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I Don’t Think I Love You

Limping to the end of the year while looking for celebrity news. Finally found some with respect to former teen heartthrob, David Cassidy, of Partridge Family fame. The will of the thrice divorced entertainer leaves his entire $150K estate to his son, Beau, from his third marriage. Cassidy specifically excluded his daughter from a previous relationship, actress Katie Cassidy, from the will. Meanwhile, a law firm which represented him has sued the estate for $100K of unpaid fees.

Several points:

1. Cassidy is free to leave his assets to whom he wishes – he is not obligated to leave them to his out of wedlock daughter.

2. The law firm should be paid from the estate before beneficiaries receive any distributions.

3. $150K estate after 50 years in show business? Divorce and drugs are expensive habits.

Photo Credit:  Facebook.com/Respect for Katie Cassidy

License:  Fair Use/Education

 

Laws Are For the Little People

In an unusual moment of sanity, the federal government announced on Friday that it would stop seizing the tax refunds of taxpayers whose parents owed money to Social Security from years ago.  This has been governmental policy since late 2008.  In typical bureaucratic efficiency, the IRS would send letters to addresses that had not been used in 40 years or would inexplicably be unable to contact someone who had lived at the same address for 40 years.  In its defense, the IRS does not pass these inane laws, it merely enforces what Congress has passed.
 
Three quick points:
 
1.  Typically debts die with a person and the heirs of an individual are not liable for his debts.  This is an exception. 
 
2.  If you want to point fingers for this law punishing innocent taxpayers for the alleged sins of their parents, point to Todd Platts, a former Republican Congressman; a Democratic House and Senate in 2008; and a legislative process that allows crap like this to get inserted into a Farm Bill.
 
3.  It is nice of the WaPo to take a breath from its anti-Trump obsession and to focus on the injustice caused by this process.
 
Photo Credit:  Evelyn Hockstein for the Washington Post
License:  Fair Use/Education

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I am an attorney located in Cincinnati, Ohio who practices in the areas of estate planning, probate, asset protection, and small business advice. I make a difficult and bewildering process as simple as possible. Most importantly, I provide "more for less" for my clients.