Why Create A Living Trust?

A living trust is an important part of your estate plan. Making a living trust takes a more work than writing a will because a living trust requires that you take the additional step of transferring property into the trust. But like wills, living trusts are simple documents that do not require a lawyer’s blessing. Most people can create a living trust without an attorney using software or an online service.

The main reason to set up a living trust is to avoid probate. Probate is the process that courts use to distribute a deceased person’s property. Most people don’t need or want their estate to go through probate because it’s expensive and time consuming. Property that passes through a living trust does not have to go through probate. Instead, the person named in the trust to be the trustee distributes the deceased person’s property without court oversight. For many people with simple estates, this is far better than paying the court thousands of dollars and waiting months or years for the court to make the same distributions.

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Creating A Living Will: A Healthcare Directive

A living will is a legal document that a person uses to make known his or her wishes regarding life prolonging medical treatments. It can also be referred to as an advance directive, health care directive, or a physician's directive. A living will should not be confused with a living trust, which is a mechanism for holding and distributing a person's assets to avoid probate. It is important to have a living will as it informs your health care providers and your family about your desires for medical treatment in the event you are not able to speak for yourself.

Generally, a living will describes certain life prolonging treatments. You, the declarant, indicate which treatments you do or do not want applied to you in the event you either suffer from a terminal illness or are in a permanent vegetative state. A living will does not become effective unless you are incapacitated; until then you'll be able to say what treatments you do or don't want.

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Women Beware of the State of Mississippi

Michelle Goldberg follows information relating to women's reproductive rights. I've seen her on T.V. panels and read her work in the Daily Beast. in a recent article she elaborated on the fate of women in the State of Mississippi.

While Mississippi may be proud of its infamous history of fighting against civil rights for African-Americans, women should take a look at the results of the state's policies that adversely impact children and women. In a recent poll, Mississippi is ranked as the worst state for women.

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Stonewall Riots: A Spark for Gay Liberation

Each February, the United States celebrates Black History Month. For many Americans, this celebration consists of watching the public service announcements telling us of the achievements of African Americans. From these ads, we’ve learned that a black man invented the stoplight and that the first female self-made millionaire in the US was black. Indeed, the month-long celebration provides the public with lessons of the vast contributions blacks Americans have made to this country.

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The Fight is On: President Obama Struggles to Fill Judicial Vacancies

Not long ago, the Republicans announced their most important goal-stop Obama from winning a second term as President. To that end, nothing was more important to the G.O.P. They forgot about the economy, put no effort in reducing unemployment, and just said no to anything and everything the President tried to accomplish.

When the President stunned Mitt Romney and his crew by winning the 2012 Presidential Election,the Republicans decided to continue to say no...any way and every way they could. One of their key strategies is slow walking the Senate's advise and consent responsibility and failing to make decisions on the President's nominations for his administration and federal judgeship vacancies.

Republican senators have blocked President Obama's nominations slated to head the Environmental Protection Agency (Gina McCarthy), Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (Richard Cordray), Securities and Exchange Commission (Mary Jo White), and Labor Department (Thomas Perez). In the case of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 43 Republicans (all but 2 of the total Republicans in the Senate) are opposed to approving anyone to head the Bureau. They don't want the Bureau to function or exist, so they are refusing to confirm the President's nominee, Richard Cordray. Elizabeth Warren was frozen out of consideration for the seat as head of the agency she helped create and consequently ran for Senator in Masschuettes, defeating incumbent GOP Senator Scott Brown.

There are 24 Obama nominees to Federal judgeships pending Senate confirmation. Now, the U. S. Court of Appeals, D. C. Circuit (aka the D.C. Circuit) judicial vacancies are at the center of a struggle between Obama and Senate Republicans.

Issuing a forceful challenge to Senate Republicans, President Barack Obama nominated three judges to the influential federal appeals court in Washington, declaring that the GOP has “cynically used Senate rules and procedures” to delay and block past nominees.

“What I’m doing today is my job; I need the Senate to do its job,” he said as he announced his nomination of Patricia Ann Millett, Cornelia Pillard and Robert Leon Wilkins on Tuesday in the White House Rose Garden.

In simultaneously naming three nominees to the understaffed federal appeals court in Washington, Obama set up an aggressive push against Senate Republicans who are trying to keep him from naming any more judges to the influential circuit.

Just take a look at judicial appointments under past presidents: Carter (262), Regan (384),G. H. W. Bush (194- one term), Clinton (379) and G. W. Bush (328). President has been able to appoint only 172 during his term in office and Republicans continue to obstruct his ablity to do his job and name his team. Republican have even introduced the Court Efficiency Act which would eliminate the 3 vacancies in the D. C.  Circuit Court, the second highest court in the land and the natural feeder court to fill vacancies in the Supreme Court. Even the New York Times supports retaining the 11 seats for this key court.


While the Republicans are working diligently to deny President Obama a lasting legacy, they are also letting the country's business go astray and are forgetting the needs of the American people in the process. They are saying forget the results of the election and the public's clear choice of Barack Obama to lead the country. For them, it's their way or no way and damn whether the country can progress. They just say "no".

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