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How to Deal With A Death in the Family and Still Run Your Small Business
As a small business owner we have to deal with tax law changes, local ordinances, environmental laws, Worker's Compensation, etc. Just when we thought we had everything under control, something terrible happenes. A death in the family. Oh my God you say? What do I do now? Well since I have been there, let me tell you what you need to know. When someone close died in my life, I plunged immediately into an unfamiliar state of emotion, frustration, anxiety and grief. Needless to say, I wasn't any good to my business. I couldn't make decisions and was totally helpless not knowing what to do. After talking to financial advisors, attorneys and accountants, all of which was very time consuming and extremely costly, I learned that I had a lot more to learn. If you have a death in the family and all of a sudden you realize you are in charge, gather the following information before consulting the professionals. It will save you time away from your business and relieve some of the stress. Not to mention make it easier for your consultants and saving you money. Here is a list of the things you may need to do to settle the estate and who can help you with answers: GENERAL PROCESS FOR ESTATE SETTLEMENT Send for Copies of Death Certificate Gather Information on Estate Assets: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors Meetings With Estate Planning Attorney, Accountant, Financial Advisors Valuation of Assets - Date of Death or Alternate Date Six Months Later: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors Get Appraisals for Real Property and Business Interests: Executor, Trustee, Family Members Preparation and Filing of United States Estate Tax Return Form 706: Attorney Preparation of Estate Settlement Allocation Schedule: Attorney Preparation and Filing of Estate Income Tax Return: Attorney and Accountant Meetings With Family To Determine Appropriate Reallocation of Estate Assets Consider - Assets and Amounts to be Placed Into A/B, A/B/C or Other Trusts, Needs And Abilities Of Surviving Spouse, Family Gifting Programs: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors Set Up Listing of Buys/Sells for Schedule D of the Applicable Income Tax Returns: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors Transfer and Change of Title/Ownership Registration of Estate Assets into Newly Created Trusts, Existing Trusts, Business, Joint or Personal Accounts: Executor, Trustee, Family Members, Financial Advisors Preparation and Filing of Applicable Joint and/or Individual Income Tax Returns: Accountant One of the hardest parts of estate settling I found was the filing of the Estate Tax Return. The following is much of the information you will need. Your accountant and attorney will ask for it so you may as well have it ready. INFORMATION NEEDED FOR UNITED STATES ESTATE TAX RETURN FOR EACH ASSET IN THE ESTATE YOU WILL NEED TO INDICATE THE OWNERSHIP. FOR EXAMPLE: DECEDENT, SPOUSE, JOINT WITH SPOUSE, JOINT WITH OTHER JOINT TENANTS, TENANTS IN COMMON, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP, GENERAL PARTNERSHIP, PART OF BUSINESS INTEREST Real Estate: Description, Property Appraisal, Valuation Include Personal Residence Here If Applicable Stocks and Bonds: Description, CUSIP Number, Number of Shares, Price Per Share, Bond Par Value, Number of Bonds, Price Per Bond, Total Value Mortgages and Notes: Face Value and Unpaid Balance, Date of Mortgage or Note, Date of Maturity, Name of Maker, Property Mortgaged, Interest Dates and Rate of Interest Cash: Name and Address of Financial Institution, Account Balance, Account Number, Nature of Account - Checking, Savings, C.D.'s Insurance on Life: Name of Insurance Company, Policy Number, Number of Decedents: Form 712 Life Insurance Statement from Company, Include - Insurance on Decedent's life receivable by orfor benefit of estate and receivable by beneficiaries other than the estate Jointly Owned Property: Information as indicated above - Interests Held By Decedent and Spouse as the Only Joint Tenant, All Other Joint Tenants Other Misc. Property: In this section list items not included in any other; section above such as - Debts Due the Decedent Interests in Business Interests in Partnership or Unincorporated Business Insurance on Life of Another Section 2044 (QTIP from Prior Transfer) Property Claims, Judgements Rights, Royalties, Leaseholds Reversionary or Remainder Interests Shares in Trust Funds Household Goods and Personal Effects Automobiles, Boats, R.V.'s Annuities, IRA's Name of Financial Institution, Trustee or Custodian Pensions: Description Account Number, Account Value, Beneficiary Information; Transfers During, If Applicable, All Necessary Information Decedents Life: Powers of Appointment: If Applicable, All Necessary Information In addition to all of the above information for the federal estate tax return, you will need information including descriptions, asset values and expense amounts for the following allowable estate deductions: Funeral Expenses I hope you never have to use this information. But if you do, this will save you thousands of dollars in consulting fees, weeks of lost revenues from your business and a lot the stress, hardship and anxiety I went through. "Lance Winslow" - If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news Myanmar's Suu Kyi to get family letters, news mags (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Detained Myanmar opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi has managed to wring small concessions from the ruling generals in the form of letters from her family and some international news magazines, her lawyer said on Friday. JCDecaux and News Corp. in talks to combine outdoor ad groups (International Herald Tribune) The News Corp. chief executive, Rupert Murdoch, has recently expressed nervousness about investments in Russia, where News Outdoor generated the bulk of its revenue last year. JCDecaux in talks for News Outdoor Group in Russia (AP via Yahoo! News) French outdoor advertising firm JCDecaux SA said Thursday it is negotiating to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp tightens grip on Premiere with new CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch tightened his grip on German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere by appointing News Corp executive Mark Williams as CEO in a move to get the company back on track. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (paidContent.org via Yahoo! Finance) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel's current news flow, was picked up by a Google News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. Phila. mayor to announce grim budget news (The Philadelphia Inquirer) The Nutter administration is expected to announce grim budget news today, which is all but certain to lead to significant spending cuts - perhaps as high as 10 percent - in some city departments, according to three sources familiar with the budget. SEC Looks Into UAL Stock Scare; Implications For Online News? (CBS News) A ton of digits have been devoted to this in other spots but the SEC's decision to investigate takes it to another level. The backstory: a six-year-old news story about UAL declaring bankruptcy made it into the Tribune-owned Sun-Sentinel 's current news flow, was picked up by a Google (NSDQ: GOOG) News bot and, via a reporter for a newsletter, made it onto Bloomberg News. After a lot of buck ... DIVA TALK: Chatting with In the Heights ' Mandy Gonzalez Plus News of Fraser, Testa and Bundy (Playbill) News, views and reviews about the multi-talented women of the musical theatre and the concert/cabaret stage. JCDecaux in talks to buy News Corp. billboard unit (AP via Yahoo! Finance) In a deal that would create the world's largest outdoor advertising company, French conglomerate JCDecaux SA said Thursday that it is in talks to buy Russian rival News Outdoor Group from global media company News Corp. News Corp says Mark Williams interim Premiere CEO (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp. executive Mark Williams has taken over as chief executive of German pay-TV broadcaster Premiere in an interim capacity, News Corp. said after the move led to renewed takeover speculation. Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. (> required at line 14, column 29) in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/grief-loss/magpierss/rss_fetch.inc on line 238 Site: Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /home/.hellodolly/jsteiner64/scholarlyarticles.org/grief-loss/inc/ads-body.inc on line 52 MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for grief loss Grief recovery seminar Sept. 20 (The Galesburg Register-Mail) Bethel Baptist Church, 1196 N. Academy St., will have a free grief recovery seminar from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sept. 20 for anyone who has experienced the loss of a loved one. America reflects on loss (Detroit News) NEW YORK -- Familiar rituals of grief marked the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11 on Thursday as thousands paid tribute at the attack sites, the presidential candidates laid flowers at ground zero and children mourned parents they are barely old enough to remember. Tsunami survivors went through complex process of trauma and grief (New Kerala) Washington, September 11 : Conducting in-depth interviews of people who survived the Indian Ocean tsunami or those who lost their loved ones in the disaster, nurse researchers found that such individuals went through a complex process of trauma and grief. Thousands gather, grieve at sites of Sept. 11 crashes (Arizona Daily Star) NEW YORK ? Familiar rituals of grief marked the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11 on Thursday as thousands paid tribute at the attack sites, the presidential candidates laid flowers at ground zero and children mourned the loss of parents they can barely remember. Crisis team helps families of homicide victims deal with grief (Oakland Tribune) Catholic Charities crisis response network helps families with everything from grief counseling to negotiating the prices of caskets. McCain, Obama Visit Ground Zero Memorial Together (WCBS-TV New York) Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama agreed to put partisan politics aside, in order to honor those who lost their lives on 9/11. McCain and Obama went to Ground Zero together. With Mayor Bloomberg at their side, the two symbolically and silently shared the nation's grief at the loss of life on 9/11. An Aura of Grief Surrounds a Stunned Family (New York Times) Francine Prose?s tale of a childhood summer tainted by tragedy transcends its formula, offering an unexpectedly rich, tart, eye-opening sense of its 13-year-old protagonist?s world. Rituals of loss mark 7th anniversary of 9/11 attacks; McCain and Obama visit ground zero (AM New York) NEW YORK (AP) _ Familiar rituals of grief marked the seventh anniversary of Sept. 11 on Thursday as thousands paid tribute at the attack sites, the presidential candidates laid flowers at ground zero and children mourned parents they can barely remember. Clear Lake Grief Share is Back (KIMT Mason City) CLEAR LAKE, Iowa - A Clear Lake couple is using a devastating time in their lives to help others. Will and Joyce Hunsaker lost their daughter in a motorcycle accident two years ago. Since then they have started a "grief share" group at their church in Clear Lake to help others cope. A 9/11 Loss Some Can See From Their Window, Still (New York Times) Recovery has eluded some for whom the World Trade Center towers were the crowning jewel of their view. Warning: MagpieRSS: Failed to parse RSS file. 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