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Mountain Views News Saturday, May 3, 2014

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BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

Mountain Views-News Saturday, May 3, 2014

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett

WHAT TO KNOW
ABOUT ESCROW

When you buy a home, or just make an offer, you will encounter the term “escrow account.” Like
making a friendly bet and asking a third party to hold the wager money, the “escrow agent” is the
neutral party that holds funds in the interest of the mortgage lender and the borrower.

When the terms of the purchase and loan agreements have been met, the money is released. When
your application is approved and the loan takes effect, the lender will likely require money for
property taxes and homeowner’s insurance also to be held in escrow. These funds are added to your
monthly mortgage payment and disbursed when the tax and insurance bills are due.

This protects the lender by ensuring a lien isn’t placed against your property for non-payment of
taxes, and your home (their collateral) is protected against catastrophe. But escrow also benefits
borrowers by spreading the large annual payments for taxes and insurance over twelve months.

For example, if your taxes are $1,600 per year and your insurance is $800, you’re budgeting a
reasonable $200 per month instead of making two big payments. Escrow accounts do not earn
interest, so if you make a large enough downpayment, you may be able to avoid the monthly escrow
and pay the bills directly. Ask your agent and your lender about the pros and cons.

THE WEALTH CREATION TRUST:

A Gift that keepons on giving

The perfect gift for your child or grandchild on the occasion of their birth, Bar or Bat Mitzvah, Sweet
16 or Quinceañera cannot be found in any store. Instead, the hopes and wishes you have for your
child’s (or grandchild’s) future can best be expressed with a gift of security, resources and a foundation
of love - the establishment of a wealth creation trust.

When a new child is welcomed into the family or a child turns 13 , 16, graduates from college or has
another milestone event, it is not uncommon for grandparents or other family members to want to
give that child a monetary gift.

In most cases, a check written to the parents, or perhaps to the child, and put into a custodial account
at the bank. The problems with this type of gifting are several:

1. Often, the parents cash the check, commingle the funds into the family accounts, and even though
intentions are good, the child never gets to see the benefit (you’d be surprised how often this happens);

2. The money is put into a custodial account, the child accesses the account at 18 (or perhaps 21)
and uses it to buy a car, fund a backpacking trip, or even buy a house; but the decision about how to
utilize the money is made without thought or foresight for the future and oftentimes the money is
squandered;

3. The money is used to pay for college, counting against the child for purposes of financial aid,
effectively squandering the money;

4. The money is used by the child after he or she is married, commingled with the assets of a spouse
and lost in a divorce, squandered.

But, there is a far better way, which is good for your family members who want to make gifts, good for
you as the parents of your child, good for your child, and great for the world.

Establish a Wealth Creation Trust for your child (or grandchild) as a birthday (or birth) gift and let
everyone in your family know that all gifts for the child should be made out to the Trustee of the
[Name of Child} Wealth Creation Trust.

Then, when your child gets to be an age specified in the Trust, he or she can step into the role of
Co-Trustee, learning how to operate the Trust and best utilize the funds in the Trust. He or she will
be trained on the best types of investments for the Trust (my recommendation is first and foremost
self-care, well-being programs and entrepreneurial training for the child, and then one or more
entrepreneurial ventures the child is involved in) which have the possibility of doing a lot of good
in the world and earning a healthy return on investment in the form of appreciation and purposeful,
aligned work by the child.

Your child will learn the purpose of the Trust (to encourage the creation of wealth from one generation
to the next, rather than the squandering or wasting of assets); how to protect it (keep the investments
in the name of the Trust, regardless of how funds are used, so always title investments properly and
sign on behalf of the Trust); and how to create more wealth in the future using the Trust assets.

Now, the gift you created when your child was just born, or achieved a specific life milestone becomes
not just a vehicle of financial security, but education and impact for a lifetime and beyond.

Gifts up to $14,000 per year (in 2014) per person can be made into such a Trust for your child without
the need to file a gift tax return.

If you would like to learn more about how to establish a wealth creation trust to secure the financial
future of your children, grandchildren and beyond while encouraging and educating them to create
more wealth in the world (rather than squandering what you’ve worked so hard to create), contact my
office for a Family Wealth Planning Session.

Marc, a local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer (Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children)
is on a mission to help parents protect what they love most. His office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave.,
Ste. G, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.

7 THINGS TO DO TO SHAKE UP YOUR SOCIAL
MEDIA AND EMAIL MARKETING CONTENT

If you are posting the same social media content over and over and sending out
the same content in your email campaigns, your content can start to become
background noise and may not stand out from the crows.

If you want to get some more action on your content, here are 7 ideas that might
help shake things up and engage your audience.

1. Ask interesting questions. Open-ended questions tend to get the best action on social media.
With email marketing, you might try a survey or poll and give people something interesting to
participate in.
2. Share information about trends in your industry that could be potential game changers.
3. Take advantage of trending news events and put your voice in the conversation.
4. Add photos to your posts or better yet a photo album with lots of interesting images.
5. Think outside of the box, as a matter of fact, forget the stinking box altogether.
6. Offer an incentive for you social media audience to join your Email marketing list. In Constant
Contact you can set up your welcome message to reward the new sign-ups with some type of discount
on a new order or you could try the Constant Contact Social Campaign tool to grow both your “Likes”
and Email list.
7. Tell the “behind the scenes” story and give your audience the “insider’s scoop.” Make them
feel like they are getting exclusive information from you.

Ask yourself…. is your Social Media presence a desert or is it a landscaped garden? Doing the same
thing over and over may not be the best way to grow your presence. To stand out, you need to shake
it up

About MJ: MJ and her brother David own HUTdogs, a creative services business that specializes in
Internet Marketing strategies and Social Media. They offer social media management services and
help their clients build a strong on-line presence. “Like” them on Facebook for trending news in social
media, internet marketing and other helpful tips, www.facebook.com/hutdogs.

We’d like to hear from you!

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com