• Home

    These 5 Life Events Will Force You To Change Your life Plans

    Life is unpredictable and it is important to keep up with current times as well to adjust your plans and needs to your physical and mental condition. Your estate plan is not something that should sit idle, especially in later chapters of life when changes occur more frequently and thus it is important to have it reviewed regularly in order to have the most satisfactory outcome

    Your family expands

    New additions to your family are always nice, your children will get married and bring grandchildren to the fold which certainly is a big change for everyone and thus it is the right time to review your estate plans because chances are big that you’ve changed your mind along the way.

    Disease

    A disease is, unfortunately, a normal part of life and when it is diagnosed it is important to think about the development of these new circumstances and adjust your plans accordingly. Depending on the type of disease you can choose your treatment plan and make your loved ones aware in case you are no longer able to take care of yourself and have to look for a caregiver from a company such as A Better Way In Home Care. This is yet another reason to give your estate plan another look and just double-check your previous decisions or make new ones now that things had changed.

    People and circumstances change

    You can never absolutely rely on anyone in your life to fulfill your wishes 100%. Maybe your feelings towards those people have changed or those people’s lives took a different path, or who knows what the reason might be. You should not delay and hold those people as your trustee or power of attorney. This is a serious motivation for you to rethink whether the choices you’ve made before are still valid.

    Divorce or death

    Nobody takes divorce or death of their spouse easily. These are difficult times for everyone in the family but as hard as it may sound, you need to keep your head up straight and think about the future. These occurrences might drastically affect your stand on trustee or power of attorney and the faster you choose new ones the better.

    New state new laws

    If you decide to move to a different state you need to have its laws in mind and how they might affect your estate plans. You need to make sure your plans are in accordance with the law and you need to hire someone who is familiar with those to help out.

    An unfortunate case of death of your trustee

    Whether it’s someone in your family, a close friend or your child you can never know whether they will outlive you and that is just a harsh reality of life. In that tragic moment, people don’t usually think about their estate and how things would change. There is now a vacant space that needs to be filled and your estate plans to be reviewed and possibly altered. However you decide, it is best to not wait for too long.

    It is hard to predict the course of one’s life but what you can do is decide, to the smallest of detail, how your possessions will be handled after your passing. In order to have it exactly as you want, regarding constant changes during life, it is crucial and healthy to review your previous decisions and questions your choices because people, feelings and circumstances change.

  • Auto

    Here Are The 6 Things That Make A Great Limo Driver

    Choosing the right transportation can sometimes be difficult due to the range of different choices on the market. You can even select a particular model of vehicle that you think would perfectly suit your needs.

    Not so many people take one more step further by picking a chauffeur to their liking and thus customize the entire trip just the way they want. AZ Limo shared their knowledge on what exactly you should look for in a chauffeur to get the best person possible for your money’s worth:

    Driver’s qualification

    Of course, a professional chauffeur is qualified for the work, but it wouldn’t hurt to do a little check up before you decide which one you want. Years of experience, how long has he or she been with the company, what customers say about them, etc.

    The more information you can gather, the easier it would be to make the right choice. While at it, it would be also worth checking their driving record, just as one more layer of security and a deciding factor.

    Are they dressed properly?

    Even though limos have seen more widespread use in recent years for various occasion, a limousine service is still considered the best option for more formal occasions such as weddings, business meetings, birthdays, etc.

    As such, you would expect your driver to be dressed properly because that is equally important as your own attire when you appear at the venue and want to leave a good impression.

    Do they respect your time?

    There is nothing more frustrating than being late on a meeting by the fault of others, or in this context, your limo driver. An expensive limo and sharply dressed driver could never compensate for the lost time if the whole event is ruined.

    You’re responsible chauffeur needs to do their homework, plan out the routes, check if any streets are closed on the way to the venue, check the time of the day and if there are any rush hours active, and finally sum all those elements to make sure you arrive on time.

    Does not lose temper easily

    Ideally, your driver should be able to withstand any form of stress caused by traffic or even passengers themselves. Whether it’s loud and slightly drunken prom night goers, a bit agitated bride or angry businessman, your chauffeur should be able to handle all these situations with a smile and maybe even play along and try to comfort their passengers.

    That is not an easy job at all and that’s one of the perks that differ good drivers from great drivers. You can always check with the company or read online comments to get informed.

    A discreet chauffeur is a good chauffeur

    You as a passenger need to feel completely comfortable during the trip. This does not mean to just rent a limo with fine seats, but to be able to relax inside and talk freely about topics you want. Whatever happens in the limo, stays in the limo.

    Your driver should basically be the gatekeeper between you and the outside world and they have no business poking their nose in your conversations unless you want them to, of course.

    The driver should know the area

    GPS is an amazing device and very reliable wherever you go, but nothing can replace good old knowledge of the area and all the little shortcuts and walkarounds.

    Your driver should possess this knowledge and be able to react quickly if unexpected events like construction works or accidents on the road occur. GPS might drive you around in circles and waste a lot of time while a knowledgeable driver knows the fastest way always.

  • Finance

    What Are The Differences Between US and UK Bankruptcy

    There are many differences between the UK and the USA ranging from language, culture, laws to simple, everyday life, views on money and bankruptcy. It is hard to draw a line and decide which side is ‘’right’’ since there are many pros and cons on both ends of the spectrum.

    What we will discuss are the differences between bankruptcy in these two countries and how it affects a company or a single person.

    A helpful source of information Chang & Diamond, APC has been at our disposal to further and more precisely define the differences and also underline the similarities between these two systems.

    What is bankruptcy?

    Bankruptcy occurs when a person or a company is unable to repay debts to creditors. A debtor is the one to initiate the bankruptcy and in most cases, it is appointed by a court order. The two most common types of bankruptcy in the US are Chapter 11 and Chapter 7 bankruptcy.

    US bankruptcy

    Chapter 11 is a bankruptcy process which basically shields a company from creditors and lets it continue operating as nothing happened, the company itself retains the right to make business decisions and continue to trade. One could argue that US bankruptcy is, in a way, more forgivable than the UK’s. It is considered an alleviation, or in other words, a period of time needed for a company or a person to get back on their feet and make a profit again.

    US laws provide a less strict approach to bankruptcy where an individual or a company can usually keep their residential property and a steady income of up to $10,000 a month which gives them the opportunity to settle their debts in a period of 3 months.

    Common practice includes also making a deal with the creditors in order to ‘’forgive’’ a part of the debt for equity swap. An individual can be denied these benefits if they actually have enough resources to repay the creditors or if they take credit after applying for bankruptcy.

    UK bankruptcy

    The story is different in the UK. The bankruptcy lasts 12 months in the UK (whereas 3 in the US). It is considered more strict and debtors don’t have as many rights than in the US, and the biggest difference between the two systems is that an individual cannot continue to operate their company, instead, a director is assigned to handle all the administrative decisions and finances. All the assets are examined and anything deemed worthy is sold in order to return money to creditors.

    Another difficulty for the debtor is that the director has all the rights to do whatever they see fit, that even includes liquidation of the company. Bankruptcy in the UK also leaves some misfortunate consequences on an individual meaning that their credit status would be affected negatively for the next 6 years.

    Also, entering bankruptcy in the UK is much easier and faster. The debtor has 21 days to settle a statutory demand and if their debt is higher than £5000 then the creditor has a green light to file a petition for bankruptcy.

    To conclude, the major difference in bankruptcy between the USA and the UK is the amount of power debtor has. USA laws allow for less strict rules to which a debtor has to abide, meaning that they still retain administrative and some financial decisions, whereas those privileges are impossible in the UK where a neutral director is assigned to a company to basically do whatever they please. It is hard to determine which system is right, there are pros and cons in both.