Recap - Birmingham Angel Network meeting last night

We had a smaller (typical for summer) but very engaged crowd last night to hear our two presenters, Transaction Tree and YouthMinistry 360.

Jason Shapiro with Transaction Tree engaged the crowd with a lively discussion on POS systems, e-receipts and the direction of commerce in the digital age. Les Bradford and Andy Blanks of YouthMinistry 360 then gave an inspiring discussion about youth ministry and working with teens and those supporting them.

All in all it was a fun night and a good time was had by everyone. For those that couldn't make it we would love to see you at the next BAN event and we certainly expect to hear more from our presenters as they grow into the future.

www.birminghamangels.com

Birmingham Angel Network meeting next Thursday night (6-8pm).

Birmingham Angel Network meeting next Thursday night (6-8pm) at Innovation Depot.

We will be having a couple of company presentations and it should be a typical slower and more relaxed summertime meeting, so a great time to bring a guest.

www.birminghamangels.com

See you there.

Estate tax remains unresolved

It has come to this: Congress, quite by accident, is incentivizing death.

When the Senate allowed the estate tax to lapse at the end of last year, it encouraged wealthy people near death's door to stay alive until Jan. 1 so they could spare their heirs a 45% tax hit.

Now the situation has reversed: If Congress doesn't change the law soon—and many experts think it won't—the estate tax will come roaring back in 2011.

Not only will the top rate jump to 55%, but the exemption will shrink from $3.5 million per individual in 2009 to just $1 million in 2011, potentially affecting eight times as many taxpayers.

The math is ugly: On a $5 million estate, the tax consequence of dying a minute after midnight on Jan. 1, 2011 rather than two minutes earlier could be more than $2 million; on a $15 million estate, the difference could be about $8 million.

Of course, there is a "death incentive" whenever Congress raises the estate tax. But it hasn't happened in decades; the top rate has held steady or fallen since 1942, according to tax historian Joseph Thorndike of Tax Analysts, a nonprofit group. In fact, the jump from zero to 55% would be "the largest increase in a major tax that we've ever seen," Mr. Thorndike says.

Too Rich to Live? The estate tax is set to come roaring back in January. That sets the stage for a perverse calculus: End it all—or leave a massive bill for your heirs to deal with. WSJ.com, July 10, 2010

Baseball and Investing

Growing up with a dad that played a lot of baseball, many of the advice I heard around the dinner table related to the strategy of the diamond.

Particularly, I think about frequent advice to focus on the fundamentals while hitting singles and letting the home runs happen. Great advice for a young man that had (maybe, "has") a talent for sometimes biting of more than he could chew.

But the thing I was thinking about this weekend was the mystery of a streak. You know, "don't mess with a man on a streak" and all of the hocus pocus that makes for so much fun on the outside looking in.

I think deals may be somewhat like baseball streaks (and maybe home runs too). I never really know what trigger gets a deal on a hot streak, but I sure don't want to touch them too much when they are on one.

I wonder if it would help to suggest wearing lucky socks too.

What do Angels want to see?

Angel investors should want to work with entrepreneurs that (1) value their investment even more than they do and (2) are fanatical about the product or service...but social intelligence is huge too.

Social intelligence makes almost all of the many tough things about starting a new business easier...marketing, sales, HR, customer complaints, negotiations, investor relations and the list goes on.

Unfortunately, it is the lack of social intelligence that makes many brilliant and creative people a terrible fit to lead a new venture. That doesn't mean those people can't be involved at all, but the overall leadership needs to be good with people.

So if you are an odd duck, be honest with yourself about it and try to partner with someone that can be a great face of the company or you may be fighting a long battle.

Do It Yourself Estate Planning Pitfalls

The pros and cons of DIY estate planning are discussed in yesterday's article in US New and World Report:

"Unless you are single and have absolutely no money," says Brooklyn-based estate planning and tax lawyer Hani Sarji, you need an estate planner, because people tend to make mistakes when they fill out their own forms online. "People might get a false sense of security from DIY estate planning," Sarji adds, and answering one question incorrectly or overlooking something such as appointing a guardian for children can lead to major problems down the road.

On her blog, estate planning lawyer Leanna Hamill writes about a colleague who had a client who used an online do-it-yourself will that he failed to update after some of his beneficiaries died and he opened new bank accounts that weren't mentioned on the form. "That is the reason to have an attorney assist you with this process. We know the questions to ask, and we know what to do with the answers," she writes.

"Without a lawyer, you might not understand the terms," says Deborah Jacobs, author of Estate Planning Smarts. Therefore, you could inadvertently give someone more power than you want to when creating a "durable power of attorney" document, for example. That document essentially gives someone else the power to take care of your finances if you become incapacitated. Jacobs says that if that person isn't trustworthy, he or she could steal from you. She also warns that if the document isn't executed properly—in some states you need witnesses to your signature—then it might not even be valid.

Another risk, says Jacobs, is that when it comes to transferring your money to family members after you pass away, a self-written will might contain holes that lead to errors.

As with other areas of the law, other lawyers, who don't practice estate planning law, have hired me to assist them with their estate plan; if they know they can't tackle an incorporation or an estate plan without some advice and counsel, do you believe you can do better?

LegalZoom.com Faces California Class Action Over Estate Planning Documents

Legalzoom.com has been accused in California of the unauthorized practice of law, as well as providing ineffective estate planning documents.

January 8, 2012 Update: The case now has apparently settled, as most class actions and indeed most lawsuits of any kind are.