Wills, Trusts & Estates Prof Blog

More Problems Surrounding Michael Jackson's Estate

Janet Jackson put down a $40,000 deposit at Forest Lawn to secure a burial spot for Michael Jackson, but she would not let the funeral proceed until that money was repaid.  

On the night of Michael's death, Talon Executive services, a private-security company, was dispatched to his house.  They report that La Toya and her boyfriend showed up at the house shortly after he died demanding access into the house because they were family.  Shortly after their arrival, Katherine Jackson followed suit.  While within the home, Katherine Jackson called Grace Rwaramba, the former nanny to Michael's children, to ask her where Michael hid the cash at his house.  Talon reports that they saw La Toya and her boyfriend loading black plastic garbage bags into duffle bags and then putting them into the garage.  La Toya, however, insists that almost all of Michael's money was gone by the time she arrived at Michael's house. 

Also, as I previously blogged about, there were rumors that Katherine Jackson was kidnapped.  To read more about her side of the story, please click here. 

And for more about John Branca, an executor of the Michael Jackson estate, please click here. 

See Michael Jackson's Burial Was Delayed Because Janet Wanted Her Burial-Plot Deposit Back, Vanity Fair, Oct. 6, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.   

Legal Rights to Bill Monroe's Name

Bill Monroe was a bluegrass music legend, and Campbell Mercer organizes The Jerusalem Ridge Bluegrass Music Festival in his honor.  The problem is, he may not be able to use Monroe's likeness or name to promote the festival that honors him.  

Thirteen years ago, Ohio County and the county industrial foundation bought the rights to Monroe's name and image.  Currently, Mr. Mercer is battling the county to see whether they ever gave Mercer's organization the right to use Monroe's name. Regardless of the lawsuit's outcome, Mercer believes that the county will eventually decide to use Monroe's name to promote the festival to honor the legendary musician. 

See Brett Barrouquere, Legal Fight Waged For Right to Bill Monroe's Name, mySA, Oct. 4, 2012. 

Special thanks to J. Barrett Shipp (Associate Attorney, Heinriches & De Gennaro, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.  .

The Estate Tax in the Next Administration

According to members of Congress who are directly involved in the discussion on the status of the estate tax, it is unlikely that either President Obama for Governor Romney's administration will repeal the estate tax. However, as I have previously discussed, the outcome of the election could determine the exemption and the tax rate. I am providing a link to this blog below. that provides a audio recording of Senator Chuck Grassley discussing the various rates and the likelihood that Congress will adopt that tax rate.

See Rick Shields, Death Tax Repeal Unlikely, WHTC, Sept. 26, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

It’s Best to be Proactive When it Comes to Post-Death Decisions

Wesley E. Wright (Partner, Texas) and Molly Dear Abshire (Partner, Texas) recently published an article entitled, It's Best to be Proactive When It Comes to Post-death Decisions, Senior Living Section, Houston Chronicle. Provided below is their article:

Thanks to Joy Eckelkamp-Torres and Bryn Poland for their contributions to this article.

Legal decisions that follow the death of loved ones are complicated.  The period of time immediately following the loss of an important person in your life, like a parent, spouse, sibling or child, can leave you vulnerable to stress, misguided advice, or high-pressure sales tactics that lead to rushed decisions. 

Hasty choices may leave a person in a poor financial condition and could potentially impact the life of a survivor for years to come.  So it’s important to be proactive when considering post-death decisions.

Donating the deceased’s body is one such consideration. Any adult living in Texas, who is of sound mind, may choose to donate their body by Will or other written instrument to be used for the advancement of medical science.  Family members in the following priority may give all or part of the decedent’s body if there is not actual notice of contrary indications by the decedent.

1. Decedent’s spouse
2. Decedent’s adult child
3. Either of the decedent’s parents
4. Decedent’s adult sibling
5. Guardian of the person of the decedent at the time of death

Such gifts may be made after or immediately before death.  In order for the gift to be valid, it must be made by a document signed by the person or by telegraphic, recorded telephonic, or video or audio recording.  Donation of a body may also be specified prior to death on a donor card, driver’s license or personal identification certificate for gifts of the eyes, tissues or organs.  For more information about these kinds of donations, contact the Living Bank at www.livingbank.org.

Making advance plans for a memorial service or funeral, also referred to as a “pre-need funeral contract,” is an essential part of post-death planning and will lessen the stress of handling these arrangements during the grieving process, especially if the pre-need arrangements are paid for in advance.  Personal preferences may be made in writing and a copy given to family members, friends or an attorney to keep in a safe and accessible place.  Veterans or their family members should inform their funeral director if they want military honors.  Veterans and their immediate family members are entitled to burial in a VA National Cemetery.  For additional information about military honors, visit www.militaryfuneralhonors.osd.mil.

Another important post-death consideration is paperwork.  The more organized your estate documents are, the easier it will be for a surviving loved one to find the documentation necessary to carry out your wishes.  If these documents are kept in a safe deposit box, be sure to identify the appropriate person on the account card of the financial institution where the box is held.  Documents to have prepared and organized are a Will, list of all financial institutions and account numbers, life insurance policies, Social Security card, tax returns, deeds, and other information related to the decedent’s assets and income.

Obtaining several certified copies of the death certificate is prudent, as each financial institution holding the decedent’s accounts, life insurance company, employer death benefits, government agency and immediate family need an original.

Awareness of post-death decisions can lessen the burden on surviving loved ones, which is reason enough to start making or reviewing your plans today.  

Article on the Laws of Succession

Mark Glover (Teaching Fellow & Assistant Professor of Professional Practice, Louisiana State University, Paul M. Hebert Law Center) has recently published an article entitled, A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning, 35 Seattle U. L. Rev. 427 (2012). The abstract from SSRN is provided below:

The psychological consequences of the law of succession largely have been overlooked. This oversight is confounding given that the estate planning and probate processes are emotionally charged and raise a number of psychological issues. Filling this analytical void, this article examines the estate planning process from a therapeutic jurisprudential perspective and makes two primary contributions to the study of the law of succession. First, the article identifies the psychological consequences of the estate planning process. Although the analysis suggests that certain aspects of preparing and implementing an estate plan can negatively affect one’s psychological wellbeing, the analysis also reveals that estate planning has positive psychological consequences, which contribute to the process’s overall therapeutic nature. Second, the article develops the therapeutic and antitherapeutic qualities of estate planning into a framework through which to analyze how reforms of the law of succession will affect the therapeutic potential of the estate planning process. Ultimately, this article encourages the continued use of the therapeutic jurisprudential framework in the estate planning context and seeks to inspire further therapeutic jurisprudential analysis throughout the law of succession.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention. 

Supreme Court of Utah Rules Against Warren Jeff's Polygamous Sect

The Utah Supreme Court has reversed the ruling of a lower court that returned control of a $114 million property trust to the polygamous sect. Now, the court's ruling makes it so that the trust will remain in state government control. In its holding, the court reasoned that the statute of limitations had passed, and that the sect could not "challenge the takeover of the trust, which holds nearly all the land, homes, and property in the sect's home base of Colorado City, Ariz., and Hildale, Utah." However, this is not the end of the case. A federal district court, heard a challenge to the state's actions based upon a violation of the 1st Amendment's free exercise. The judge in that case ruled that the taking of the trust violated the 1st Amendment and ordered the Government to return the trust to the sect. Now, the Government has appealed the case to the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals to determine whether a violation of the 1st Amendment has actually occurred.

See Lindsay Whitehurst, Utah High Court Deals Blow to Polygamous Sect in Property Trust Case, The Salt Lake Tribune, Oct. 2, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Waiver of the Tax Penalty on Early IRA Withdrawals

At least, that's what the New York Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA) would like to see. According to Accounting Today, the NYSSCPA "has asked Congress to consider new legislation that would temporarily waive tax penalties for taxpayers who are forced to make early withdrawals from retirement accounts due to financial hardship." The NYSSCPA noted that the tax penalty has become a problem for those who are relying on their qualified retirement plan to help them get through the economic crisis. Thus, the NYSSCPA has petitioned Congress to ask them to enact a number of short-term exceptions to the tax penalty. It is also important to note that the NYSSCPA only supports the waiver of the additional tax penalty. In other words, the distribution would still be considered ordinary income for federal income tax purposes. This are the following of exceptions that the NYSSCPA would like Congress to consider:

• "Payments to prevent foreclosure on a principal residence. 
• Payments for a student loan of the taxpayer, their spouse or their child. 
• Long-term unemployment (individuals who have exhausted their 26 week basic unemployment benefit on or before the due date, including extensions, of their tax return). 
• To pay a federal, state or local tax lien. 
• Extent to which a taxpayer is insolvent at the time of distribution (ignoring the amount of distribution).
• As part of a court-ordered bankruptcy payment plan.
• Deemed distribution of a loan under Section 72(p) of the Tax Code, if caused by involuntary loss of employment by layoff or termination."

See Michael Cohn, N.Y.CPAs Ask Congress to Waive Tax Penalties on Early Retirement Plan Withdrawals, Oct. 3, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

Even Astronauts Do Not Have Life Insurance

Neil Armstrong and the other astronauts on the Apollo 11 meeting did not have life insurance before all of them went into outer space. The reason that he or the other astronauts did not have life insurance was because the costs were simply too high. The primary reason for the high cost was the high amount of risk that the life insurance company would have to take in insuring the astronauts. This is generally the case with high risk occupations, where high risk relates to the likelihood that the employee will suffer a fatal injury in the course of his or her employment. Now, the astronauts on the Apollo mission did leave their families some type of insurance. Apparently, weeks before the scheduled mission, Neil Armstrong signed hundreds of envelopes in the hopes that his autograph would be valuable after this death. As it happened, one of the signatures had the potential to earn $30,000 at an auction.

See Charlotte Beugee, First Man on the Moon Didn't Sign Up for Life Cover, We Know Life Insurance, Aug. 31, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

Article on Permanent Estate Tax Reform

Jeffrey A. Cooper (Professor of Law, Quinnipiac University) recently published his article entitled Time For Permanent Estate Tax Reform, 81 UMKC L. Rev. (2012).  The abstract available on SSRN is below: 

On January 1, 2013, the federal estate tax regime in effect from 2001 to 2012 is scheduled to revert to its pre-2001 structure. A 35% rate will soar to a 55% rate. A $5 million exemption will plummet to $1 million. Some deductions and credits enacted in 2001 will disappear while others repealed in that year suddenly will reappear. In fundamental ways, the estate tax in effect on inauguration day will bear little resemblance to the tax as it existed on election day. 

Regardless of one’s personal politics, there is little redeeming to be found in such dramatic shifts in tax policy. In the next four years, preferably in the next four months, Congress and the President must work together to implement their own vision for the estate tax, rather than allowing mere inertia to effectuate choices made by their predecessors. I offer this essay as a modest contribution to that effort. 

This paper is organized in two major parts. In Part I, I explore the recent history of the federal estate tax, highlighting how changes made in the last dozen years have brought Congress to a moment of crisis. In Part II, I offer a suggestion for permanent reform of two provisions of the current estate tax regime: enacting a permanent estate tax exemption of $3.5 million to $5 million and restoring the state death tax credit.

Mayor of Halifax Steps Down as Executor of Woman's Estate

The mayor of Halifax, Peter Kelly, used to be the executor of Mary Thibeault's estate until he agreed to step down after beneficiaries petitioned to have him removed. The beneficiaries were concerned with his accounting of the estate and continued procrastination.

Kelly's final accounting of the estate indicated that it was worth almost $700,000.   The accounting also showed that Kelly accumulated nearly $117,000 in expenses as the former executor. The province's probate court will review the expenses and the beneficiaries can challenge them. 

See Mayor Accrued $117K as Estate Executor, CBCnews: Nova Scotia, Oct. 3, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

In Cornwall, If You Don't Have a Will, Your Estate Goes To Prince Charles

In Cornwall, a constitutional law dating back to medieval times dictates that the Prince of Wales gets the estates of people who die without a will. Over the past six years, Prince Charles has earned over one million pounds from people who died without a will.

The chief executive of the campaign group Republic says that Prince Charles does not have a right ot hat money and wants to abolish this law, stating, "'anywhere else in the country that money goes into the public purse but in Cornwall, it goes into his pocket. It needs to stop.'"

Notably, Charles donates all of the money he receives from these estates to charity.  Furthermore, he voluntarily pays income tax at the highest rate, netting the Inland Revenue around 4.5 million pounds last year. 

See Anthony Bond, Revealed: How Prince Charles Receives  £1m From the Estates of Subjects Who Die WIthout Wills Thanks To a Medieval Law, MailOnline, Oct. 3, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

Food For Thought When Choosing Beneficiaries

Most individuals do not give enough attention to their beneficiary selections. Fox Business lists the following items to consider when deciding on a beneficiary:

1. Beneficiary Audit: You should start by evaluating what beneficiaries you currently have assigned. 

2. No Beneficiary: If you come up with assets that are missing beneficiaries, you should be sure to provide at least one for all assets that normally avoid probate court have a beneficiary assigned to them.

3. No contingent beneficiary: It is best to provide back-up beneficiaries.

4. Adding "per stirpes": Adding this term ensures that if one of your children predeceases you, his or her share is to continue through the same branch of family and go to his or her children. 

5. Not providing additional detail: You can add more detail than the fill in the blank section provides when you are designating a beneficiary on forms.

6. Naming a Minor as beneficiary: Despite your inclination to name children as beneficiaries, this can be problematic because minors cannot control funds. 

7. Naming your spouse as beneficiary: There are valid reasons why you may not want to name your spouse as the beneficiary. 

8. Not considering creditor protection: If you leave your IRA flat out to one of your children, creditors of that child can access that money.  If you properly design a trust to be the beneficiary, you have a better chance of protecting that money from any judgment against the child you would have named as beneficiary.

9. Not using a revocable trust: if you have established a living trust, you can name it as the beneficiary to your retirement accounts. This way you can create a consistent distribution between retirement and non-retirement accounts, control of assets to minors, and potential creditor protection. 

While these suggestions are a start, they do not apply to all situations. It is best to consult with competent counsel and figure out what beneficiary selection works best for you. 

See Tom Fortino, Bulletproofing Your Beneficiaries, Fox Business, Oct. 1, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

Man Who Cooked His Dead Wife Guilty of Murder

David Viens, a Los Angeles area Chef, was charged with first-degree premeditated murder but found guilty of the lesser included offense after he confessed to slowly cooking his wife's dead body in a 55 gallon drum. Upon learning that he was being investigated in his wife's disappearance, Viens attempted to commit suicide by jumping off an 80 ft cliff. The fall did not kill him and he ended up in the hospital. While at the hospital, Viens explained to police that he tied and bounded his wife to prevent her from hurting herself because he thought that she would drive around wasted on alcohol and other illicit drugs. He said that this occurred after he and his wife had an argument about whether she was stealing from his restaurant. He then went to bed and later awoke to discover that his wife was dead. Viens told police that her death was an accident but decided to dispose of the body in that manner because he did not believe that any one would believe him that her death was an accident. His wife's body was never found. 

See Michael Winter, Chef Who Cooked Wife's Body Guilty of Murder, USA Today, Sept. 27, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this article to my attention.

Woman Forced to Re-Compensate an Estate

In McClennan County, Tx, a judge has ruled that Melissa Alder, a woman who de-frauded an elderly man's estate, must re-compensate the estate for the money she took. The woman, with the help from her attorney Ray Rushing,apparently convinced the man to sign his will over to her. Rushing agreed to help on the condition that he would receive $5000 in compensation. The estate itself was worth about $170,000 in assets. Alder and Rushing were both charged with "mis-application of fiduciary property, theft of an estate, and securing execution of a document by deception."

See John Elizondo, Local Woman Forced To Repay For Cheated Estate, KXXV News, Sept. 25, 2012.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention. 

75% "Super Tax"

The Socialist President of France would like to impose a heavy tax on the wealthiest citizens of France. The purpose of the tax is reduce the deficit and the amount of debt that France currently owns. According to NBC News, "the public debt [is] at a post-war record of 91 percent of the economy." France is now concerned with trying to retain its credibility among European nations. There is opposition to this plan in France as well. Many business leaders feel that the large tax increase will likely harm the country because it might force the most talented people in France to leave. The tax itself will impose a 75% tax on those who make more than 1 million euros a year and a 45% tax on those who make more than 150,000 euros.

See Daniel Flynn and Leigh Thomas, France Wants to Slap Rich With 75 Percent 'Super Tax' , Economy Watch: NBC News, Sept. 29, 2012.

Special thanks to David S. Luber (Attorney at law, Florida Probate Attorney Wills and Estates Law Firm) for bringing this article to my attention.

Life Care Planning Takes Burden Off Family Members

Wesley E. Wright (Partner, Texas) and Molly Dear Abshire (Partner, Texas) recently published an article entitled, Planning For Illness and Death, Senior Living Section, Houston Chronicle. Provided below is their article:

Death is the one indisputable life event we all must face.  Yet, many of us are afraid to consider our own demise.  Either we believe we will live forever, or we superstitiously think that talking about dying will trigger “The End.”

Ambivalence to planning for sickness and dying could leave loved ones in a quandary when the inevitable time comes; the time when important, costly decisions must be made.  Life care planning is an integrated way to prepare for all aspects of the inevitable. 

Early in life someone plans for us – our parents or guardians.  Eventually we become responsible and take on the planning process for ourselves, for things like college, careers, marriage, children, home purchases, etc. 

Unfortunately, most of us do not contemplate planning for illness or death, one of the fundamental expenses of our lives.

Treating the end of life with disdain is costly and difficult for grieving loved ones. Why not continue planning as you always have? 

Life care planning not only involves elder law services such as estate planning documents, protecting assets and income, and public benefits eligibility. It includes provisions for care coordination, family education and decision-making, nursing home advocacy, ensuring appropriate care at home or in a facility, utilizing public and private sources of funds to pay health care costs.

A key tool in a life care plan is estate planning.  Having a Will allows you to make decisions about how your estate should be handled while you are still able to do so.

Important ancillary documents that allow you to appoint an agent to make decisions about your financial property, your healthcare, whether or not you want to be kept alive on life support, who you want to be your guardian if you become incapacitated and to disqualify a person from being serving in this position.

Long-term care insurance, another aspect of life care planning, can be obtained prior to 80 years of age but isn’t an option for people in bad health.  Insurance for some or all of long term care can make a significant difference in the quality of care one receives, whether at home or a facility, as well as preserve assets and income. 

Likewise, the sooner pre-need funeral contracts and burial spaces are purchased, the less cost is incurred.  Making the pre-need irrevocable is necessary when applying for public benefits like nursing home Medicaid.

Though planning for illness and death may seem a morbid exercise it is as necessary as planning to buy a home.  Begin your life care plans by getting out and looking at places, considering what you might like at each potential juncture, getting information on what each level of care costs, determining what you may and may not be able to afford, and putting your plans in writing. Learning how professionals like an elder law attorney or financial planner may assist with creating your life care plan could reduce future costs and help keep you comfortable when the inevitable comes.

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.

Conrad Murray Sues To Prevent Revocation of His Medical License

Conrad Murray, the doctor who was convicted of killing Michael Jackson, is currently serving four years for involuntary manslaughter.  He recently filed a lawsuit in Texas attempting to prevent the revocation of his medical license.  He sued the Texas Medical Board in Travis County Court, arguing that he only agreed to an indefinite suspension of his license pending the outcome of the California criminal case.  The board went ahead and revoked his license on the basis that he has been preliminarily convicted of a felony in California.

Mr. Murray is seeking injunctive relief arguing that since his appeal is still pending, that conviction is not final and the board cannot yet revoke his license. The complaint indicates that, under Texas rules of evidence, a pending appeal makes evidence of a conviction inadmissible and the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals precedent holds that convictions are not final until appeals are complete. 

See David Lee, Michael Jackson's Doctor Wants to Keep License, Courthouse News Service, Oct. 2, 2012. 

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) for bringing this to my attention.

Article on What Happens to Social Media After Your Death

Jason Mazzone (Professor, University of Illinois College of Law) recently published his article entitled Facebook's Afterlife, 90 N.C. L. Rev. 1643 (2012).  The abstract available on SSRN is below: 

People spend an increasing part of their lives using Facebook and other online social networking sites. However, virtually no law regulates what happens to a person’s online existence after his or her death. This is true even though individuals have privacy interests in materials they post to social networking sites; such sites are repositories of intellectual property, as well as materials important to family members and friends; and historians of the future will depend upon digital archives to reconstruct the past. In the absence of legal regulation, social networking sites determine on their own what, if anything, to do with a deceased user’s account and the materials the user posted to the site. Yet allowing social networking sites to set their own policies with respect to decedents’ accounts does not adequately protect the individual and collective interests at stake. The law, particularly federal law, can and should play a stronger role in regulating social networking sites and in determining the contours of our digital afterlives.

Form 709--2012 Gift Tax Return

On September 18, 2012, the IRS issued a draft of the 2012 Gift Tax Return.  There is a new spot in Part 1 to report any Deceased Spousal Unused Exclusion (DSUE) amounts that you received from a predeceased spouse to a gift or gifts reported on the current or a previous Form 709. If you answer yes, then you have to complete new Schedule C--DSUE Amount. Notably there are several references to "see instructions" on the draft, the IRS has not yet issued the instructions. 

For the following reasons, it may make sense to use the DSUE during the lifetime of the surviving spouse: 

1. If the surviving spouse remarries and the next spouse dies, any remaining DSUE of the first surviving spouse will be lost. 

2. When the surviving spouse makes a gift, the DSUE of the last deceased spouse is applied before the surviving spouse's own exclusion amount

3. A spouse who has had more than one predeceased spouse can use the DSUE of each surviving spouse in succession as long as the DSUE of the last deceased spouse is used before any subsequent spouse dies. 

See Sharon L. Klein, IRS Posts Draft 2012 Gift Tax Return (Form 709), Wealth Strategies Journal, Oct. 3, 2012. 

Special thanks to Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention. 

Final Notice for Those Wanting to Take Advantage of the Estate Tax Exemption

Now is the final call for those wanting to take advantage of the favorable estate tax exemption. As I have previously discussed, if Congress does not extend the Bush era tax cuts, then the exemption will return to the pre-Bush era rates. In other words, the lifetime federal tax exemption for estates and gifts will decrease from $5.12 million to $1 million. The reason that we are likely approaching the deadline for people to take advantage of the exemption is that the time and attention on the part of the attorney to set-up these lifetime gifts is great. As attorney Janet Brewer stated, "[e]ven if a lawyer has time to meet with a client, it's simply too difficult to finish the process in three or four weeks." Ms. Brewer stated that December is far too late. So, if person wishes to take advantage of the estate tax exemption, he or she might want to consider taking to his or her attorney about this issue.

See Charles Passy, Decision Time for Estate Planners As Tax Exemption is set to Expire, Wall Street Journal, Oct. 1, 2012.

Special thanks to Brian Cohan (Attorney at Law, Law Offices of Brian J. Cohan, P.C.) and Jim Hillhouse (Professional Legal Marketing (PLM, Inc.)) for bringing this article to my attention.