InterActive Legal Blog

Why Bob Dylan Sold His Music Catalog

 

By Daniel J. Scott, Esq., Scott Law PLLC

This article originally appeared in the Spotlight Advisory Group Blog on December 9, 2020. It is being reposted here with permission from the author.

InterActive Legal subscriber, Dan Scott, has written extensively about a shift in how estate planning will be thought of in the near future.  Instead of an emphasis on planning to avoid taxes, Dan suggests linking an estate plan to one’s life purpose….  More “Legacy Planning” than merely wealth transfer for the sake of retaining generational wealth.  In a previous article that appeared in Forbes, Dan writes:

“Gone are the days of planning for your death. It’s time to plan for your life.”

“The reason traditional estate planning is dead is that it has nothing to do with happiness or helping you live a fulfilled life. Estate planning simply addresses what happens when your die. It only plans for the two inevitable certainties of life: death and taxes. What about planning for all of the uncertainties in life, the choices you make and ultimately control? What about planning to build the life you will ultimately leave behind when you die?”

In the post that follows, Dan conjects three reasons singer-songwriter Bob Dylan may have sold his music catalog…all consistent with his previous musings about making such moves to enhance a living legacy.

If you haven’t heard, it’s true—Bob Dylan sold the rights to his music publishing catalog

Why, you ask? The short answer, and the one that has fans and the internet grumbling, is money.

Estimates put the value of the sale in the $300-400 million range. So, to pull a line from Mel Brooks’ Spaceballs, he didn’t just do it for the money, he did it “for a shit load of money!”

Of course, the question does not (or at least should not) stop there. You see, money has no intrinsic value. The value of money is derived from its application—that is, what we choose to do with the money. In other words, money is really just a tool to be used in order to achieve some other goal.

How I am Changing My Practice, Client Meetings, Client Planning, and More to Address the Coronavirus

This article originally appeared in the American Bar Association, RPTE eReport 2020 Spring Issue (May 2020).  This version contains non-substantive grammatical edits for clarity.

Authors: Jonathan G. Blattmachr, Barron Henley, Thomas A. Tietz, Martin M. Shenkman, and Mary Vandernack

Prominent Trusts and Estates attorneys Jonathan G. Blattmachr, Barron Henley, Thomas A. Tietz, Martin M. Shenkman and Mary Vandernack provide their valuable tips for practicing and best serving clients during the current Coronavirus crisis. During the pandemic, trusts and estates services are acutely needed, and the authors give us the benefit of their collective experience.

Introduction

We are in the throes of the Coronavirus pandemic, and even though states are loosening stay-at-home restrictions, the impact on estate planning professionals, as well as their families, finances, and our country, will continue for some time. Estate planners have an incredible opportunity to help clients through this difficult time. However, to do so, we have to address how we can operate our practices though the challenges of remote work and more. A business disaster is defined as anything that interrupts the normal flow of business and the severity is a function of how long the business is impaired, and the severity of the impairment.  For most or perhaps all estate planning firms, this pandemic is classified as a catastrophic business disaster. For some, the severity of the impairment is very significant.  There have been numerous blogs and articles published in the last several weeks of firms that have had their partners stop drawing profits from the firm, had to drastically cut compensation for and laid off both associates and support staff, and still may not be able to weather the economic storm we are currently experiencing. Generally, 25% of businesses do not reopen after closing for a disaster.[1] The long-term impact of Coronavirus on the viability of law firms is uncertain, but by taking proactive measures now, firms may reduce the impact.

What steps and considerations should practitioners, and their firms, take in these times?

'Twas the Week Before Christmas

by Teresa Bush, Esq.

 

Twas the week before Christmas, and Congress was trending.

Impeachment and budget bills both had been pending.

Articles to impeach were debated and passed

And left for the Senate to later rehash.

 

With that taken care of, the next thing to do

Was keep the government running, the whole year through.

So Nancy in her power suit and Mitch in his tie

Passed a spending bill that included a little surprise.

 

In the back of the bill, they included a matter,

That sent estate and financial planners a-chatter.

Away to the end of the bill we all paged,

To read about the SECURE Act, and how it had changed.

Are You a Sitting Duck in Your Law Practice? An In-Depth Look at ADA Accessible Websites

by Audrey Ehrhardt, Esq., CBC, Practice42

ADA accessibility and compliance in law firm websites across the nation are becoming not only more relevant, but a necessity as we see an increasing amount of litigation against businesses over their websites.  Website accessibility lawsuits center around the fact that all, or a portion of, the business website or app is inaccessible to the disabled.  We are watching as the filing of website accessibility lawsuits rises dramatically.  While in 2017, we only saw an increase in these types of lawsuits by 17%, in 2018 we have seen an increase by 181%.¹

Most of us understand and have taken the steps we need to take in order to ensure our physical location is ADA friendly, but what about our law firm website?  From parking spaces and clear, wide entryways to employee training on relay communication and braille friendly documents, our law practices are friendly to disabled persons.  This holds true in many small firms, even when they are not required to be disability-friendly under Title I of the ADA.

Documentary Film, “Lives Well Lived,” Continues to Impact Lives, For Both Young and Young at Heart

In January 2019, at The Heckerling Institute on Estate Planning, a select group of InterActive Legal subscribers were invited to a private luncheon screening of the documentary film, "Lives Well Lived."  The film visits with 40 people ranging in age from 75 to 100 years young and casts a light on what these fully actualized individuals continue to do in order to make their own lives rich and well lived in the latter decades of life.

At the January event, InterActive Legal guests were delighted to meet and have their photo taken with the film’s creator, Sky Bergman.  Ms. Bergman closed out the event by describing the creative process behind the film and answering audience questions. 

 

InterActive Legal Welcomes Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq. and Scott M. Solkoff, Esq. to its Advisory Board

Melbourne, FL - InterActive Legal welcomes Deirdre R. Wheatley-Liss, Esq. and Scott M. Solkoff, Esq. to its Advisory Board.

It is my honor to welcome two of the nation’s top elder law attorneys, Deirdre Wheatley-Liss and Scott Solkoff, to the InterActive Legal Advisory Board. It is fitting that Deirdre and Scott join our cadre of Advisors at the same time, because each of them exhibits what I have come to appreciate as the essential qualities of many successful elder law attorneys: compassion for those they serve, a commitment to supporting the elder law community and their colleagues, and the entrepreneurial spirit to develop a thriving practice.

Deirdre, a long-time InterActive Legal subscriber, has a depth of knowledge in the areas of elder law and estate planning, and a phenomenal insight into the business of an elder law practice. She understands the needs of the broad spectrum of elder law attorneys, whether practicing at a large firm or in a solo practice. Scott, in addition to being a talented and successful elder law attorney, has a unique gift for teaching, which I had the pleasure of witnessing when I attended the 360° Elder Law Practice Builder Conference earlier this year. His ability to explain the foundational concepts of elder law and estate planning in a way that is comprehensive yet approachable led to numerous “a-ha” moments for all of us in attendance, regardless of background and level of experience.

Meet the newest member of InterActive Legal's content team, Mohineet Khosla!

 

Melbourne, FL — InterActive Legal extends a warm welcome to the newest member of its legal team, accomplished estate planning attorney, Mohineet Khosla.

Mohineet Khosla received her J.D. from New York University School of Law in 2001. Following law school, Mohineet practiced for over a decade at Milbank LLP in NYC, where she was a colleague of InterActive Legal Editor-in-Chief and Co-Author, Jonathan Blattmachr, and InterActive Legal President, Vanessa Kanaga. Her practice included providing sophisticated estate planning advice to high net worth families, both domestic and international. Mohineet has also represented clients in audits before the Internal Revenue Service and fiduciaries on complex estate and trust administration matters.

As a consultant with the InterActive Legal Content Team, Mohineet will apply her expertise in researching and developing content for the InterActive LegalSuite programs. Her depth of knowledge and experience, combined with her meticulous and reasoned approach to her work, will allow InterActive Legal to continue to enhance and expand its offerings while maintaining the quality and accuracy that have given InterActive LegalSuite its reputation as the premium automated document drafting system for estate planning and elder law attorneys.

The Merging of Estate Planning and Elder Law

by Scott M. Solkoff, Esq.[1]

Two major pressures are moving the practices of Estate Planning and Elder Law together. The dominant pressure is one of demand. For most Americans, the greatest threat to their financial well-being is not taxes. It is the cost of incapacity and long-term care. Addressing these needs with the ethics and skills of an attorney are in high demand. The second pressure is the continuing erosion of value proposition. This second pressure is further broken down twofold: perceived commoditization and the reduced market for tax planning.

Those who routinely deal with high net-worth clients are largely insulated by these pressures. The very wealthy can bear the storm of incapacity and long-term care and they are more apt to understand the value of good lawyering relative to taxes. Given today’s large exemption amounts, however, only one-tenth of one percent of Americans are subject to federal estate, gift and generation-skipping tax exemptions.[2] Most Americans need a different approach, one that blends the Estate Planning and Elder Law toolboxes.[3]

Estate Planning Attorneys are therefore looking to diversify their practices, address prevalent problems and preserve or increase their income streams. Many are wedding Elder Law to their existing practices. Elder Law is among the fastest growing areas of law and has a great level of personal reward. For Estate Planning attorneys, it is also a relatively easy practice area to incorporate since Elder Law and traditional Estate Planning are not-too-distant cousins. This blog post explains the core practice components of an Elder Law practice and how to determine whether Elder Law is right for you.

No One Can Read My Email, (And Other Myths in the Practice of Law Today)

By Michael L. Graham, Esq.

Your law firm email is secure, right? If it were not, you would have issues with your state’s ethical rules requiring you to keep client confidences. As a summary and guide for the multiple state ethical rules, ABA Model Rule of Professional Conduct §1.6(a) provides:

A lawyer shall not reveal information relating to the representation of a client unless the client gives informed consent, the disclosure is impliedly authorized in order to carry out the representation or the disclosure is permitted by paragraph (b).

Carrying this focus further, §1.6(c), provides:

A lawyer shall make reasonable efforts to prevent the inadvertent or unauthorized disclosure of, or unauthorized access to, information relating to the representation of a client.

First, are your laptop and desktop computers password protected, do they have locators on them so that they can be tracked if lost, and do they contain remotely activated erase software so that one can remotely erase the hard drive if someone tries to connect a stolen laptop to the internet? Is this important? ABA Formal Opinion 477R (revised May 22, 2017) tells us:

A lawyer generally may transmit information relating to the representation of a client over the internet without violating the Model Rules of Professional Conduct where the lawyer has undertaken reasonable efforts to prevent inadvertent or unauthorized access.

Are Your Estate Plans Prepared for Digital Assets?

By Lee Poskanzer, CEO of Directive Communication Systems

The time to address digital assets as part of your client’s estate plan may have begun to run out. We’ve all heard about digital assets, cryptocurrency and occasional lawsuits by family members against social media giants like Yahoo! and Facebook. But now the topic of digital assets will necessarily have landed on your desk when you begin the estate planning process for a client.

Are you fully prepared to help your clients plan for this new asset class, and to protect yourself and your practice from doing the wrong thing?

Digital assets are the new frontier for Trust and Estates practitioners. It’s time to get up to speed about this important asset class.

For the purposes of this discussion, we will limit the focus to the most critical area of digital property: the disclosure of an account’s contents. Closing an account, removing the name from a family share plan and other “action” oriented events will be saved for another day.