About the Site
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During almost thirty years experience in the private practice
of law, I have accumulated a number of observations regarding the
purposes and processes of estate and business planning, and, for
reasons which are not clear even to me, somehow feel impelled to
share those thoughts with a few passers-by.
If this Site could be said to have a central theme, it would be
to improve your ability to effectively seek and utilize professional
advice in the areas of estate and business planning and related
subjects. A modest goal, you may say, and you would be right, but
it is one of a very few that I am even arguably equipped to advance,
so one simply does what one can and leaves the greater questions to
others.
As you will be quick to notice, the Site is very much a "Plain
Jane". No banners, no graphics, no audio or video, no
hyperlinks (well, maybe, just a few), no guestbooks or other
distractions. Its Author (this is just about the last time I will
appear in the third person --- it's so stilted, don't you think)
believes that what will be offered here is best presented in the
old-fashioned way, in writing.
I hope you will find some value in what you see and that you are
able to make good and profitable use of it; if you do not, simply
shrug and pass on. You may find the content a trifle idiosyncratic
and a bit less "buttoned-down" than the usual lawyers'
screed but I hope that that is not troubling. It does not signify
that I take lightly what is said --- only that you should feel
free to do so.
Further, I am going to defy current practice (not to mention
political correctness) by being gender-insensitive, solely with
a view to avoiding the various grammatical gyrations which the
other brings in its wake (e.g. he/she, his/her, chairperson, etc.)
Please take me at face value when I say that, deep down, I am
completely gender-neutral, and the materials here can be understood
equally well whichever gender is assigned to the particular role
being discussed, unless a contrary intention is clearly expressed.
One of Dickens' characters gave it as his view that a proper
mission in life is "to comfort the afflicted and to afflict
the comfortable". On the reasonable supposition that anyone
who is even passingly interested in the subjects discussed here is
more than a little "comfortable", I take it as my mission
to provide a bit of affliction.
A warning may be in order, however. Please do not assume, from
the serious tone and somewhat negative emphasis of certain of the
materials here, that I am pessimistic about your ability to cope
with the issues presented. Quite the reverse; years of practice
persuade me that you can cope with them, if only someone in a
position to know is willing to guide you toward an understanding
of those issues and patient enough to actively seek your informed
involvement in their solution. It is precisely because I know it
can be done, and not because I fear it cannot, that I have
offered the opinions and information which are set forth here.
The Site may be modified or expanded from time to time, or it may
not, depending on whether I change my beliefs about anything which
is said here or I acquire new knowledge or insights which I wish
to impart, but I disavow any responsibility in that connection.
I have tried to make the Site as "user friendly" as, in
my novice state, it was possible for me to do. Because the reader
may be older, and perhaps busier, than the norm, I have
particularly sought to make it easy on the eyes and quick to load
and to navigate.
You will also notice, as you tour the site, that there are a good
many more "paragraph breaks" than would be present in a
traditional printed text. I hope that this does not throw you off
stride. It is a deliberate accommodation to the ergonomic
characteristics of the medium by which this information is
being delivered, and should not be taken as an indication that I
do not know how to construct a grammatically correct paragraph.
Any criticisms or comments regarding this aspect of things will
be especially gratefully received.
The person I hope to reach here is a lay person (e.g. not a
lawyer or other professional estate or business planner) who is
inquisitive and persistent, and reasonably educable, but not
necessarily well informed. In fact, perhaps the less
"informed" the better, as there will then be less error
for you to unlearn.
The content of the site deserves a quick and sketchy overview, as
follows. The "Home Truths" are
a collection of personal reflections and ruminations which I have
accumulated over a good many years and which I simply wanted to
get off my chest. I hope they do not make me seem a scold,
although I cheerfully admit to having a weakness for pointing out
others' imperfections. The "Food for
Thought" are a selection of short memoranda on various
estate planning subjects, written for lay readers. I hope and
believe they may prove useful to you, with the reservation and
subject to the condition that they must be read in concert with
the Disclaimer & Conditions of Use
which appears at the entrance to the site. (How's that sentence
for lawyer talk!).
The "Bibliography" springs from
my conviction that knowledge generally is a good thing, that
knowledge is often difficult for a lay person to come by, and
that the quest for knowledge can be seriously, perhaps fatally,
disrupted by following false prophets. I hope to spare you that
difficulty and that disruption.
What do I want out of all of this? Nothing personally; just the
hope that someday, if and when you need assistance with estate
or business planning problems, or estate or trust administration
matters, or indeed any other matter requiring legal or other
professional advice, you will be a better client than you would
have been if you had not visited this site, and I may have your
advisors' silent thanks for my small contribution to that.
If anything you see here requires further explanation, or if you
disagree with any aspect of the site, or if you think I might be
of use or assistance to you in some specific way, you have my
permission to communicate with me at my address as shown on
the home page. You must please accept, however, in doing so,
(a) that any information, criticisms, etc., which may be
submitted shall be deemed the property of the Author, who
shall be free to use the same as he sees fit, and (b) that
the Author shall have no obligation to respond to any
communication so received.
Finally, a brief but earnest word of thanks to my friends at
Orban Computer Consulting
and BIS, without
whom this site would neither have been conceived nor implemented.
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Table of Contents
Law Offices of Thomas J. Keating IV
Centreville, Maryland, USA
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About the Site |
Home Truths |
Bibliography
Food for Thought |
Random Thoughts |
Front Page
Copyright © 1998-2002, Thomas J. Keating IV
Web site by BIS.
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