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Timeshares have come a long way since they first arrived in the real estate market back in the ’70s. In the early days of timeshare ownership, high-pressure sales tactics, exceedingly vague contracts, and inflexible scheduling policies caused many people to quickly regret such purchases. Over time, however, timeshares have become more consumer-friendly with greater transparency in the terms of the contract, more flexibility in scheduling timeshare weeks, more diversity in the location of the vacation properties, and less pressure during the sales experience.

Any US citizen with dual citizenship must be prepared to carefully consider a variety of complex legal issues when planning for death. This is particularly true if the dual citizen owns property in one or both countries.

The death of an iconic figure can sometimes impact us deeply because it reminds us of our shared humanity. With a celebrity’s passing, we realize that death is an equalizer. It also reminds us of the importance of estate planning to protect a person's money and property. Estate planning is not reserved for those with large amounts of wealth or larger-than-life personalities. Life’s difficulties challenge all of us regardless of our relative fame or obscurity.

Misconceptions about who needs an estate plan abound. Most people believe that estate planning is only for extremely wealthy business moguls or celebrities. But that could not be further from the truth. Estate planning is the process of making decisions about what happens to you, your money, and your property when you pass away or can no longer make decisions for yourself. Thus, estate planning should be standard practice for every adult age eighteen or older.

For decades, common financial planning wisdom has encouraged almost all American workers to maximize their contributions to qualified retirement accounts. Indeed, doing so can be a powerful way to reduce your current income tax liability, grow your savings exponentially tax-free, and, in most states, protect your savings from claims of creditors. And by and large, this is what most American workers have done.

Making plans for your money and property after you pass away is not the most exciting thing to do. It involves thinking about situations that may cause feelings of fear and uncertainty. Nevertheless, it is essential to face those decisions head-on. You must determine what people, things, and values matter most to you. A critical decision in this process is deciding whom to appoint as trustee—the person or entity charged with managing, investing, and handing out the money and property owned by the trust.

The death of a loved one can be one of the most disorienting life events. But if the loved one dies while traveling in a foreign country, the emotional and bureaucratic burdens can multiply exponentially.

Proposition 19, a California ballot measure, modifies Proposition 13 (which limits increases of real property tax to two percent per year unless reassessed due to sale or transfer) and Proposition 58 (which allows property owners to transfer their primary residence to their children at the preferential property tax assessment and up to $1 million of assessed value of other real property, with a later proposition extending the benefit to qualifying grandchildren).

The mortgage business is booming in many parts of the country. Historically low interest rates have created an almost frenzied environment with homeowners scrambling to refinance their home loans at these low interest rates. Even a few tenths of a percentage point of interest, over thirty years, can make a massive difference in the amount of interest that is ultimately paid on a loan. For many, it makes perfect sense to take advantage of these interest rates. Besides the associated transaction fees of refinancing, there is frequently little to no downside to refinancing in times like these.

Upon seeing the words medallion signature guarantee (MSG), you may envision some shiny grand medallion, signifying a level of greatness few attain. However, that is far from what this guarantee means. An MSG is a unique tool used to protect the transfer of certain accounts and property from fraudulent transfers and may be required during the transfer of certain stocks and bonds.