Mountain Views News, Pasadena Edition [Sierra Madre] Saturday, April 28, 2018

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BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, April 28, 2018 

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown


Greeks Bearing Gifts (A Bernie 
Gunther Novel) by Philip Kerr

A murder puts Bernie Gunther on 
the trail of World War 2 criminals 
in Greece in this riveting historical 
thriller in Philip Kerr’s New York 
Times bestselling series.Munich, 
1956. Bernie Gunther has a new 
name, a chip on his shoulder, and a 
dead-end career when an old friend 
arrives to repay a debt and encourages 
“Christoph Ganz” to take a job as a 
claims adjuster in a major German 
insurance company with a client in 
Athens, Greece.Under the cover of 
his new identity, Bernie begins to 
investigate a claim by Siegfried Witzel, 
a brutish former Wehrmacht soldier 
who served in Greece during the 
war. Witzel’s claimed losses are large 
, and, even worse, they may be the 
stolen spoils of Greek Jews deported 
to Auschwitz. But when Bernie tries to 
confront Witzel, he finds that someone 
else has gotten to him first, leaving a 
corpse in his place.Enter Lieutenant 
Leventis, who recognizes in this case 
the highly grotesque style of a killer 
he investigated during the height of 
the war. Back then, a young Leventis 
suspected an S.S. officer whose 
connection to the German government 
made him untouchable. He’s kept that 
man’s name in his memory all these 
years, waiting for his second chance at 
justice...Working together, Leventis and 
Bernie hope to put their cases--new and 
old--to bed. But there’s a much more sinister truth 
to acknowledge: A killer has returned to Athens...
one who may have never left.

The Prince of Tides: A Novel by Pat 
Conroy 

“A big, sprawling saga of a novel” (San 
Francisco Chronicle), this epic family 
drama is a masterwork by the revered 
author of The Great Santini.Pat Conroy’s 
classic novel stings with honesty and 
resounds with drama. Spanning forty 
years, it’s the story of turbulent Tom 
Wingo, his gifted and troubled twin 
sister, Savannah, and their struggle 
to triumph over the dark and tragic 
legacy of the extraordinary family into 
which they were born. Filled with the 
vanishing beauty of the South Carolina 
Low Country as well as the dusty glitter 
of New York City, The Prince of Tides 
showcases an American original at his 
very best.A great book!

The Winds of War by Herman 
Wouk 

Like no other masterpiece of historical 
fiction, Herman Wouk’s sweeping epic 
of World War II is the great novel of 
America’s Greatest Generation.Wouk’s 
spellbinding narrative captures the tide 
of global events, as well as all the drama, 
romance, heroism, and tragedy of World 
War II, as it immerses us in the lives of 
a single American family drawn into 
the very center of the war’s maelstrom.
The Winds of War and its sequel War 
and Remembrance stand as the crowning 
achievement of one of America’s most 
celebrated storytellers.The previous book reviews 
are from Amazon.com

ESTATE PLANNING 
MISTAKES SENIORS 
(INCLUDING YOU OR 
YOUR PARENTS)
CAN’T AFFORD TO 
MAKE

Estate planning really should become a priority 
as soon as you acquire your first asset, have a 
child, or step into adulthood in any other truly 
meaningful way. And yet many of us put it off for 
far too long, leaving ourselves and our families 
at risk of getting stuck in the court system in the 
event of an unexpected accident, illness, or injury. 

 I get it, planning for your incapacity and death 
can be scary. But it’s even more frightening to 
think of the potential tragedies that can arise if 
you and your family don’t have the right planning 
in place. 

 At the senior stage of life, effective estate 
planning is urgent, both for you and the people 
you love. And if you aren’t a senior yet yourself but 
have senior parents, getting your own planning 
handled can serve as a model to help get your 
parents moving on their plan. 

 Here are a few of the most common errors 
seniors make when it comes to estate planning 
and how to fix them: 

Relying on a will as your plan

Many people, particularly older folks, believe that 
a will is the only estate planning tool they need. 
While wills are one key aspect of estate planning, 
they come with serious limitations:

. Wills require your family to go through 
probate, which is time consuming, open to the 
public, and expensive.
. Wills don’t offer any protection if you become 
incapacitated and unable to make your own legal, 
health, and financial decisions.
. Wills don’t shield assets from your creditors or 
those of your heirs.
. Wills don’t provide protections or guidance 
for when and how your heirs take control of their 
inheritance. 


 If you’re relying solely on a will for estate 
planning, you’re missing out on many valuable 
safeguards for your assets, and you’re guaranteeing 
your family will have to go to court when you die.

Not funding your plan properly

When it comes to a trust, it’s not enough to simply 
list the assets you want it to cover. You must 
transfer the legal title of certain assets—real estate, 
bank accounts, securities, brokerage accounts—to 
the trust (known as “funding” the trust) to avoid 
probate. 

 While most lawyers will create a trust for you, 
few will ensure your assets are properly funded. 
But we’ve got processes in place to keep track 
of our clients’ assets throughout life, making 
sure none are lost to the state’s Department of 
Unclaimed Property, and ensuring their families 
aren’t inadvertently forced into court at the most 
inopportune time.

Not keeping your plan current

Far too often people prepare a will or trust, put it 
into a drawer, and forget about it. But your estate 
plan will likely be worthless if you don’t regularly 
update it when your assets, family situation, and/
or the laws change. 

 We recommend you review your plan at least 
every three years to make sure it’s up to date 
and immediately amend it following important 
life events like divorce, deaths, births, and 
inheritances. 

 If you aren’t sure what you need, begin by 
coming in for a Family Estate Planning Session. 
It will be custom-designed to your assets, your 
family, your wishes, and to educate you on the 
best ways to reach your objectives.

 We don’t just draft documents; we ensure you 
make informed and empowered decisions about 
life and death, for yourself and the people you 
love. Call us today if you’d like more information 
(and mention this article to get a complimentary 
consultation).

 Dedicated to empowering your family, building 
your wealth and defining your legacy,

A local attorney and father, Marc Garlett is on a 
mission to 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 ensuring a legacy of love 
and financial security for your family by calling 
626.587.3058 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for 
more information.


All Things By Jeff Brown

FACIAL RECOGNITION SYSTEM HELPS TRACE 
3000 MISSING CHILDREN IN 4 DAYS

Thanks to an innovative new facial recognition 
system(FRS) missing children have been identified by 
city police and efforts are under way to reunite them 
with their families.The FRS was employed by the Delhi 
police department on a trial basis to scan the faces of 
45,000 children living in children’s homes.During its 
testing phase between April 6 and April 10, 2,930 kids 
were recognized as missing children.The technology 
uses a massive database of photographs and profiles 
to match the facial features of any child to that of a 
“missing person”. If city police are given free use of the 
tech, it could track down thousands more children so 
they can be reunited with their families.According to 
NDTV, children’s rights organization Bachpan Bachao 
Andolan is working on a proposal that will allow 
the Delhi police department to use the software free 
of charge.The National Commission for Protection 
of Child Rights (NCPCR) is also campaigning for 
the software’s utilization.“If such a type of software 
helps trace missing children and reunite them with 
their families, nothing can be better than this,” said 
Yashwant Jain, a member of NCPCR.


BUSINESS TODAY

The latest on Business News, Trends and 
Techniques

WHAT MAKES YOU AN AMERICAN? Photos by Gina Long

Told with humor and with important resonances to today, The Immigrant is based on a true story of a 
young Jew who fled the pogroms of Czarist Russia in 1909 and pushed his banana cart into the tiny Baptist 
community of Hamilton, Texas. Given shelter by a childless older couple, he sent for his wife, raised a 
family, and made this town his home. A moving story of parents 
and children, newcomers and natives, Christians and Jews, and the 
realization of the American Dream. Learn more and buy tickets at 

http://sierramadreplayhouse.org


By La Quetta M. Shamblee, MBA


BASIC BUSINESS MARKETING TOOL KIT


Success happens when preparation meets 
opportunity. Developing a marketing kit is one 
of the things that every entrepreneur needs to 
complete. It will be used to support the successful 
launch and promotion of a business and should 
include the following items:

Logos & Taglines

McDonald’s golden arches and the Nike swish 
are two of the most familiar corporate logos 
around the world. Each one is simple, with very 
little detail, which makes it easy to recognize no 
matter its size. A logo should be designed so that 
it is still easily recognizable when it is reduced to 
a size small enough to fit onto a business card. 
A tagline, also referred to as a slogan, should be 
succinct and memorable like the Nike “Just Do 
It” tagline that launched a marketing campaign 
that is remembered to this day. Many companies 
have several designs of their logo, including some 
layouts that include the company name or tagline. 

Internet Presence

Every entrepreneur needs to determine which 
combination of digital media will best meet the 
needs of the company. Websites are no longer the 
only centerpiece of an online presence now that 
an increasing number of social media services 
can be customized with features to display and 
sell products, support customer dialogue and 
include links that allow visitors to choose the 
social media tool of their liking.

Business Cards

Traditional business cards are still in demand as 
they remain one of the most inexpensive, tangible 
business tools that can be distributed to potential 
customers. Like the logo, the design should be 
simple and the style and size of the font should 
be easy to read. Too much information will make 
it look crowded and difficult to read. The main 
purpose of a business card is to provide contact 
information and where to find your company 
online or on social media.

Brochures, Flyers or Postcards

Businesses that cater to those in the Baby Boomers 
generation and older will still find it necessary to 
include printed marketing materials in the tool 
kit. These collateral materials should convey 
professionalism and be designed to convey the 
image and message that will encourage people 
to visit your website, join you on Facebook®, 
Twitter®, Instagram®, Pinterest® or other digital 
media. Younger people are inclined to use 
smart phones, tablets and computers to view 
information from businesses attempting to bring 
them in as customers.

 Once completed, each tool in the marketing kit 
can be used to build the company’s brand.


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