Tag Archives: law

Founding Your Nonprofit: Incorporation and Tax Exemption

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Taking a nonprofit from a dream to a viable entity involves weeding through the state incorporation and federal tax exemption process. Would-be founders of a nonprofit often find this a daunting marathon rather than a quick sprint. Indeed, there are many steps to be followed (with the proverbial “i” dotting and “t” crossing) and a bit of IRS grace to make this a reality. (Or, if you are hoping to form a 501(c)(4) on the wrong side of the political fence, maybe “grace” isn’t the operative word.)

I would like to give an overview of nonprofit incorporation and 501(c)(3) tax exemption, which is the most common way that charities are formed and become tax exempt entities. There are two main stages to the process:

1) State incorporation as a nonprofit entity. At a state level, founders of a nonprofit will create a nonprofit corporation after obtaining consent where required from government agencies. There should be helpful information the Department of State (or Secretary of State) website in your state. In New York, for example, you can visit the following website: http://www.dos.ny.gov/corps/nfpfaq.asp. A corporation is formed as a not-for-profit entity in a single step, which means among other things that it has a public purpose and is not formed for the benefit and financial interest of private individuals. Nonprofit status, however, does not equate to tax exempt status. That is the second step.

2) Tax exemption at the federal level.  At a federal level, the Board of an incorporated nonprofit will file a Form 1023 to apply for tax exempt status with the IRS. This is a complex form and takes much diligence, thought and time to complete. Often a lawyer’s assistance is helpful so that the nonprofit knows it is answering questions correctly and completely. Important items on the Form 1023 include the Statement of Activities and financial data.

For more information, enclosed is a short video on the incorporation and tax exemption process:

Law Office of Anne Marie Segal provides legal counsel to businesses and individuals. Please visit www.amscounsel.com for more information. None of the information posted on this site constitutes legal advice or forms an attorney-client relationship, and there may be facts not discussed here that are relevant to your situation. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

The 100 Greatest Songs – Copyright Alert

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foggy-stage-drummer

New topic alert!

As a new practice area of mine, copyrights will be a topic for future posts, along with my usual fare (business law, trademarks, estate planning and other legal topics). Copyrights are fun to write about, and it is fun to read how they work. Just about everyone has something in life that begs to be copyrighted, right?

But what does that even mean? What’s a copyright?

In the U.S., we can start with the definition from the U.S. Copyright Office:

Copyright is a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression. Copyright covers both published and unpublished works.

It is sometimes difficult to wrap your mind around exactly what is protected by copyright law, and it may be best to tease out the concepts slowly.

Let us start with the 100 best songs. But which 100? Of course, there is no single list of the best songs ever, and the contenders for spots on the list can range all the way from the Beach Boys’ California Girls to Bach’s Jesu, the Joy of Man’s Desiring, depending entirely on your choice in music. [Of course, we could add Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, U2, The Beatles, Nirvana, etc. to round out the list....]

What if you made your own list? Say your name is Eric, and you sat down and blogged or otherwise publicized your 100 favorite songs or what you think are the 100 best songs of all time or in the last decade, etc. Would it be protected by copyright?

Here’s one such list by one Eric Mack:

The 100 Greatest Songs of All Time

Could I copy it and say that it’s my own list? I could just remove Eric’s name and make it Anne Marie’s 100 Best Songs of All Time….

Actually, no. Eric has copyright protection for his list, as do the many others that have come up with similar lists, from VH1 to NPR, and from Karen to Ted to Emily Jane. Why? Because it is not simply a list of the most played songs according to quantifiable data. (That would not be copyrightable.) It’s a subjective list based on personal taste, so it’s original, and it has been published or otherwise fixed in a tangible medium of expression.

The fact that you like certain songs is not copyrightable, but the list itself is copyrightable as to the selection and arrangement of songs.

Does that give you food for thought on the copyright front or simply motivate you to create something copyrightable – your own best songs ever? If the latter, feel free to send a link to your own list. Either way, stay tuned for more posts.

Law Office of Anne Marie Segal provides legal counsel to businesses and individuals. Please visit www.amscounsel.com for more information. None of the information posted on this site constitutes legal advice or forms an attorney-client relationship, and there may be facts not discussed here that are relevant to your situation. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

Art Law Websites – Get Informed About Business Law, Copyright, Trademark and More

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art-show

Yesterday evening I had the pleasure of stepping in to give a presentation at the University of New Haven on Legal Considerations for Artists, a workshop sponsored by Make.Art.Work. One of the workshop participants asked for a list of helpful websites on the topics discussed, which I would like to share with my readers here as well.

I will post updates, if any, on my law office website. Enjoy!

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A Short List of Helpful Art Law and Related Websites:
Copyright, Trademark, Business Law and Beyond

U.S. Copyright Office

http://www.copyright.gov

U.S. Patent and Trademark Office

http://www.uspto.gov/trademarks/index.jsp

U.S. Small Business Administration (info on starting a business, etc.)

http://www.sba.gov/category/navigation-structure/starting-managing-business/starting-business

ArtBusiness.com – Common Artist Legal Problems and How to Avoid Them

http://www.artbusiness.com/legalprobs.html

Nolo – Law for All (type in search term “art”)

www.nolo.com

Lawline.com (a site designed for legal education with “hard core” discussion of topics such as copyright law, you can take courses for free if you create a login)

http://www.lawline.com/cle/course-details.php?i=999#.USzFCqXJD0c

Avvo.com (attorneys answer legal questions posted anonymously on site; take caution to seek legal advice tailored to your situation and avoid posting confidential information)

http://www.avvo.com

Fractured Atlas (assists with fiscal sponsorship for non-profits, etc.)

http://www.fracturedatlas.org

Artists Rights Society

http://www.arsny.com 

Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts – NYC (workshops, etc., some financial aid available)

http://www.vlany.org/education/workshops.php

Connecticut Office of the Arts

http://www.cultureandtourism.org/cct/cwp/view.asp?a=3948&q=464520

(Unfortunately, the CT Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts appears to have disbanded. I am aware of above organization but am not familiar with it personally.)

The above sites are for your information and are not endorsed by Law Office of Anne Marie Segal as correct, updated statements of the law in every case or how it may apply to your situation. This list is geared to new and mid-level practicing artists and therefore does not include links to websites or blogs with updates or details about international art disputes or other high-profile art law information.

Ms. Segal provides legal counsel to businesses and individuals. Please visit www.amscounsel.com for more information. None of the information posted on this site constitutes legal advice or forms an attorney-client relationship, and there may be facts not discussed here that are relevant to your situation. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

God Knows We Love Them

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Just about every new baby born in the U.S. – or at least almost every one whose “first pictures” I have seen in countless emails or Facebook postings – looks something like this. You see them in the ubiquitous, unisex blue and pink blanket and cap babies receive in the hospital. Over and over. That’s how you know it’s a newborn.

And then the differences emerge. Their eyes may be open or closed. They may be blonde, brunette, black-haired or bald. Boy or girl. Big or small. Whatever they are, God knows we love them.

I spoke with a friend this afternoon about preparing for her baby, due in June. They have the room ready. The crib is purchased. The curtains are pink. The baby registry is, well, registered. I wished her well, recalling that glowing gush of almost-mommyhood as if it were yesterday.

I also remember the first day I left my son with someone else, a family member. He was three weeks old, and I was gone for less than two hours. I was only about 1/2 block away from the apartment – we lived in NYC and walked everywhere at the time – and I dare near turned around and went back. How could I LEAVE him? The bond felt too strong, the break too fresh. Yet I knew that I needed to keep going forward. The job of a mother is to bring a child into the world and then little-by-little, day-by-day, prepare that child to be independent. We can’t keep them “in the womb,” as it were. As close as we feel to our babies, one day we have start the inevitable, growing separation. That’s a good deal of why they call being a parent the toughest job.

The same son I could barely leave that day is now nine years old. I leave him every day, or rather he leaves me (to get on the bus)…. He has been through two minor operations and countless aches, pains, bumps and sniffles. His younger sister, now six, is on a very special diet (as am I) due to celiac disease, which causes severe reactions after the most minuscule ingestion of gluten. We have become the gluten police. Yet, as the years have gone on, it has become exceedingly clear that I cannot protect my children from absolutely everything. Nor should I, lest they need protection themselves from a helicopter mom. The best I can do is intervene where I can and teach them to make their own way.

In my professional life, I think about these issues every day. As an estate planner, I have the same worries as every other parent and as many of my clients in their 30s and 40s with young children. What if I am not there to help them in life? What if the worst happens, the unthinkable, and their Dad and I don’t live long enough to see them through to adulthood? Back when I started college, my mother told me that for my entire childhood, she worried that she would live long enough to see me through high school. She was thankful to have been granted that wish. Years later but before I had children of my own, I said something about her joy that the worrying could subside at that point. “Are you kidding?” she answered. “Then I worried about living long enough to see you through college….” At some point, we parents can all stop worrying, but hopefully not for many years on.

Back to my friend, the one who’s expecting. A while into our conversation, I gently mentioned her that along with the bottles and blankets, she should consider which standby guardians to appoint for her soon-to-be-born child, in case the unthinkable happens. If she doesn’t plan ahead, and disaster does strike, the decision will be made by a court among a variety of contenders, not by her (and her husband’s) choice. It’s not a rush, hope against hope, but it is important.

We buy life insurance, car insurance, home or renter’s insurance and more. We have collectively come to realize that we won’t cause our home to catch fire by buying insurance. We are merely protecting ourselves and our families. We also need to look fate in the eye and realize that, even in our children’s early days, we need to prepare not only for that first day of separation, but also the last one.

Our children are our best presents in life and our sweetest Valentines. We gave them the gift of life, and we can also give them the gift of being prepared for what life may bring. After that, as I often tell my clients and friends, we can go back to enjoying them!

Because God knows we love them.

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This post is one in an occasional series about the interplay of legal practice and everyday life. Anne Marie Segal is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. 

Aren’t Band-Aid [Brand Adhesive Bandages] Great? (My First Cut at Trademark Law)

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Band-aid pic

I got a cut on my ring finger the other day, trying to lift a heavy box of duraflame® logs into a cart at Fairway. (For the avoidance of doubt and preservation of amusement, that’s Fairway Like No Other Market (a.k.a. Fairway Como Ningún Otro Mercado), not the unrelated Fairway, maker of nonmetal gates, fences, etc.; Fairway Diva Golf.com; Fairway Independent Mortgage Corporation or even Fairway Wine & Spirits, the latter (like Fairway Like No Other Market and Fairway Como Ningún Otro Mercado) a trademark of the Fairway Group Acquisition Company and also a great place to shop.)

Ouch! Cardboard cuts are almost worse than paper cuts. I had to remove my wedding ring and replace it with a Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage. The Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage was borrowed – the kind of “borrowed” that you don’t ever return, that is – and it turned out to be an extra wide Sport Strip® Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage. (It didn’t have the new and improved QuiltVentTM technology like the ones in the picture below, but you get the idea.)

I can’t remember the last time I wore a Sport Strip® Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage, because nowadays with young kids I am accustomed to borrowing theirs (we should really buy stock in Johnson & Johnson, we use so many). The kids’ Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages, of course, have action or animated figures on them, so they’re cute but not as form-fitting. The Sport Strip® Band-Aid brand adhesive bandages were so comfortable, it almost made the whole thing worth it (but not quite)! I have to say, other adhesive bandages just do not compare.

Oh dear reader, lest you think I have turned into an advertisement for Band-Aid Brand Adhesive Bandages - There, for countless moments of caringTM - let me set the record straight! In fact, I took my first trademark (actually service mark) client recently, and I submitted the application to the USPTO today. Along with a very practical need to beef up on the area for reliability and depth – literally hundreds of hours of research and mentoring to get up to speed, which my legal-geek self found quite enjoyable – trademark law comes naturally to me, marrying my knowledge of general legal principles and art history training. I have had so much fun with it that I have been “talking trademarks” and “seeing trademarks” all over the place. I felt inspired to memorialize my giddiness with a blog post. (Also, tomorrow is my birthday, so according to my daughter I should be super, super happy today and only think of good things. She would understand my gush of Band-Aid brand adhesive bandage joy. When you’re six, they fix everything.)

Trademarks, service marks… I can no longer drive down a commercial strip in my town or open my cupboards without counting the marks I see along the way and pondering their origins. There are so many stories to tell through the trademark process. (Just take a gander on Wikipedia at the Johnson & Johnson page to get a glimpse into their little stake in trademark world. Did you know they trademarked the Red Cross symbol? And what happened to the mark after that?)

There’s an old phrase that when you are a hammer, you see nails everywhere. I am seeing trademarks everywhere, as well as lots of potential trademarks, if the owners decide take my or others’ advice that trademarking a name, logo or slogan is one of the most important and cost-effective protections to take for a business, assuming that it is available (by meeting USPTO requirements). So, all ® and TM fun aside, you will definitely hear more about trademarks in future posts on this blog!

Law Office of Anne Marie Segal provides legal counsel to businesses and individuals. Ms. Segal has been advised from time to time that lawyering should not actually be fun, yet she persists in the willing suspension of disbelief along with occasional split infinitives.

Please visit www.amscounsel.com for more information. None of the information posted on this site constitutes legal advice or forms an attorney-client relationship. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

As of the date of this post, this blog has been renamed from Business Law and Estate Planning to Business Law, Estate Planning & More.

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P.S. Since posting the above, a senior trademark attorney and mentor of mine kindly alluded to the fact that the trademark gods do not look kindly on witticisms tending toward genericide, even if used tongue-in-cheek. Please note for the record that neither Band-Aid nor any other name above is used in the generic. I really prefer Band-Aid to any other brand of adhesive bandage, duraflame to any other firelog and Fairway to any other market. You can quote me on that.

P.P.S. Further revisions above have replaced the ® after references to Band-Aid with the text in red and bracketed text in the headline, upon further suggestion from Boyd Tracy, former counsel to Kimberly-Clark Corporation. More comments about that in a later post.

Where Does the Time Go? Now You Know!

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In over a decade of legal practice, one of the drudgeries of being a lawyer has been keeping track of my time. I am not alone in this view. It is almost a universal complaint. Since lawyers often bill hourly, many of us have to track tiny blocks of time, usually in six or fifteen-minute increments. On some very busy days with lots of small tasks, it may take (or seem to take) as much time to note what I am doing as it does to do it. On other days, of course, I am immersed in a project for hours and can simply note, for example, “3.2 hours, drafting of _____.”

Since I started my own practice in May 2012, I have had the opportunity to put into place my own systems and procedures. I deviously considered throwing out time tracking altogether, because I do a lot of flat rate work. On the other hand, if a client cancels mid-project, I may need some evidence of the work I have done, so I still need a sense of my time invested.

During the summer of 2012, I split my time between law practice and studying for the Connecticut bar. At that point, my time entries were easy, and I did most by hand. I moved to a spreadsheet as work picked up. At some point, I realized that a formal time-entry program would save me time – and time is money, as we all know. It is infinitely more organized and allows you to run reports, generate invoices, etc. I chose Freshbooks, in part because it is accessible on the iPhone and was recommended by other lawyers. There are many others commercially available. If you have never used one of these programs, you name projects and tasks and enter hours into a calendar. Their site explains the rest.

To my surprise, I found that although it takes time to make the entries, I am actually excited to tally up the hours at the end of the day. It is no longer a drugery but instead a happy event.

Maybe it is because, as a small business owner, I am run in so many different directions. Despite feeling busy, it is sometimes hard to figure out what took up so many hours of my day. Maybe I relish the sense of accomplishment. Maybe (surely) it’s exciting to know I’m getting paid!

It has been extremely useful to see how much of my time goes to administration (I bill that as a block, without entering each task), research on a new aspect of one of my practice areas, client development, etc. It also keeps me on track, so I don’t fall into the trap of being unproductive or succumbing too often to “time sucks” (we each have our favorite ones). I can review my own time entries and step back as my own boss to see where it’s all going.

On some days I bill over 10 hours. On others (like today that’s a “blizzard” day in my neck of the woods and beyond), I bill around 3 or 4. I even “bill” the non-billable, professional parts of my day, like this blog post, so that at the end of the year I will know how much time I spend on each task and where to make efficiency improvements or delegate. (I don’t bill the time I spend at the gym, although I’ve considered it on occasion as an interesting exercise, no pun intended.)

So I have a proposition for you, especially if you have never tried this. If you wonder where all your time goes, try one of these programs (free) for a month. Rather than relying on efficiency experts, articles and coaches to get your rear in gear, look over your own shoulder and see what you can see.

Enter as many tasks or as little as you please to get a true sense of your own time management. Tweak at will. See if you spend your time on what truly matters to you personally and professionally, or if you can track yourself to get your time more aligned to your priorities. Have fun.

This post is one in an occasional series about the interplay of legal practice and everyday life. Anne Marie Segal is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut. 

The “New Normal” of Estate Planning

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What has changed? Surprisingly little. And that has changed everything.

Now that Congress has made permanent the $5 million federal individual exemption (adjusted for inflation) for estate taxes and other provisions that take estate tax planning out of the picture for the vast majority of Americans, estate planning will look very different. Very. In fact, most of the esoteric planning that engineered tax breaks for the wealthy will still be employed, but the bar for who is “wealthy enough” to need estate tax planning has just been raised significantly.

At the end of December 2012, it was widely assumed that the $5 million individual exemption could drop to $1 million, or at least $3.5 million. Alternatively, there could be another “stop gap” extension and a need to vote again, leaving us with continued uncertainty in the estate tax arena. Yet instead, Congress surprised everyone and enacted permanent provisions that are more generous than anyone anticipated.

As a brief summary, here’s where we are on the federal estate tax front:

1) The $5 million per person exemption was extended, which will continue to be indexed for inflation.

2) The top rate increased to 40%, effective 1/1/13.

3) Portability remains in place (a post-mortem election you can take to preserve the first spouse’s exemption).

4) The $5 million gift tax exemption remains in place.

You can also check out my YouTube video from January 2 for the same summary:

Now that you know this, for the foreseeable future, many of you can simply tune out federal estate tax planning altogether. Wow. How often do lawyers say that? Tune it out? Almost never, I can assure you. But in this case, you probably can do just that. Big caveat: If you do have an estate approaching the thresholds or expect an inheritance or other infusion of cash that may put you there – lucky you! – of course, perk your ears back up and take notice.

If you would like further commentary about the new estate tax laws and their effect, take a look at luminary estate planner Martin Shenkman’s article from Financial Planning entitled: Tax Deal a Game Changer for Estate Planning.

Anne Marie Segal is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York and provides estate planning and other legal counsel to businesses and individuals. This information is provided for your convenience and does not give legal advice for your situation. You should consult an attorney for advice if you have questions about what type of estate plan is right for you. State estate taxes, divorce/remarriage concerns (present or future) and other factors may also affect your decisions about estate planning.

 None of the interactions on this site form an attorney-client relationship. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

Happy New Year: Five Essential Legal Documents for 2013

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Happy New Year!

If you don’t have them already, and unfortunately many of us don’t, here are five essential legal documents to prepare you for 2013 and beyond. Do your family a favor and get these in place before they are ever needed.

1) Will. A “Last Will and Testament” is the central estate planning document that allows you to direct how your assets will be distributed upon your death and who will serve as your executor. If you have minor children, you can also designate guardians in a will. If you die without a will, the laws of your state determine how all of your property – from stocks to shoes – will be distributed. This may or may not accord with your intentions.

2) Advance Directives. A “living will” and a “health care proxy” are the two essential elements of an advance directive. The first gives your wishes for medical care in case of, for example, emergency and terminal illness. The second appoints an agent to make medical decisions if you are unable to do so. In some circumstances, a DNR is also appropriate.

3) Durable Power of Attorney. You will want to appoint someone you trust implicitly to be in charge of your finances in the event you are not able to do so (such as a prolonged recovery from an accident that leaves you mentally impaired). If not, valuable time will be wasted while your agent attempts access your assets, which may be needed for your or your family’s care. Depending on your personal circumstances, you may determine that a “springing” attorney is more appropriate, which is valid only if it is demonstrated that you are incapacitated.

4) Records of Passwords. Since bank statements and other important elements of our lives are often dependent on online passwords, you should have a secure system or file so that your personal representative can access these records if needed. The last thing you want is for assets to be left unclaimed (and escheated to the state) because no one knows where your accounts were held.

5) Temporary Guardianship Paperwork. If you have minor children, in addition to appointing a long-term guardian in your will, you want to have temporary guardians available to step in for emergencies and other situations where you may not be able to serve as guardian for your children, or upon your death in the first hours and days while the long-term guardian arrangements are put into place.

Just as you are jumping on the treadmill or passing up that second piece of chocolate cake to stay healthy for years to come, also take some time to prepare your estate plan. If you would like to watch my video 6 for 5: Six Minutes for Five Essential Legal Documents for 2013, see below.

Anne Marie Segal is admitted to practice law in Connecticut and New York and provides estate planning and other legal counsel to businesses and individuals. This information is provided for your convenience and does not comprise a complete estate plan or give legal advice for your situation. Other documents, such as a living trust, may be appropriate for your circumstances, depending on your state’s probate procedures, your asset base and other factors.

 None of the interactions on this site form an attorney-client relationship. This is a public forum. Please do not post confidential or fact-specific information regarding your legal questions on this site.

New AMSCounsel Channel on YouTube: Video on Guardianship and Procrastination

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Welcome to my new YouTube channel at AMSCounsel.

Stay tuned – or better yet, subscribe! – for more videos with information about estate planning and business law.

No posts or responses on this blog or YouTube constitute legal advice. Please do not post confidential information on this public forum. 

12-12-12, Superstitions and Life’s Exceptional Moments

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As late as this morning, I had no plans to post anything remotely related to estate planning through the end of the year. Who wants to think of this topic in the midst of the holidays? Isn’t it too sensitive a time and space? How about some joy and cheer?

Not to mention the superstition aspect. Some of us seem to believe that if we talk about our wishes after death, we are tempting fate and just might speed up the process. As a friend in her late 50s said to me the other day, “Oh no, don’t even tell me about doing my will, because I won’t listen. It freaks me out.” Others have the same latent fear but won’t mention it. They just shy away.

Americans don’t appear to be a superstitious lot at first blush. Yet we are, as is evident from all of the Facebook posts about what we were doing on 12-12-12, or even at 12:12 on 12-12-12. Not only is it inexplicably comforting to have a round number, but it marks a point in time that is not easily forgotten. It is like a hallowed space, albeit with secular sensibilities. A day set aside. Special. Almost magical.

First there was 1-1-1. Then 2-2-2. Then 3-3-3, 4-4-4, 5-5-5, 6-6-6, 7-7-7, 8-8-8, 9-9-9, 10-10-10, 11-11-11… and today, 12-12-12, the last of the consecutive numbers that any of us will probably see in our lifetimes, since there is no 13th month.

So here I am. On 12-12-12, in the midst of Chanukah and shortly before Christmas. Writing with even more conviction that I should address superstition in this holiday season, rather than ignoring it. There is great wisdom to be had in the process.

On the one hand, I am inclined to put on my lawyer’s hat and state that the concept of inviting death by planning for the inevitable is unreasonable. The idea that we can remain immortal by ignoring our mortality should be saved for young children who, we hope, have not been hit with any of life’s abundant reality checks. We do not tempt fate by planning for contingencies. We live in a state of preparedness, freed from latent fear, by doing so. We take the latent fear, make it present, and then deal with it.

Yet old habits die hard, if you will forgive the pun. And reason, often the fail-safe of lawyers, is not the only or highest human virtue. I can’t simply implore you to excise superstition because, by its very nature, superstition does not live in the realm of reason. Even further, as human beings, our minds and hearts are so complex and interwoven that it is not so easy to unravel certain parts of them without unraveling the whole (metaphorical) sweater. If we unravel the superstition, what else will we find hidden there?

I wrote “latent” fear above, as I believe that we live much of our lives with deep hidden concerns from which we can only be freed if we address them. Once we have found that state of openness, of letting everything in, we no longer need to grasp at “trying” to “stay happy” by ignoring the concerns. We find inner peace, because we do not need to push away thoughts that scare us. We have examined them and found that we can live with them. In fact, we do and must live with them every day.

So I tread lightly. I ask those tough but important questions. As you continue through this holiday season, how can you live more deliberately? Are there latent concerns that you can bring into your present moment, so that you can be freed of them in the New Year? Whether it is planning your estate, getting a cholesterol check, reconciling with a family member or any other task that may seem emotionally unsurmountable, what can you button down so that when the exceptional moments of life are actually upon you, there is no paper tiger waiting in the wings?

Rather than sweeping them under the rug, clear out those fears, finish those tasks. Joy and cheer will surely follow, with great abundance, whatever the season.

This post is the first in an occasional series about the interplay of law and everyday life. (It is obviously written to the average person, not those who rushing to use their $5.12 million lifetime gift tax exemption before the end of the year.) If you prefer cold, hard legal facts, you will find them elsewhere on this blog. 

Anne Marie Segal is admitted to practice law in New York and Connecticut.