Mountain Views News          Saturday, October 18, 2014

B3

 

BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

 Mountain Views News Saturday, October 18, 2014 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


PET PROPOSALS 

Did you realize that 6 out of 10 U.S. households 
have pets? That means that those without critter 
companions are in the minority, but if you’re 
a pet owner selling your home, you shouldn’t 
ignore the perceptions of those families that 
don’t include cats or dogs. 

 Odors are the biggest issue. This isn’t to say 
that your housekeeping is remiss, but remember 
that some buyers who visit your home may 
experience allergies or be particularly sensitive 
to pet dander or odors. Just vacuum the 
floors and furniture frequently and use an air 
sanitizer. 

 During the early stages of your listing, you’ll 
likely experience more frequent showings and 
visits by buyers. This is a particularly good time 
to make arrangements to board your pet, or seek 
out a good ”doggie day care” center for quick 
visits during showings. This may be safer and 
less stressful for your pet than a constant parade 
of strangers in your home, and may put buyers 
more at ease as well. 

 In any case, be sure to pick up toys, bowls, 
and bedding in advance of a showing, just as 
you would tidy up the children’s things and 
other rooms throughout the house before buyers 
visit. A particularly attractive gesture would be 
to offer a cleaning allowance, no matter how 
scrupulously you maintain your home. This 
should quiet any potential objections. 

HOLLYWOOD LEGEND LAUREN BACALL 

LEAVES LARGE ESTATE (AND POTENTIALLY 

LARGE HEADACHES) FOR HEIRS


Legendary Hollywood actress Lauren Bacall died 
on August 12, 2014, leaving behind an estate worth 
an estimated $26.6 million. Her three children now 
face a couple of potentially serious problems that 
could have been avoided through effective estate 
planning.

 Bacall, who was married to Humphrey Bogart 
and Sam Robards, passed away in her New York 
City apartment, which at a $10 million valuation 
constitutes a sizeable part of her estate. Because 
Bacall used a will as the governing document of her 
estate plan instead of a revocable living trust, the 
division of her estate is a matter of public record.

 In fact, her will was made public a mere 10 days 
following her death because her children plan to 
auction off her artwork this fall. As a resident of 
New York, Bacall’s estate will be subject to both state 
and federal estate taxes. A trust left to her by Bogart 
will also be subject to tax based on its valuation. 

 Unfortunately, her estate only included about 
$100,000 in liquid assets at the time of her death, so 
her heirs face a potentially serious liquidity problem 
when it comes to paying these taxes. This is probably 
the reason behind the rush to auction her artwork. 
Her family has only nine months from the date of 
her death to pay estate taxes.

 Although Bacall directed in her will that her 
apartment be sold, there is no guarantee that it could 
sell in time to pay the estate taxes. Life insurance 
is one of the most common ways to ensure there is 
sufficient liquidity to pay taxes and other expenses. 

Besides the financial assets, Bacall left her children 
the rights to her likeness and other intellectual 
property associated with her illustrious career. (She 
did request that her children not sell her personal 
effects, letters and memorabilia in her will.) This 
could be of significant value in future years, and the 
IRS could come after the heirs for taxes based on 
that value. 

 There could also be issues that arise regarding 
the management of this intellectual property in the 
coming years, which could lead to litigation as it 
has in the cases of many other famous entertainers, 
like Michael Jackson. To help avoid this, the family 
should consider establishing a trust or other legal 
entity to manage these assets and make decisions on 
how they will be used in the future.

 Even though most of us don’t have a $26.6 
million dollar estate to worry about, we can still 
learn valuable and pertinent lessons from Bacall’s 
mistakes. With a little advanced planning our 
loved ones can be spared from a public court 
process, the high costs of probate and estate taxes, 
and the liquidity problems that can spring up and 
force them to sell family heirlooms and even the 
family home. And I promise you there’s nothing 
like the feeling that comes from knowing you’ve 
done right by your family and taken care of all that 
for them.

 To you family’s health, wealth, and happiness,

A local attorney, father, and CASA volunteer 
(Court Appointed Special Advocate for Children), 
Marc Garlett is on a mission to help parents – and 
grandparents – protect what they love most. His 
office is located at 49 S. Baldwin Ave., Ste. G, Sierra 
Madre, CA 91024. Call 626.355.4000 to schedule an 
appointment to sit down and talk about ensuring a 
legacy of love and financial security for your family 
or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for more information.


WHAT’S YOUR STRATEGY FOR CYBER MONDAY? 

Cyber Monday is right around the corner (Dec. 1, 
2014). It’s a great opportunity for business owners 
to leverage the biggest on-line shopping day of 
the year. 

 Strategy is everything! Here are a few ideas to 
get you started:

 What will you offer? Start working on the offer 
and how you will get the word out now! What 
would be the most valuable to your audience? 
Determine price, discount codes and set up 
a special page on your web site. Will you run 
Google ads or Facebook ads? Do you have a good 
email list you can promote the offer too? 

 Leverage Cyber Monday to build your email 
list. Let people know something big is coming. 
Make it exclusive; only those people who are 
subscribed to your email list will receive the 
official offer or early access. Constant Contact 
has great tools to help you build and manage your 
offer.

 Use Social Media Channels for real-time offers: 
Some retailers use real-time delivery and offer a 
new deal every 10 minutes. Is your offer for the 
whole day or one every hour? Make sure to let 
people know what channels you will announcing 
your offers (Facebook, Twitter, Email, your 
web site etc.). Schedule your posts in advance 
using Facebook’s scheduling tool, Hootsuite or 
MarketMe.

Make your offer easy to share. Make sure 
the emails you send out about Cyber Monday 
include a “share with a friend” link or “share on 
Facebook” so you can cash in on social media 
referrals.

 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.

 Sign up for their upcoming classes, webinars and 
presentations at: www.hutdogs.com/workshops/
schedule 


We’d like to hear from you! 

What’s on YOUR Mind?

Contact us at: editor@mtnviewsnews.com 

or www.facebook.com/mountain-views-news 

Or follow us on Twitter: @mtnviewsnews


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