Trusts are an important estate planning tool for many individuals but they are not right for every estate plan. Trusts can be complex financial planning tools and some are expensive to establish and maintain.? Before you decide whether you need a trust, you need to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to fully weigh the advantages and disadvantages for your specific estate.
Trusts tend to be particularly useful for parents of young children because parents can create a plan for the financial future of their minor children. A trust can be drafted to create more controlled distributions than a custodial account.? Custodial accounts tend to have state-mandated limits on the age at which a custodial account must be entirely turned over to the beneficiary.? A trust can provide parents more control over when and how distributions are made to minors.
Trusts can be useful tax-saving devices but they are only beneficial if your estate is large enough to have estate tax consequences.? Understanding the costs of establishing and maintaining the trust as compared to the tax savings is an important consideration before you decide whether a trust is the right estate planning tool for you.
Getting Legal Help
The number of trust structures is limitless. A trust can be created to meet the unique goals and budget for your family. Experienced California Trust and Estate Planning Attorney David Pastor has helped many people protect loved ones and create a plan which allows individuals to maintain control over the important decisions in their life. Contact us today for personalized help at925-932-3346.
Specificity is a key ingredient to getting more leads on LinkedIn.? If you don?t tell people who you are, who you help, and how you help them in the most basic of terms, then you will confuse those who land on your profile.
Be specific with the principle features first like: ?
? Your headline
? Current and past work experiences
? Summary
? Specialties
This will ensure others know exactly what you do and how you can help them.
Position Yourself as a Thought Leader:
People buy from they know and trust.
Especially when it comes to important purchases, people also want to buy from experts that are ahead of the curve.
List What You Do In Your Profile:
You want to be able to be found by people who are interested in what you do. So make sure you list as many relevant keywords as possible that describe what you do. Here?s a tip ? use the free?Google keyword tool?and just type in a list of keywords that describe what you do. Click the ?go? button and it will find a bunch of other related search phrases to your industry. Select the relevant ones with high traffic.
Use The Advanced Search Version:
Using advanced search you can find specific people, industries, professions, businesses, specific job titles, company names, schools, zip codes and more.
For instance let?s say you were looking for people who have done project management work for IBM. Search ?IBM? and ?project management? and you will find results for people inside and outside of your network. Using the word ?and? will provide even more specific results. Finally you can search ?shared connections? and this gives you a path of how to reach these people which is important if you want to get an introduction.
Join Appropriate Groups:
Join appropriate groups and associations to connect with other LinkedIn users. For instance, search for an alumni group for the university you attended. If one does not exist, then start a group on your own.
Use Polls to Engage People:
People like giving their opinion about issues that are relevant or important to them ? and reading what others have to say about topics that matter to them. Hence, you should try to use LinkedIn polling feature to take a poll.
Moreover, your name will appear on their status updates, reminding your connections you are out there, and in so doing, keeping you top of mind. When combined with your other LinkedIn activities, it will increase the likelihood; they will remember you when they are ready to buy.
Build Buzz Around Your Interactions:
Once you have answered a question or taken part in an interesting conversation, then share this with your network automatically. Here?s how: after you answer a question, you will see a button on the far right of the screen that says ?share this?. Also you can share the answer on?delicious bookmarking service. Furthermore, you can add a link back to your own website or blog where you have written an article which answers a particular question for that person.
Recommend Others
When someone has a great product or service and you get a lot of results from it, make sure to write a nice recommendation. The more recommendations that a person has on his profile, the more likely others will be interested in buying from him as well.?
This goes back to the reciprocity factor; the more recommendations you give, the more you will receive as well.? By helping others get leads, you are helping yourself get more leads as well, and quality recommendations on your profile could be the decision someone makes to contact you or not.
Internet and Technology | Computers and Technology | * Written by Cruz Zachary | Wednesday, 01 August 2012 01:06 | Word Count: 478
The technologically sound business world today has paved way for a globalized environment. As the numbers of potential customer increases, their needs and demands also increase. Requirements play a major role in the development of new applications and software as this gives birth to new and innovative ideas which lead to further development of applications by various software experts across the world.
Requirement management has a critical effect on an organization's development costs and software quality and plays a significant role in the success of any project in a distributed software development life cycle. Optimal management of requirements thus critically demands the use of a fully functional Requirements Management tool. Collaboration and re-usability are the two main aspects of requirements management, that will considerably help in a distributed software development environment.
However, the requirements management tool needs to be one that would cater for tough situations in a product development process. Simplicity to use and flexibility is a major feature that is required of a requirements management tool as requirements undergo changes during the software development process. Being used as a secure and centralized shared platform these tools should enable business analysts, development teams to interact in a dynamic situation and handle the change management with ease.
A good requirements management tool should have features that allow users to gain access to requirement management solutions even from remote locations thus facilitating collaboration across geographically dispersed teams. The automated features help the organization in performing speedy requirements management tasks such as creating requirements documents. Further a comprehensive traceability matrix will allow multiple relations as well as custom ones between Requirements.
Efficiency of the requirement management tool is determined by the level of proactive and reactive impact analysis and changes that are automatically forwarded to the stakeholders. This helps the organization to address any corrective actions and ensure synchronization. Such actions will ensure that the issues are addressed early in the software development life cycle which will in turn minimize the costs incurred in the process.
Equipped with a built-in work flow and implemented with the best practices, a good requirements management tool facilitates easy, effective and efficient collaboration between the external and internal stakeholders irrespective of the location they are based in. This results in a top-quality application matching the user requirements while totally complying all internal and external requirements.
The requirements management tools from the leaders of the industry is a completely web based one with rich implementation of requirements gathering, parsing, management, traceability, base lining and intelligent reporting in a process-driven, methodology. This enables project teams available locally as well as located distantly to effectively manage and map requirements. These tools enable effective telecommuting, better management and control of offshore projects and better collaboration between functional groups and service partners.
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Mansfield Central Park, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Mansfield, Ohio. Obama is campaign in Ohio with stops in Mansfield and Akron today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Mansfield Central Park, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Mansfield, Ohio. Obama is campaign in Ohio with stops in Mansfield and Akron today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama speaks at a campaign event at Mansfield Central Park, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012, in Mansfield, Ohio. Obama is campaign in Ohio with stops in Mansfield and Akron today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
President Barack Obama greets supporters at a campaign event at Mansfield Central Park, Wednesday, Aug. 1, 2012 in Mansfield, Ohio. Obama is campaign in Ohio with stops in Mansfield and Akron today. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
MANSFIELD, Ohio (AP) ? Eager to turn the tables on his rival, President Barack Obama on Wednesday cast Republican challenger Mitt Romney as an advocate of tax cuts for the richest people in America at the expense of popular tax breaks for most everyone else.
Romney, Obama declared, "is asking you to pay more so that people like him can get a big tax cut."
The president was reprising the middle-class tax debate with campaign stops in Ohio in Republican-friendly Mansfield and in the Democratic stronghold of Akron. The trip came at the start of an August campaign drive toward the two parties' national conventions at month's end and early September.
Countering the Republican argument that Obama's proposals would hurt small businesses, Obama charged that Romney's tax proposal would force many people to give up popular tax deductions for home mortgages, health care and college tuition. He pointed to a new report that concluded Romney's economic plan would shift the tax burden from wealthy taxpayers to low- and middle-class taxpayers.
"Folks making $3 million or more a year would get a quarter of a million dollar tax cut," Obama told more than 2,000 supporters. "But listen, it gets worse. Under my opponent's tax plan, who do you think gets the bill for these $250,000 tax cuts? You do."
Invoking the study by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, Obama said Romney's plan would result in a tax increase of more than $2,000 a year for an average family with children.
"Ohio, we do not need more tax cuts for folks who are already doing really well," he said.
The Romney camp dismissed the study as a partisan report, noting that one of its three authors, Adam Looney, was a former member of Obama's economic policy team. Another author, William Gale, however, was a senior staff economist for President George H.W. Bush's Council of Economic Advisers.
___
Follow Ken Thomas on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/AP_Ken_Thomas
Facebook has added a new feature to the Facebook for iPhone and iPad app that allows you to save posts for later. In reality, this works similar to what other services call "favorites". If you browse the Saved posts, you are able to scroll through them later as their own feed. You have to physically mark them as Unsave to remove them from the Saved folder.
To save a post. Simply hold your finger down on the post you want to save and a popup that says "Save" will appear. Just tap the popup and you're done!
To access your Saved folder, you must first scroll to the bottom of the sidebar menu and tap on Edit Favorites. Next, tap the + sign and select Saved from your list of Apps. Then tap Done. Now, you should see your Saved folder in the Favorites section of your sidebar menu!
All saved stories are private, so you don't have to worry about Sally being notified that you saved her relationship change to Single. You wouldn't want her to think you're some weird creepy stalker!
You do not need to download an update to receive this feature. You should simply see a notification informing you of the feature at the top of your news feed when you use the Facebook app on your iPhone (see above screenshot). I did not see the notification on my iPad, but the feature is indeed there.
Anyone planning to use this feature? Personally, I could care less about saving stories on Facebook; however, I do see its appeal. Parents can use it it to easily keep track of specific activities that their kids do on Facebook, and others can use use it to save their favorite photos and status updates of friends and family. What about you? How do you plan to use the new Saved feature?
Transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricityPublic release date: 1-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society
Scientists are reporting development of a new transparent solar cell, an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.
Yang Yang, Rui Zhu, Paul S. Weiss and colleagues explain that there has been intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells (PSCs), which are made from plastic-like materials. PSCs are lightweight and flexible and can be produced in high volume at low cost. That interest extends to producing transparent PSCs. However, previous versions of transparent PSCs have had many disadvantages, which the team set out to correct.
They describe a new kind of PSC that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells 66 percent transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current. Another breakthrough is the transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which was able to replace the opaque metal electrode used in the past. This composite electrode also allowed the solar cell to be fabricated economically by solution processing. The authors suggest the panels could be used in smart windows or portable electronics.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from the Engineering School of UCLA, the Office of Naval Research and the Kavli Foundation.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Transparent solar cells for windows that generate electricityPublic release date: 1-Aug-2012 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Michael Bernstein m_bernstein@acs.org 202-872-6042 American Chemical Society
Scientists are reporting development of a new transparent solar cell, an advance toward giving windows in homes and other buildings the ability to generate electricity while still allowing people to see outside. Their report appears in the journal ACS Nano.
Yang Yang, Rui Zhu, Paul S. Weiss and colleagues explain that there has been intense world-wide interest in so-called polymer solar cells (PSCs), which are made from plastic-like materials. PSCs are lightweight and flexible and can be produced in high volume at low cost. That interest extends to producing transparent PSCs. However, previous versions of transparent PSCs have had many disadvantages, which the team set out to correct.
They describe a new kind of PSC that produces energy by absorbing mainly infrared light, not visible light, making the cells 66 percent transparent to the human eye. They made the device from a photoactive plastic that converts infrared light into an electrical current. Another breakthrough is the transparent conductor made of a mixture of silver nanowire and titanium dioxide nanoparticles, which was able to replace the opaque metal electrode used in the past. This composite electrode also allowed the solar cell to be fabricated economically by solution processing. The authors suggest the panels could be used in smart windows or portable electronics.
###
The authors acknowledge funding from the Engineering School of UCLA, the Office of Naval Research and the Kavli Foundation.
The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization chartered by the U.S. Congress. With more than 164,000 members, ACS is the world's largest scientific society and a global leader in providing access to chemistry-related research through its multiple databases, peer-reviewed journals and scientific conferences. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.
To automatically receive news releases from the American Chemical Society, contact newsroom@acs.org.
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Miley Cyrus has been Twit picturing up a storm this week, sending out shots of herself upon waking up and upon donning a revealing dress.
But a brand new photo has hit the Internet and it's one we don't think Miley intended for anyone's eyes except those of fiance Liam Hemsworth. It's easy (and seductive) to see why:
Sources say the shot was taken some time in the last year, with celebrity photographer Vijat Mohindra behind the camera.
Cyrus and Mohindra do have an established, close relationship, as he actually documented Miley’s Gypsy Heart tour in the spring of 2011.
This picture was allegedly part of a private spread the star arranged for Hemsworth, and while there's no verification at the moment that it's definitively Cyrus, she does have that same dream catcher tattoo along her side.
How did it get out? It's unclear. Should you feel dirty starting, guys? Maybe, but you at least don't need to feel like a criminal: Miley was 18 at the time.
UPDATE: It appears as if this photo is simply available on Mohindra's official website. It's one of many the photographer has posted of Cyrus under his Client List.
Trusts are an important estate planning tool for many individuals but they are not right for every estate plan. Trusts can be complex financial planning tools and some are expensive to establish and maintain.? Before you decide whether you need a trust, you need to consult with an experienced estate planning attorney to fully weigh the advantages and disadvantages for your specific estate.
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Public release date: 1-Aug-2012
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