Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, January 27, 2018

MVNews this week:  Page B:2

B2 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 27, 2018 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS B2 
Mountain Views-News Saturday, January 27, 2018 
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS 
Jeff’s Book PicsBy Jeff Brown FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett 

as they emerge into an alien and 
uncertain future, struggling to 
hold on to each other, to their 
past, to the very sense of who 
they are. Profoundly intimate 
and powerfully inventive, it tells 
an unforgettable story of love, 
loyalty, and courage that is both 
completely of our time and for all 
time. 

Autumn: A Novel (SeasonalQuartet) by Ali Smith 

In this gorgeous, page turning saga,
four generations of a poor Koreanimmigrant family fight to controltheir destiny in 20th-century Japan,
exiled from a home they neverknew.”There could only be a fewwinners, and a lot of losers. And yetwe played on, because we had hopethat we might be the lucky ones.”Inthe early 1900s, teenaged Sunja,
the adored daughter of a crippledfisherman, falls for a wealthy strangerat the seashore near her home in 
Korea. He promises her the world, butwhen she discovers she is pregnant-and 
that her lover is married--she 
refuses to be bought. Instead, sheaccepts an offer of marriage froma gentle, sickly minister passingthrough on his way to Japan. But herdecision to abandon her home, and 
to reject her son’s powerful father,
sets off a dramatic saga that willecho down through the generations.
Richly told and profoundly moving,
Pachinko is a story of love, sacrifice,
ambition, and loyalty. From 
bustling street markets to the hallsof Japan’s finest universities to thepachinko parlors of the criminalunderworld, Lee’s complex and 
passionate characters--strong,
stubborn women, devoted sisters 
and sons, fathers shaken by moralcrisis--survive and thrive against theindifferent arc of history.A National

Book Award FInalist. 

All Things By Jeff Brown 
Playing the Game: Create 
Your Legacy and Preserve 
Your Estate for Future 
Generations by Paul Remack 
Personal wealth isn’t the only 
purpose of hard work and 
investment; it’s also importantto be able to pass wealth on toone’s children and grandchildren.
Wealth transfer and distribution 
is a game, and if played poorly orif it is not realized a game is beingplayed one’s fortune can be eatenaway by a combination of poorinvestments and unfair taxation. 
Written by a financial advisor withdecades of experience, Playing 
the Game prepares people for 
the game of Wealth Transfer andDistribution, enabling them to passon their fortune intact so that future 
generations may enjoy it. 
Exit West: A Novel by Mohsin 
Hamid 
A New York Times bestseller, the 
astonishingly visionary love story 
that imagines the forces that drive 
ordinary people from their homesinto the uncertain embrace of new 
lands. In a country teetering on the 
brink of civil war, two young people 
meet—sensual, fiercely independent 
Nadia and gentle, restrained 
Saeed. They embark on a furtive 
love affair, and are soon cloistered 
in a premature intimacy by the 
unrest roiling their city. When it 
explodes, turning familiar streets 
into a patchwork of checkpoints 
and bomb blasts, they begin to 
hear whispers about doors—doors 
that can whisk people far away, if 
perilously and for a price. As the 
violence escalates, Nadia and Saeed 
decide that they no longer have a 
choice. Leaving their homeland and 
their old lives behind, they find a 
door and step through. . . .Exit West 
follows these remarkable characters 
* Rather than putting attention on what is nottrue, put attention on what is true. * When you say‘I’, it denotes consciousness...... but, almost alwayswe are taking ‘I’ to be a person. So, it’s called thecorruption of ‘I’ * If you keep the natural sense I 
AM.... just the natural way in which you knowyou are..... the untaught way of being..... withoutallowing it to connect up or create relationshipwith any thought or any activity. When you do this- you’ ll see what your mind is and what you arenot. * Just this: The feeling I or I AM * What takesNo Effort in you. Only bring your attention there.
That will take little effort. * When your attentionrecognises and is one with your IS-NESS..... Allyour life flowers... All your life blooms.... Becomesradiant.Can see him on YouTube 
MOOJIJI::’THE ILLUMINED MIND IS THE 
TRUE LIGHT OF THIS WORLD’ 
WHY YOUR ESTATE 
PLANNER NEEDS TO 
KNOW IF YOU’VE LENT 
MONEY TO FAMILY 

More and more, children and grandchildren are skippingthe traditional bank and obtaining loans from parents orgrandparents. Unfortunately, we have all heard stories offamilies torn apart because of disagreements over money.
So, what can you do to make sure your intra-family loanshelp — rather than hurt — your family?

As far as estate planning is concerned, money you lendto others is legally an asset. If you have lent money to afamily member, the presence of these assets in your estatecan be problematic for your surviving family members. Thisis because your executor and successor trustee are under alegal requirement, known as fiduciary care, to collect theoutstanding obligation, even if the other party is a familymember. 

If the amount of money that you have lent out is significant-- and “significant” can be relative -- it is important todocument it as you plan your estate. For example, if youwish to forgive the debt there are special terms that mustbe included in your trust or will for this to happen. On theother hand, you may want the debt to be paid out of theinheritance the borrower is otherwise receiving. In that 
case, the payment of the debt from the inheritance must beaddressed in your estate planning documents. 

A Brief Loan Primer 

A loan is a legal and financial arrangement where moneyis borrowed and is expected to be paid back with interest.
Generally, a loan involves a promissory note, which is asigned document by the borrower containing a writtenpromise to repay a stated sum of money to the lenderin accordance with a schedule, at a specified date, or on 

demand. In some cases collateral, like real estate or other 
property, is used to secure the loan. Collateral is somethingpledged as security for repayment of the loan. If the borrowerquits making payments, then the collateral can be taken bythe lender. 

Lending as an Estate Planning Tool

When properly structured and well documented, loanscan be a smart estate planning tool for many families.
This is because lenders (usually grandparents or parents)
can essentially give access to an inheritance without anyimmediate gift or estate tax problems, generate a betterreturn on their cash than they could with bank deposits, andborrowers (usually children or grandchildren) can take outloans at interest rates lower than commercial rates and with 
better terms. In fact, the Internal Revenue Service allows 
borrowers who are related to one another to pay very lowrates on intra-family loans. Furthermore, the total interestpaid on these types of transactions over the life of the loanstays within the family. If structured and documented 
properly, intra-family loans may effectively transfer moneywithin the family, for the purchase of a home, the financingof a business, or any other purpose.

Sometimes loans can be used in sophisticated estate taxplanning strategies as a way to shift assets into special estate-
tax saving trusts. One variant of this technique is sometimescalled an installment sale to a grantor trust. Although thissophisticated strategy and others like it are usually onlyappropriate for those with a net worth of at least severalmillion dollars, other types of intra-family loans, perhaps forhome improvement, an automobile purchase, or a business,
can help families across the wealth spectrum.

There are a few important points to keep in mind regardingthese types of loans: the loan must be well-documented,
lenders should usually ask for collateral, the lender shouldmake sure the borrower can repay the loan, and the incomeand estate tax implications should be examined thoroughly. 

Deciding What You Want

While you were kind enough to help a member of yourfamily by lending him or her money, do not let this becomea legal dilemma in the event of your incapacity or after yourdeath. Instead, use your estate plan to specifically expresswhat you want to have happen regarding these assets. Beforelending money, it is important to carefully consider how theloan should be structured, documented, and repaid. If youor someone you know has lent money and has questionsabout how this affects your estate plan, let us know and we’llhelp you find the answers. 


A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a missionto help parents protect what they love most. His office is 
located at 55 Auburn Avenue, Sierra Madre, CA 91024.
Schedule an appointment to sit down and talk about ensuringa legacy of love and financial security for your family bycalling 626.587.3058 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for moreinformation. 


BUSINESS TODAY 

The latest on Business News, Trends and 

Techniques 
By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA 

MIND YOUR BUSINESS 


Establishing and maintaining a successful business beginsand ends with an entrepreneur’s state of mind. “The Little 
Engine That Could” is one of the most famous children’sstories, extolling the benefits of what is possible whensomeone simply dares to believe they can accomplishsomething that may seem out of reach.

Everyone who has any inkling of entrepreneurialaspiration must seize the moment at some point andtake action in order to create the product or businessthey envision. The mind is defined as the part of aperson that can think, reason, feel and remember. It is 
commonly thought of as the activity of the brain, whichis an appropriate springboard to emphasize that activity oraction aligned with aspiration is what distinguishes doersfrom mere dreamers. 

Mind your business is used here as an expression toemphasize the importance of how entrepreneurs can usetheir own thought process to forge ahead toward achievinggoals. The following mnemonic can be used as a guideto move forward and keep going in the direction of yourbusiness interests. 

Make Up Your Mind

The first step is to get clarity about your vision, yourdream to start a business. Do you want to earn extraincome or build your idea into your primary livelihood?
Do you want a small, easy-to-manage business or are youthinking of building a thriving enterprise? Either one will 
need to generate revenue and be profitable. It is importantto determine the income goal as a certain amount permonth, year or other timeframe. Finally, it is imperative to 

commit to a date by which you expect certain goals to beattained. 

Invest Your Time & Resources 

Everyone on the planet is granted with 24 hours ina day, and those who have relished in the success ofbuilding a profitable understand that time is a commoditymore valuable than money. Both should be used wisely,
but unlike money, time wasted can never be recaptured.
Take time to layout the gameplan, the roadmap as youunderstand it, to reach your goal. 

Never Give Up

Follow the example of The Little Engine That Couldand press forward, even when going uphill makes it a littlemore difficult. 

Distinguish Yourself With Discipline

Executing your plan will build the bridge between yourgoal and your vision. Consistency fosters discipline, whichresults in a mastery of knowledge and skills that fuels thetype of confidence that can help an entrepreneur to keepgoing when times get challenging.

Move beyond thinking about starting a business, or ifyou’re already in business, move beyond simply thinkingabout what you can do to expand and move to the nextphase you envision. Make up our mind to have the level ofsuccess you desire as a business owner and go for it. 

“The mind is everything. What you think you become.” 

- Buddha 
STARTING A NEW BUSINESS ? 
FILE YOUR DBA HERE 
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