life insurance. The problems arise when, over time, those designations are no longer valid. You may have named your spouse at the time you signed up for your 401(k), but she, unfortunately was 2 spouses ago. How do you think your current spouse will feel when she finds out your ex is entitled to your 401(k) and not her? Granted, you won’t be around to deal with the aftermath, but your passing is already stressful enough, without the added stress of a court fight over your estate.

So how often should you review your beneficiary designations? At least annually, and certainly when you have a life change such as a job change, birth of a child, divorce or re-marriage. In this way, you’ll be sure your beneficiaries reflect your current circumstances.

Why Name a Beneficiary At All?

Naming a beneficiary on your retirement accounts and life insurance policies allow those assets to pass to the beneficiary outside of probate. As we’ve discussed before, probate is a long, slow, expensive and PUBLIC process of determining where your assets go upon your death. With a beneficiary designation, no matter what your will says, the beneficiary designation takes precedent. So, even if you’ve changed your will to cut out your estranged son, if he is still lis (more…)

Saving money and car insurance are not two concepts that generally go together today. To be honest, very few car insurance companies actively work to save you money but rather like to take it from you! However, there are companies that can save you hundreds in just a couple of years. We all need to be able to save money today purely and simply because the cost of living is so high and thus we look for savings on products to stay above the poverty line. This is why you should look at car insurance from Tescos insurance. They are great when you are looking for a new car insurance provider and cheaper insurance.

Simply obtaining a quote from Tescos insurance could allow you to take a look at the wider world of insurance, demonstrating that you can get more for less. For example, you can save money and be covered by more comprehensive insurance cover than you would if you went to another provider. There are some exceptions to this rule, as with everything, but Tescos insurance is definitely one of the best providers around so why not give them a try and get a quote?