Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, August 18, 2018

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BUSINESS NEWS & TRENDS

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 18, 2018 

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown

FAMILY MATTERS By Marc Garlett


AVOID THIS MAJOR 
MISTAKE WHEN 
ADDING AN IRA TO 
YOUR ESTATE PLAN


Some people assume that because they’ve named 
a specific heir as the beneficiary of their IRA in 
their will or trust that there’s no need to list the 
same person again as beneficiary in their IRA 
paperwork. Because of this, they often leave the 
IRA beneficiary form blank or list “my estate” as 
the beneficiary.

 But this is a major mistake—and one that 
can lead to serious complications and expense.
IRAs Aren’t Like Other Estate Assets

 First off, the person you name on your IRA’s 
beneficiary form is the one who will inherit 
the account’s funds, even if a different person 
is named in your will or in a trust. Your IRA 
beneficiary designation controls who gets the 
funds, no matter what you may indicate elsewhere. 
Given this, you must ensure your IRA’s 
beneficiary designation form is up to date and 
lists either the name of the person you want to 
inherit your IRA, or the name of the trustee, if 
you want it to go to a revocable living trust or 
special IRA trust you’ve prepared. For example, 
if you listed an ex-spouse as the beneficiary of 
your IRA and forget to change it to your current 
spouse, your ex will get the funds when you 
die, even if your current spouse is listed as the 
beneficiary in your will.

Probate Problems

 Moreover, not naming a beneficiary, or 
naming your “estate” in the IRA’s beneficiary 
designation form, means your IRA account will 
be subject to the court process called probate. 
Probate costs unnecessary time and money and 
guarantees your family will get stuck in court. 
When you name your desired heir on the 
IRA beneficiary form, those funds will be 
available almost immediately to the named 
beneficiary following your death, and the money 
will be protected from creditors. But if your 
beneficiary must go through probate to claim 
the funds, he or she might have to wait months, 
or even years, for probate to be finalized. 
Plus, your heir may also be on the hook for 
attorney and executor fees, as well as potential 
liabilities from creditor claims, associated with 
probate, thereby reducing the IRA’s total value.
Reduced Growth And Tax Savings

 Another big problem caused by naming your 
estate in the IRA beneficiary designation or 
forgetting to name anyone at all is that your heir 
will lose out on an important opportunity for tax 
savings and growth of the funds. This is because 
the IRS calculates how the IRA’s funds will be 
dispersed and taxed based on the owner’s life 
expectancy. Since your estate is not a human, it’s 
ineligible for a valuable tax-savings option known 
as the “stretch provision” that would be available 
had you named the appropriate beneficiary. 
Typically, when an individual is named as 
the IRA’s beneficiary, he or she can choose to 
take only the required minimum distributions 
over the course of his or her life expectancy. 
“Stretching” out the payments in this way allows 
for much more tax-deferred growth of the IRA’s 
invested funds and minimizes the amount of 
income tax due when withdrawals are made. 

 However, if the IRA’s beneficiary designation 
lists “my estate” or is left blank, the option to 
stretch out payments is no longer available. 
In such cases, if you die before April 1st of the 
year you reach 70 . years old (the required 
beginning date for distributions), your estate 
will have to pay out all of the IRA’s funds within 
five years of your death. If you die after age 70 
1/2, the estate will have to make distributions 
over your remaining life expectancy. 
This means the beneficiary who eventually 
gets your IRA funds from your estate will 
have to take the funds sooner—and pay the 
deferred taxes upon distribution. This limits 
their opportunity for additional tax-deferred 
growth of the account and requires him or 
her to pay a potentially hefty income tax bill. 
A Simple Fix

 Fortunately, preventing these complications 
is super easy—just be sure to name your 
chosen heir as beneficiary in your IRA 
paperwork (along with at least one alternate 
beneficiary). And remember to update the 
named beneficiary if your life circumstances 
change, such as after a death or divorce. 
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 
626.355.4000 or visit www.GarlettLaw.com for 
more information.

Energy: A Human History by 
Richard Rhodes

Pulitzer Prize- and National Book 
Award-winning author Richard 
Rhodes reveals the fascinating 
history behind energy transitions 
over time—wood to coal to oil 
to electricity and beyond. People 
have lived and died, businesses 
have prospered and failed, and 
nations have risen to world 
power and declined, all over 
energy challenges. Ultimately, 
the history of these challenges 
tells the story of humanity itself. 
Through an unforgettable cast of 
characters, Rhodes explains how 
wood gave way to coal and coal 
made room for oil, as we now turn 
to natural gas, nuclear power, 
and renewable energy. Rhodes 
looks back on five centuries of 
progress, through such influential 
figures as Queen Elizabeth I, 
King James I, Benjamin Franklin, 
Herman Melville, John D. 
Rockefeller, and Henry Ford. In 
Energy, Rhodes highlights the 
successes and failures that led 
to each breakthrough in energy 
production; from animal and 
waterpower to the steam engine, 
from internal-combustion to the 
electric motor. He addresses how 
we learned from such challenges, 
mastered their transitions, and 
capitalized on their opportunities. 
Rhodes also looks at the current 
energy landscape, with a focus 
on how wind energy is competing 
for dominance with cast supplies 
of coal and natural gas. He also 
addresses the specter of global 
warming, and a population 
hurtling towards ten billion 
by 2100. Human beings have 
confronted the problem of how 
to draw life from raw material 
since the beginning of time. 
Each invention, each discovery, 
each adaptation brought further 
challenges, and through such 
transformations, we arrived at 
where we are today. In Rhodes’s 
singular style, Energy details how 
this knowledge of our history can 
inform our way tomorrow.

Aware: The Science and Practice 
of Presence--The Groundbreaking 
Meditation Practice by Dr. 
Daniel Siegel M.D. 

This groundbreaking new 
book from New York Times 
bestselling author Daniel J. 
Siegel, M.D., introduces readers 
to his pioneering, science-based 
meditation practice. Aware 
provides practical instruction 
for mastering the Wheel of 
Awareness, a life-changing 
tool for cultivating more focus, 
presence, and peace in one’s 
day-to-day life. An in-depth 
look at the science that underlies 
meditation’s effectiveness, 
this book teaches readers how 
to harness the power of the 
principle “Where attention 
goes, neural firing flows, and 
neural connection grows.” 
Siegel reveals how developing a 
Wheel of Awareness practice to 
focus attention, open awareness, 
and cultivate kind intention 
can literally help you grow a 
healthier brain and reduce fear, 
anxiety, and stress in your life. 
Whether you have no experience 
with a reflective practice or are 
an experienced practitioner, 
Aware is a hands-on guide that 
will enable you to become more 
focused and present, as well as 
more energized and emotionally 
resilient in the face of stress 
and the everyday challenges life 
throws your way.

A Good Man, A Great Dad 
and a Loving Husband by 
Bradley Brown 

Every Man’s Guide to a Brilliant 
Life. In this book you will find 
common-sense approaches to 
help you to be a good man, a 
great dad and a loving husband. 
I have invested 55 years into 
researching this book. Like any 
good scientist, trial and error 
have played a major part in 
my findings. Wisdom is about 
learning from what we have 
done or what others before us 
have experienced and evolving 
as a result. It is my hope that the 
wisdom I share with you here 
will make your journey towards a 
brilliant life a straighter road, allowing you to get 
there faster.


All Things By Jeff Brown

NASA’S HUBBLE TELESCOPE CAPTURES 15,000 
GALAXIES IN ONE DAZZLING IMAGE

Read us online at

www.mountainviewsnews.com

This image of the cosmos comes courtesy of 
NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope, using ultraviolet 
vision to capture one of the most expansive images 
of galaxies yet. Combining ultraviolet light with 
infrared and visible-light data from the Space 
Telescope has allowed astronomers to build this 
incredible map of the universe’s evolutionary 
history. NASA calls it, “one of the largest 
panoramic views of the fire and fury of star birth 
in the distant universe.” Because light from distant 
galaxies takes so long to reach us, we are able to 
see through time. This image lets astronomers look 
back and track stars being born over the last 11 
billion years and features some 15,000 galaxies -- 
and stars are forming in about 80 percent of them.
Check out the image online.

HEALTHY LIFESTYLES


THE MISSING PAGE

Real Life Tips from LIfe's Instruction Manual

YOGIC WISDOM - On Beauty

Between stimulus and response, there is a 
space. 

 Viktor Frankl

This week I am exploring and contemplating the 
word should. Until recently, I wasn't aware how 
much trouble that word caused me.

The word should is the start of a supposition, a 
possibly faulty premise; I am right. Another person 
is necessarily wrong. However, our mindfulness 
practice could help us notice and explore those 
thoughts. Practicing mindfulness helps with 
awareness; we decide to be more conscious. We 
observe our thoughts, our conclusions and how 
they make us feel. 

Have you ever noticed that when you observe another 
person's behavior, it's easy to have a judgment to 
about their actions and them? We think thoughts 
such as, "they shouldn't engage in that behavior, 
or they should do this or that." Consider this; 
you could be wrong. Perhaps the other person's 
response is all that they are capable of doing at the 
time given their understanding, history, and coping 
skills. Further, it's not their actions that are causing 
you stress; it's your thoughts about them and the 
meaning you have attached.

Consider the incident as 
an opportunity to look at 
your thoughts and attitudes. 
Identify the emotion you 
are feeling and go deeper 
to find the source. No one 
else can cause you stress. 
Your thinking and internal 
regulator is the source of your 
upset and discomfort. If you 
can catch yourself when you 
are having these feelings at 
the onset you can increase your emotional stability 
and personal peace. 

I invite you to experiment with releasing your 
opinions about people and their actions. Bonus 
points if you can practice forgiving what you 
perceived as a transgression. Let it go and watch 
what happens.

Lori A. Harris

Creator of the Gratitude Train App, available in the 
App Store and Google Play

GratitudeTrain.com

Gratitude, get on board!!!


Lori A. Harris

UNFOLD THE BEAUTY OF PRACTICE

A few friends tried yoga for the first time recently. Both were in wonder and awe over 
the practice, particularly the physical and mental effect produced by yoga. “Why does 
it work?” they asked. How does it work so well? My simple answer is energy.

Did you know each and every practice has an effect on you? Depending on the kind of 
practice, the body and mind can end up invigorated or completely calm and relaxed. 
Yoga Teachers really are artists weaving in techniques and creating practices for a 
multitude of reasons: balance, calm, energy, focus, creativity, or healing. It’s interesting 
to practice with different teachers and different styles just to find out what the effects 
are of the practice. As both lab rat and observer, we can learn a lot. Every practice 
creates an effect or feeling at the end. 

 

As you continue in your yoga practice, more layers of the onion are peeled away and the subtleties of how you’re 
changing can seep into your awareness. You might gravitate toward a specific practice because it makes you more 
productive during your work day or because it grounds you during times of upheaval. It becomes important to 
observe this about yourself. Once you know, you have the ability to practice yoga that’s right for you and supports 
you in all areas of your life. And conversely, stay away from practices that aren’t ideal for your body, your mental 
or emotional state, or your spiritual health. 

 

Next time you are practicing or attending class, place your point of view in both the experience of one who is 
practicing and one who is observing. See what you notice. 

Namaste, 

Keely Totten 

E-RYT 500, Yoga & Meditation Teacher, Seer of Beauty

 
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