Good Lawyers in Injury Divorce DUI

Reports in the NY Times, Wall Street Journal and Boston Globe this week drive home the message that the Obama administration has come to the conclusion that one of the easiest and most pragmatic ways to boost retirement savings and provide a more secure retirement income for American's is to encourage the use of annuities.

For those of us in the annuity business, particularly those of us who work in structured settlement annuities or work with lawyers on their pension plans, this comes as welcome news but no surprise as to the value of the annuity to lock in guaranteed income you can't outlive, out spend or dissipate.

As we all know, American's have been in the thrall of the real estate and investment business for the last 25 years and believed the numbers tossed around that 11% annual returns can be expected on equities long term or that no one ever lost money in real estate. As the last decade has shown, plenty of people can and do lose money in real estate and that while long term yields on equities over 50 years are quite predictable, 5 and 10 year periods can go negative much to the dismay of investors and advisers alike.

As someone who has been a proponent of balanced investing and the use of annuities for years, this welcome recognition by firms such as Putnam Investments and others that when it comes time to start retirement savings, that an annuity is typically the best option for people, is long over due.

Listen in to this weeks edition of Speaking of Settlements to learn a bit more about the Putnam retirement Summit and get a handle on this sea change in how annuity contracts are perceived and used. As I have been predicting for over 18 months now, we are about to enter a golden age in the use of and appreciation for annuities for the vast majority of Americans and the sooner advisers, lawyers and others get a handle on this the quicker these amazing and fundamentally sound products will gain wider use and acceptance.

The Washington Post recently reported that U.S officials have been concerned with issues of international child custody disputes. They say these issues affect up to 75 American couples.

U.S officials said that as parents of different nationalities divorce, issues arise when one parent decides to take their children out of their natural born country and back to the parent’s native country.

In September, 2009, U.S citizen Christopher Savoie was arrested in Japan when he attempted to take his children back to the United States without his ex-wife’s consent.

The Japanese government did not charge Savoie with child abduction. They let him return back his home town in Tennessee, but his children remained in Japan.

Prior to Savoie’s retrieval attempt, a court hearing in the U.S. determined that he would get full child custody of the couple’s children.

But after the decision was made, his ex-wife took their children back to her country of Japan. This was a violation of the U.S. court’s child custody decision.

In Japanese law, only one of the parents is allowed to have full child custody after a divorce. In most cases, it is the mother who receives custody.

The fathers then have little if any access to their children until they are adults.

Since the Savoie situation, the U.S. has been determined to work out an agreement on child custody with Japan.

They believe that if an agreement could be reached, then both parties would benefit and all the parents’ rights would be protected. It would also stop parents from taking action on their own to take their children back.

U.S. officials recently met with a Japanese Foreign Ministry team in attempts to resolve the issue. They requested that Japan sign a treaty from the Hague Convention on International Child Abduction.

The treaty states that child custody decisions made by the country where the children were born should remain intact. It also protects the rights of both parents in child custody issues.

Japan has not yet signed the treaty. They argued that the treaty does not protect the rights of Japanese mothers in cases where they might flee from an abusive relationship with their foreign ex–husbands.

At this point, it appears no agreements have been reached but U.S. officials hope to come to a positive conclusion.

Commonwealth v. Lenora Rodriguez 2010 PA Super 14 (1/29/2010) Topic: Retail Theft – Intent Element of the Offense Summary: To convict a defendant of Retail Theft, the Commonwealth must prove that she had intent to permanently deprive the store of the merchandise. Illustration: Defendant was accused of taking a portable stereo from the electronics department of [...]

The pregnancy rate among teenage girls is on the rise in the United States, according to a new study released by the Guttmacher Institute (a nonpartisan, nonprofit group). The study examined the most recent statistical data available, and concluded that the pregnancy rate among teenagers aged 15-19 rose three percent in 2006. It had been previously reported [...]

For those of you who list mastery of apostrophe usage with the rest of your New Year’s resolutions, here is a short primer: 1. Use an apostrophe to indicate possession. 2. Place the apostrophe before the “s” when referring to a singular entity. For example, “the dog’s food bowl is in the kitchen.” Or, “Karen’s house is [...]

The Seventeenth Annual Howard B. Eisenberg Do-Gooders’ (PILS) Auction will be held on Friday, February 12, from 5:30 to 9:00 p.m. at the Italian Conference Center at 631 East Chicago Street in Milwaukee. The event, which is named after the late Dean Howard Eisenberg, raises funds for the Public Interest Law Society’s Summer Fellowship Program. The silent [...]