"Home Truths"
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There are on this site a number of brief commentaries that I
have collectively labeled "Home Truths". They were
prepared specifically with a view to appearing on this site, for
the casual edification of any passers-by.
There have been two significant, but curiously contrary, developments
during the past third of a century. One is that the various tax
and property laws governing the management and transfer of
wealth have become greatly more complex and convoluted. The other
is that attitudes of the lay public towards the wealth transfer
system, to be polite about it, have not kept pace and have even,
I believe, gone quite far in the other direction.
There seems to be, on the part of the typical client, a
dangerous amount of wishful thinking regarding this matter --- he
views the complexities of the subject as an unwelcome irritation
heaped on top of his already over-crowded life, and hopes for
some quick and painless solution.
Resentful of that irritation, he becomes susceptible to the
blandishments of those (a) who seek to "dumb down" the
planning process, (b) who pretend that "it really isn't all
that difficult", and (c) who assert that there are one or
two "magic bullets" which will solve all of the client's
problems. This phenomenon is not universal, to be sure, but
it is wide spread enough, and its growth is palpable enough,
that someone should rise up and say, in however inartful and
circumscribed a form, that it just ain't so.
Accordingly, I am going to try to furnish those passers-by with
some Home Truths, as I see them, about (a) the essentially
participatory and collaborative nature of the estate or business
planning process, (b) the skills and attitudes which are
required of the client in order to achieve an optimum result,
(c) the disturbing incidence of publications which furnish
inadequate, biased or just plain bad advice, and how to avoid
them, (d) the dangers of dumbing down a process which is
inherently demanding and which requires thoughtful and attentive
involvement on the part of the client, and (e) the selection
(and also the care and feeding) of suitable professional advisors
to assist you in the process.
I hope the tone of these commentaries is not too hortatory for
you, but I have a bias against blandness. Although I am well
aware of the admonition that one catches more flies with honey
than with vinegar, I think an astringent quality is just what
is needed here, to stimulate the reader and to set him on a
safe and profitable path.
Perhaps, finally, upon reflection, I should say something about
the expression "Home Truth". The term may already be
familiar to you, but on the chance it is not, it is a British
colloquialism which is used to describe an opinion, fact or
condition which the speaker suspects might not be palatable
to the listener, but which the speaker is nonetheless determined
to impart --- purely for the listener's own good, of course!
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Law Offices of Thomas J. Keating IV
Centreville, Maryland, USA
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