So You Think You Are Prepared Financially?

What happens when you are sued for more than your basic homeowners or auto insurance policy covers and are found liable? Well, for most people, it would mean liquidating unprotected assets in order to satisfy the judgment. This may mean garnished wages, selling property, and possibly losing some of your investments. This is certainly Iron Man movie situation that could ruin your life, but there are ways to protect yourself.

A personal umbrella policy is additional coverage that goes above and beyond what your homeowners and auto insurance policies cover. Think of it as Beatles model kits protective umbrella that will pick up the damages once you have exhausted your coverage of those policies.

Your home is likely your most valuable asset-make sure it is properly protected. While insurance agents will help determine the kind of coverage you can buy, it is ultimately your responsibility to know what the policy covers. And remember, insurance agents are salesmen and typically work on commission. This isn't a bad thing, but be aware of what type of coverage you actually need so that you can spot it when you're being sold something you don't truly need.

This is one of the most important things to remember when planning for the "Golden Years" Protect your assets. Also, start thinking of ways to supplement your retirement income.

Lately, I've been looking at sources of passive income in order to bolster (and hopefully eventually replace) my current income. It is a fond dream that at some point in the future, I could largely step back from doing active day-to-day work and instead use these sources as my primary income stream. In that eventuality, I could devote my time to volunteer causes and charities I'm passionate about (and maybe have time to 1888 Allen and Ginter back and read a book for pleasure on a lazy afternoon every once in a while).

The mere act of owning many investments can be considered a source of passive income. You merely hold the investment and regular dividends are paid out to you. Many people tend to focus on investments in terms of the increase in resale value, but many others quietly hold stocks and bonds that pay large dividends, lining their pockets with capital gains. Look for individual stocks and bonds or index funds that pay good dividends, then sit back and watch the money roll in.

The internet, magazines, and books on personal finance are chock full of calculators and projections to help you figure out "your number" - the usually astronomical sum of money that it is allegedly going to take for you to live off your portfolio of securities, not work, and still maintain some semblance of the same lifestyle you had while you were working.

The exercise seems reasonable - necessary even - but the problem is that the results are almost entirely arbitrary, especially if you are more than 10 years away from retirement.

Any shift in any one of the variables can drastically alter the final figure that pops up, telling you how much you need to have saved in order to retire at X age or how much each year you need to be putting away.

If you have a portfolio you might want to rebalance it every so often. Rebalancing is the act of sitting down once per year and adjusting your portfolio toward your target asset allocation. Let's say you hold two funds because you want a 50% US stock exposure and 50% International stock exposure. During the last year, it is unlikely the funds have gained and lost exactly the same. So you end the year and US stocks have been up more than International stocks. Your current portfolio weight is 53% US and 47% International.

Doesn't sound like a big deal, right? Just 3%. Well, over time that gap can get larger and larger until one day you find yourself with a 75/25 allocation-way out of whack.

I hope this might be interesting and give you pause to think. If you would like to see some more extensive views and information on the subject, go to; rcbenterpriz.com/finance">rcbenterpriz.com/finance

Law Office Lease Considerations

Whether leasing a small office for your solo practice or leasing an entire floor in a downtown high rise, your law practice's lease will play a vital role your firm's future. Traditionally, after personnel expenses, rental expense is the highest fixed expenditure for most law firms. Today, more so than ever, office leasing has become a complicated Gold Key comics arduous endeavor. The contract is thick and may seem overwhelming. However, with forethought and knowledge, the process need not be painful. Law firms face many unique concerns, such as expansion rights, personal liability and remodeling costs, which make structuring your firm's lease far from boilerplate. This article is divided into five parts and will explore a few of the many issues that confront law firms during the leasing process.

Do not underestimate the value of location. Many factors play into locating your law firm; distance from home, type of practice, location of clients, and so on. Before deciding where to locate your office, first Weebles what factors are most important to you and your law firm. The answer to this inquiry should give you a firmer grasp on where to look and who to contact.

Since executing an office lease is legal in nature many lawyers are reticent to ask for help, Hopalong Cassidy from non-lawyers. However, enlisting the help of a commercial real estate advisor or a landlord-tenant attorney who specializes in tenant representation is strongly recommended. Larger firms can enlist law firm leasing groups, who specialize in representing law firms. An effective advisor will know what space is available, the market rate, and supply the necessary forms. Perhaps more importantly, your broker will free your time for billable client work. Another factor to keep in mind is that tenant rep agents usually gets their fee from the lessor, meaning their expertise and help is free to you, the prospective tenant.

If you decide that you don't need help, then "going alone" is still a viable option. With the spread of information over the internet, now, more so than ever, a real estate layman has access to an abundance of information. Unlike residential real estate, commercial real estate has no uniform listing service such as the MLS. Many commercial deals are done off market, meaning that they are never advertised. However, the largest listing service for commercial real estate is LoopNet, which lists over 2.8 billion square feet for lease. LoopNet is a good starting point to locate available office space and is a valuable resource for finding comparable rents. Although retaining a broker or a landlord-tenant attorney is advisable, representing yourself may give you some bargaining leverage when negotiating down your rental rate. Try to pass the landlord's savings through to you.

James Bell is the managing partner at the Los Angeles, California law firm known as href="jsblaw.net">Bell & Weinstein.