Archive for the ‘Off Topic’ Category

Fixed Fees

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on October 20, 2008 – 3:51 pm -

The Washington Post had an article about legal fees today.  The premise of the article was that many in-house counsel is requesting outside counsel to work on a more fixed fee basis, instead of an hourly fee basis.  My firm has been operating almost 90% on a fixed fee basis when we work with clients.  It feels good to be ahead of the game on this front.  You can read the post here.

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Warren Buffet; Buying American

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on October 17, 2008 – 4:56 pm -

Warren Buffet had an interesting op-ed piece in the New York Times today.  You can read it here.  Basically, he is saying that the time to buy American stocks is now.  He is buying them in his personal fund.

So … I’ve been buying American stocks. This is my personal account I’m talking about, in which I previously owned nothing but United States government bonds. (This description leaves aside my Berkshire Hathaway holdings, which are all committed to philanthropy.) If prices keep looking attractive, my non-Berkshire net worth will soon be 100 percent in United States equities.

Why?

A simple rule dictates my buying: Be fearful when others are greedy, and be greedy when others are fearful. And most certainly, fear is now widespread, gripping even seasoned investors. To be sure, investors are right to be wary of highly leveraged entities or businesses in weak competitive positions. But fears regarding the long-term prosperity of the nation’s many sound companies make no sense. These businesses will indeed suffer earnings hiccups, as they always have. But most major companies will be setting new profit records 5, 10 and 20 years from now.

Let me be clear on one point: I can’t predict the short-term movements of the stock market. I haven’t the faintest idea as to whether stocks will be higher or lower a month — or a year — from now. What is likely, however, is that the market will move higher, perhaps substantially so, well before either sentiment or the economy turns up. So if you wait for the robins, spring will be over.

It’s good to hear from one of the richest men in the world that our economy will not totattly self destruct and that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel.

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19 Year Old Passes Away From Heart Condition While Playing Basketball

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on October 16, 2008 – 1:27 pm -

I didn’t know the individual, but I work out and play basketball at the same gym.  Makes you realize how fragile life is.  A 19 year old passed away while playing basketball at Lifetime Gym in Commerce, MI.  He had a rare heart disease.

You can read the link to the article in the Detroit News here.

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FDIC Updates Revocable Trust Rules

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on September 29, 2008 – 1:32 pm -

Using a revocable living trust is a common estate planning tool. On September 26th, 2008 the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) updated their deposit insurance regulations regarding revocable trust accounts. This interim rule can be summarized as follows:

The FDIC is adopting an interim rule to simplify and modernize its deposit insurance rules for revocable trust accounts. The FDIC’s main goal in implementing these revisions is to make the rules easier to understand and apply, without decreasing coverage currently available for revocable trust account owners. The FDIC believes that the interim rule will result in faster deposit insurance determinations after depository institution closings and will help improve public confidence in the banking system. The interim rule eliminates the concept of qualifying beneficiaries. Also, for account owners with revocable trust accounts totaling no more than $500,000, coverage will be determined without regard to the beneficial interest of each beneficiary in the trust.

If you have any questions on how this effects your accounts or estate planning documents, please contact our office at (248) 865-4700. For the rest of the update you can go here: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2008/08sep26rule.html

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More Doom & Gloom

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on July 25, 2008 – 12:05 pm -

CNN is reporting that foreclosures nationwide are up 121% from this time last year. As bad as people say the Metro-Detroit area is, the worst areas is the Sun Belt area in California, though they report that outside of the Sub Belt, Detroit is the next hardest hit foreclosure location.

Detroit continued to suffer more than any other non-Sun Belt area, with one filing for every 66 households. And several Ohio cities were also hard hit, led by Toledo (one in 92 households), Akron (one in 93) and Cleveland (one in 108).

You can read the article at CNN here.

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Michigan Supreme Court, huh?

Written by Christopher J. Berry, Esq. on July 23, 2008 – 8:06 pm -

While not having to do with estate planning, I do keep any eye on the Michigan Supreme Court.

Today they had a ruling I find a bit activist and odd. They struck down precedent and ruled that criminals can be sentenced as habitual offenders if their felonies stem from the same criminal act.

The argument of the dissent seems to make sense, which is that the lawmakers intended for harsher penalties for persistent criminals versus multiple crimes in one event.

Read more here.

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