Introduction to Wills and Estate Planning

By Cindy R.

Estate planning is the process of putting a plan together to take care of your family and you assets when you die. No matter how little you may have in assets it is important to have a estate plan in place. Key elements of an estates plan include a will, powers of attorney and possibly trusts. We'll cover each of these in turn

A will is the first place to start your estate plan. You need to create a list of all of your assets and determine who you would like to receive those assets after your death. Your will is the legal document that lists your assets and who is to receive them. When drafting your will pay special attention to the probate laws of Texas to ensure that your will can be validated in probate court. If your will is disallowed then your property will be distributed without your will and according to Texas probate law. This is not something you want to take the chance of messing up so enlisting the aid of an estate planning attorney is a smart move. They can usually assist you for a reasonable fee.

Power of Attorney - A power of attorney is a legal document that authorizes somebody to act on your behalf in legal or business matters. A durable power of attorney is a special kind that allows the rights granted to be effective if you become incapacitated due to injury or mental illness. Durable powers of attorney can by financial and medical in nature. A Health Care Power of Attorney is a durable power of attorney that authorizes the appointed agent to make health care decisions for up. The authorization can include the ability to stop life sustaining medical support if it is keeping a terminally ill patient alive.

A living will goes hand in hand with a medical power of attorney. A living will states your intentions regarding health care if you are not capable in do so for yourself due to a future incapacity. The living will states WHAT you want done in specific situations and the health care power of attorney authorizes somebody to follow through on your wishes. These two documents are complicated enough that most are crafted by professional estate attorneys.

Next we are going to cover Trusts. Trusts are another vehicle that allows you to direct certain types of property with the added benefit that you can place restrictions and requirements on the assets. One of the most significant advantages of trusts is that there is no court involved. This allows for immediate dispersal of assets by the trustee (the person administering the trust). Because there is no probate court involvement trusts can also bypass public record of the transactions.

Lastly we are going to cover some of the tools that are available to help manage your tax burden upon your death. Life insurance is one of the primary methods to manage taxes at time of death. There are also a large variety of trusts that are effective as well. Estate planning for tax consequences is one of the more complicated aspects of estate planning and a professional can help you craft an appropriate plan.

Now that you are familiar with some of the estate planning tools it is time to start the process. Whether you go it alone or enlist the help of a professional the first step is to create a list of all of your assets. Once you have your list of assets you will need to make a decision about what you'd like to happen to each asset upon your death. Should it go to family, your alma matter, your favorite charity or someplace else that is near and dear to you?

Estate planning can seem like a daunting undertaking, but knowing that it is very important and taking it one step at a time will help you complete the process. Hiring professionals to help you in the process is also extremely helpful and highly encouraged. - 23200

About the Author:

Visit the Texas Wills web site where Cindy R. writes about Writing A Will and other estate planning topics.

Using the Crosses

By Hassam

It is of utmost importance for individual/retail traders to find the best currency pair to trade. As a retail trader, you will only have $1,000 to $10,000 in your trading account. For you, opportunity cost is a real cost as an individual trader. If you commit your funds to anyone currency pair, those funds cannot be used in other possibly more profitable trades in other currency pairs.

In forex trading, almost every currency pair is linked to another, one way or the other. As an individual/retail trader, if you only trade USD, you risk missing promising trades and opportunities offered by other currency pairs especially the crosses.

Most of the trading is done through the direct buying/selling of US dollar. You should always keep an eye on the crosses in order to gauge the strength/weaknesses of a currency. This will tell you which currency pair is the best to trade.

What are the crosses, you may ask? Currency pairs that do not involve the dollar are known as Crosses such as EUR/AUD, CHF/GBP, EUR/JPY, EUR/GBP etc. Almost 90% of the currency pairs that are actively traded in the forex markets involve the US dollar. In simple terms, over 90% of the all the currency trades have US Dollar on one side of the trade. So what is so special about a cross?

Lets make it clear with a simple example. A good method to trade stocks is from big to small. Suppose, you think that the stock market is rebounding and is expected to rise in the near future. You have limited funds at your disposal as an individual/retail investor; so you should choose the best stocks that can give you good ROI.

It would be advisable to look at the sector specific indices and find the most promising sector. From there, you would look within the index and find the most promising companies that are expected to perform well over the coming months. This big to small thinking is very solid and you need to think in the same fashion while trading forex.

Cross movements should never be overlooked as they can often hide the footsteps of large players. For example, a major investor may be bullish on Euro due to some fundamental reasons. He may try to fly under the radar and buy Euros against Pound Sterling, Swiss Francs, and Yen etc.

Crosses are extremely important to swing or momentum traders! They are used as forecasting tools to predict which currencies lead the pack. Ignore the crosses and you will be often stuck with currency pairs that do not move much.

Limited funds in your account means you should always try to choose the currency pair that is expected to move the most. But, how exactly can you come to a reasonable conclusion? By taking a look at the crosses!

Cross movements sometimes work to amplify the move of a major currency pair or sometimes these movements minimize the effects. For example, in EUR/USD currency pair, if Euro is dropping against USD but rising against the GBP also called Cable, the net effect would be to limit the size of the EUR/USD fall. If ERU/GBP is rising, it is an indication that the Euro is outperforming the British Pound.

Limited funds means you need to choose the best currency pair? Any EUR/USD selling pressure is likely to be offset by the buying pressure of EUR/GBP. GBP/USD sales are likely to be amplified by the cross sales EUR/GBP.

Since, EUR/GBP is rising; it is a better bet to short Pound instead of Euro. This means you should choose the pair GBP/USD. If we had randomly picked one of the two currency pairs for shorting, we may have missed a great trade. - 23200

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Learn Forex Nitty Gritty. Read about Trend Forex System. Try Netpicks Forex Signal Service.

The Increasing Popularity of Bonnie Brae Real Estate

By Ray Salamanca

Located in Denver, the capital of Colorado you will find Bonnie Brae real estate. Just east of the Rocky Mountains, this delightful neighborhood offers amazingly spectacular views. One of the most sought after areas to live in the central Denver area is Bonnie Brae real estate. Bonnie Brae means "Pleasant Hill" and the Scottish Village style neighborhood lives proudly up to its name.

Bonnie Brae real estate in Denver, Colorado offers a stately and historic feel to the properties and with the wide range of older homes and newer construction the neighborhood creates a nice diversity. This quaint suburb offers brick ranches, Cape Cods, and even English Tudors. You will expect the prices to range from $300,000 to $2,000,000 when looking at the available listings. Any budget should be comfortable with this wide price range.

Just west of the border, Bonnie Brae real estate offers walking distance to the Bonnie Brae strip. Among the many amenities located on the strip you will find ice cream parlors, bistros, shopping, and even a newly updated library. The Saucy Noodle is a delightful place to eat among the many selections.

No matter what you are looking for, you will find it within a few blocks. The local dry cleaner, flower shop, and even a travel agency is all in the area.

There are no worries about commuting as the Bonnie Brae real estate offers easily accessible routes to I-25 and Colorado BLVD to take you to the business district as well as downtown nightlife. You will also enjoy being close to the popular Cherry Creek shopping district as well as Washington park.

As you drive into the neighborhood you will enjoy tree lined streets that curve through the perfectly manicured neighborhood. The trails will be a delight for the Saturday bike rides and how nice it will be to walk to the local coffee shop on Sunday morning to enjoy a latte while reading the newspaper and running into your neighbors?

Bonnie Brae real estate welcomes you into a feel of a vacation town without the cluster of tourists. You will love the ability to feel secluded in this charming neighborhood without feeling isolated from the busy downtown world.

Colorado can bring harsh winds and severe cold, the Bonnie Brae area is nestled in what is called a "bowl" to protect it from that weather. The popularity of Bonnie Brae real estate is growing as is the metropolis downtown and the availability of homes in the area are becoming scarce, even in this economy.

Bonnie Brae real estate offer a sound investment as the popularity never seems to weaken and the need for homes in the area are in demand. - 23200

About the Author:

Ray Salamanca is a realtor in the Denver area and has 25 years experience. Come visit his website Bonnie Brae Real Estate that is regularly updated and get more information about the Bonnie Brae neighborhood before making any major decisions.

The Best Forex Software Should Have A Few Key Features.

By John Eather

One should never undermine the essential needs to choose the best Forex software when it comes to Forex trading. This is especially crucial for aspiring Forex traders as well as those who are already in this profession in order to help them in their foreign exchange activities. There are a few key elements that traders should know about Forex software in order to gain good profits.

It is a well-known fact that in today's Forex market, it is easy for the dollar to fluctuate against other currencies in the world. Therefore, it is especially crucial to get a Forex trading software that could adjust to the changing needs in the Forex market.

Online security should be one of the most important elements on the traderas mind when choosing a Forex Trading Software, making sure that it has the highest security encryption, including 128 bit SSL encryption. This will not only ensure that you are kept safe from hackers, but also prevent any of your personal and financial details from being accessed, stolen or misused, by protecting these important details.

Another important aspect to look for is companies that will provide all day technical support of their software. This is extremely important, in cases where you have issues like unauthorized access, or any such problems. Having this support is extremely important also to improve the success rate of the trader as they are kept safe from any loss of information in the middle of a trade transaction, and can recover easily with support.

Most aspiring Forex traders would be pleased to know of any FX trading secrets. Traders will need to do an extensive research regarding the FX trading secrets. Some FX trading secrets may work for others but not for you so, the main thing to do is to keep learning and gain as much experience as you can.

There are quite a few online techniques that traders can use including some trading secrets compiled by professional traders that are amazingly useful for any trader. New trader or old trader, these secrets are gold, and every trader should constantly research and update themselves in order to become and remain successful at trading. Taking online trading course is also a great idea to expand horizons and keep going forward.

Traders that are new to the Forex market should first familiarize themselves on spreads as this can drastically affect their future strategies in great ways. This is mainly because the Forex trading scene is so competitive and so volatile that any new trader should have atleast some form of Forex training, and these are all easily available to sign up on, online.

Lastly, with the right Forex trading software, a good mindset and attitude, traders should be able to boost their analytical skill and predict Forex trading accurately. Also, the trading software that traders have chosen should be able to minimize their risk and help increase their probability in winning in Forex trading. - 23200

About the Author:

Make sure to check out John Eather's free ecourse and reports about Online Forex Trading. Obtain the latest info concerning forex trading. Go to MoneyMakingFxTrader.com for all the details.

eToro Broker Review - Taking a Closer Look at eToro.com

By Jeff Pawel

eToro, based out of Limassol Cyprus, is a relatively new online forex broker with an interesting twist that helps new traders come up to speed fast. Beginner forex traders will be entertained as they learn via an ingenious graphical user interface. Many have difficulty at first understanding how forex works and this platform does a good job of explaining the process via a video game like interface.

There are four trading areas in the eToro lobby. Forex Marathon uses characters representing currencies that compete in a forex race. For instance, the US Dollar is a farmer, the Japanese Yen a sumo wrestler and the Euro a European businessman. The idea is you choose a currency to buy, pick the currencies to compete against, select an amount and click to open the trade. In a few clicks the marathon comes to life on your computer screen and shows how your currency/runner is doing against the rest of the field.

The Dollar Trend is next in the lobby and here you basically choose whether the US dollar will rise or fall against other currencies or your choosing. Graphically its the same as Forex Marathon where the currencies race against each other this time in the form of coins.

The Globe Trader is the next area in the lobby. After making a selection youll see a wire signal that represents your trade as well as competing countries on the trade arena map. An info box above the wire will show how your trade is doing from a profit standpoint as well as provide a detailed breakdown in the map.

Finally, Forex Match is a graphical tug-of-war between currencies representative of your trade.

An overall theme in the eToro platform is community. You can compete against others in the aforementioned forex games with cash prizes awarded to the champion. The Championship & Chat area tracks high scores similar to a video game and users can chat with each other in real time.

The above illustrates an innovative forex learning tool, but eToro has an area where one can trade for real. You can fund your account via credit card or wire transfer. With a credit card the minimum is $50 and maximum is $1,000 with a $5,000 monthly cap. Wire transfer minimum is $500, max of $5,000 and a cap of $5,000.

eToro is more of an experience than your garden variety online forex broker. It teaches like no other but is layered over a solid live platform. Open a free demo account and find out for yourself how fun forex trading can really be. - 23200

About the Author:

Is eToro a scam? Read the in depth eToro Review now. Find out how it works at my forex currency trading and read a FREE report about this Forex Trading Platform.