You may have noticed the semantic change this week in Washington – the “bailout” plan became the “rescue” plan. Indeed, the newly signed legislation offers help for taxpayers as well as Wall Street firms.

In addition to higher FDIC insurance limits through 2009 for bank deposit-holders, the Senate’s revision of the Wall Street relief package threw in a bunch of tax perks for individuals and businesses. Let’s take a look at some of them.

A higher AMT exemption. The Senate rolled some AMT relief into this rescue package. The Senate bill raises the married filing jointly exemption amount from $66,250 up to $69,950.1

The return of the IRA charitable rollover. This tax break expired at the end of 2007, and the Senate had voted to extend it on September 23 as part of a large measure to preserve a bundle of tax incentives.2 This week, it was added on to the rescue bill. Once again, taxpayers older than 70½ will be allowed to transfer as much as $100,000 from an IRA to a charity without an income tax penalty.

A big tax break for those who drive electric cars. The newly approved rescue package extends a brand new $7,500 tax credit for plug-in electric drive vehicles.3
Extending credits for homeowners. Homeowners who prefer not to itemize their federal income taxes have recently been allowed to take a deduction up to a limit of $1,000 for state and local property taxes. The relief package extends this privilege. Homeowners who upgrade their residences with energy-efficient products can potentially take advantage of tax credits as well.3

Deductions preserved for collegians and teachers. That $250 deduction teachers have been taking for school supplies? Count on it again, thanks to the relief package. College students will still get to take that $4,000 above-the-line deduction for tuition expenses.1

Tax relief for areas hit hardest by storms. The relief package offers regional tax breaks for Louisiana, Texas and certain states in the Midwest. It provides tax-exempt private activity bonds for those states and tax benefits to aid businesses and further the development of low-income housing.3

R&D tax credit extended through 2009. In addition to that extension, the rescue package offers $18 billion in tax breaks for clean energy business and extends tax credits for solar energy producers. There are new tax credits for carbon capture and sequestration demonstration projects for advanced coal electricity generation. Tax credits for biodiesel production will also be preserved through 2009.3

In short, a good day for the taxpayer. Remember that a qualified financial or tax advisor can help you learn about ways to possibly reduce your income, estate or capital gains taxes. What you learn may be pleasantly surprising.

Scott S. Lovell is the founder of Lovell Hathaway, Your Retirement SpecialistSM , and is a registered representative offering securities and advisory services through Geneos Wealth Management, Inc. Member FINRA and SIPC. For additional information, Scott can be reached at (435) 656-2518.

The journey of grief can take you on a long and bumpy road with pitfalls of unexpected feelings and emotional turmoil. Grief or bereavement and mourning go hand in hand when we are faced with the death of someone that has touched our lives is a significant way.

It is important to understand what these words, “grief’ and “mourning” mean. Grief is the thinking and feeling aspect of our psyche, or the internal thought and emotional process which accompanies the loss each of us experiences when someone or something we love has died.

Mourning is the action, or external expression of our thoughts and emotions. Please be aware that both are needed in order to complete the exhausting pilgrimage to restorative wholesomeness.

There is no wrong or right way to work through the grieving process - just a need to work through the pain and feel life is worth living again. Grief may very well be one of the hardest experiences with which a person may cope.

Following are some “do’s” and don’ts adapted from a list by Lee Schmidt of the Parent Bereavement Outreach in Santa Monica, California. These suggestions may help you help the bereaved.
· Do let your genuine concern and caring show. Don’t let your own sense of helplessness keep you from reaching out to a bereaved person.
· Do be available to listen, run errands, help with children or whatever is needed at the time. Don’t worry if you can’t say anything. Just being there to listen or hold a hand may be all that’s needed.
· Do say you are sorry about what happened to their loved one and about their pain. Don’t avoid them because you are uncomfortable - they just need a friend.
· Do allow them to express as much grief as they are feeling and are willing to share. Don’t say you know how they feel.
· Do encourage them to be patient with themselves, not to expect too much of themselves or impose “shoulds” on themselves.
· Do talk about the special and endearing qualities of the person they have lost. Don’t change the subject when they mention their loved one.
· Do allow them to talk about the person they have lost as much and as often as they want to. Don’t avoid using the name of their loved one out of fear of reminding them of their pain. They have not forgotten it!
· Do use the name of their loved one when remembering and sharing special times you spent with that person. Don’t try to find something profound (i.e., a moral lesson, closer families ties, their abilities to cope, God’s will) about the death of their loved one.
· Don’t try to “fix it” - the pain of grief is a normal reaction to loss.

In the musical “Dr. Dolittle,” the greedy circus owner, upon first seeing the very rare pushmi-pullyu, sings the song “I’ve never seen anything like it in my life.” As I have listened to all the “experts” analyze our current financial situation, I have heard them “sing” that same song. They keep reminding us that we cannot know the outcome of this financial mess because we have never seen anything like it before.

Let’s take a look back in history and see if that expression is really true. On “Black Monday” in 1987 the Stock market fell over 20% in one day. We had “never seen anything like it” yet several months (not years) later the market indexes had fully recovered. In 1962 the Cuban missile crisis brought the world to the brink of nuclear war, and the stock market plunged because, “We had never seen anything like it” before. The following year the market had rebounded and those who sold in panic lost out.

In 1974 President Nixon resigned in disgrace. Once again we had “Never seen anything like it.” The stock market crashed as people bailed out in panic. A quick look at stock market history will show that Gerald Ford took office and the market recovered in dramatic style. What a shame for those who sold on Nixon’s news.

The S&L Crisis, the Oil Embargo, the Kuwait War, the Twin Towers, and many more represent events in our history of which could be legitimately said we had “Never seen anything like it in our lives.” Yet from the rubble of all these disasters arose new bull markets every single time and investors who remained invested were rewarded. Let us not forget that the biggest bull market in history began during the severe recession of 1993-94.

When the current banking crisis is over, I believe history will record it as just one more in a long line of strange market animals that we had never seen before in our lives, yet somehow we managed to get through it.

Some say I am overly optimistic. My optimism springs from several sources, not the least of which is my belief that history is on the side of those who do not panic when times get tough. Or as my wife would say, when you’re having a bad day, just take the Doctor’s advice and start singing.

In your will you name an executor to handle your estate. A commonly known term for the executor is “personal representative.” If you die without a will, the Court will appoint a personal representative to carry out this function, so it is preferable for you to make the choice. If you use a revocable trust for your estate planning, you will name a successor trustee.

Who should you name as your executor or trustee? It is important to be sure that your executor or trustee is capable of handling the responsibility. The executor or trustee must be detail-oriented, be able to persevere in dealing with bills and insurance reimbursements, hospital paperwork, Medicare, ambulance, and doctor costs incurred in a last illness. The executor or trustee must be someone who is comfortable in handling paperwork, not afraid to ask questions, and have decent communication skills. An executor or trustee may have to manage an investment portfolio and make important investment decisions.

Your executor or trustee may also have to cope with relatives who may be wondering why it’s taking so long to receive their inheritance or why their bequests are smaller than they expected. This can happen if, for example, the decedent’s money was aggressively invested in the stock market, and those stocks nose-dived after he or she wrote the will or trust. The executor or trustee is responsible for various tax returns, and may have to manage the decedent’s property throughout the probate process. The process can last more than a year. The process can involve managing an investment portfolio and making important investment decisions.
Some people name a professional executor or trustee, rather than naming their spouse or another relative. This assures that the executor or trustee has no possible conflict of interest, since the executor or trustee does not stand to gain from the will or trust. In general, the larger the estate, and the more the potential for conflicts, the more you should consider naming a professional as executor.

An additional benefit of a professional executor or trustee is that it lessens the possibility of personal liability for a family member. In conclusion, there are many factors to consider in naming a successor trustee or executor.

In addition to these articles, you can listen to Wills, Trusts and More with local Attorney Jeff McKenna on Fox News KZNU 1450. The show airs every Tuesday from 4:30 to 5:00 pm (Mountain Standard Time) on 1450 AM. It is an opportunity to call in and ask an attorney questions about estate planning matters without getting an invoice sent to you at the end of the conversation. The show is co-sponsored by the Law Offices of Barney, McKenna & Olmstead as well as the St. George Senior Sampler.