Jane Sumerset




Grammar writing software – There are now grammar writing software programs that can make your writing tasks much simpler. Grammar writing software can now instantly simplify all of your writing tasks. grammar writing software can make your life easier in many ways. grammar writing software can now instantly simplify all of your writing tasks. Natural Language Processing (NLP) technology enables grammar writing software to suggest better words and usages. This essentially means that your vocabulary is instantly expanded, as you have new words automatically fed to you.

Grammar writing software is the patent-pending solution which automatically works with all text based tools, easily correcting all grammatical, spelling, punctuation or any other writing errors.

Use it for: Essay Writing, Medical writing, Article Writing, Creative Writing, Email, Instant Messaging, Business Writing, Letter Writing, Social Media, Blogging, Legal writing and much, much more.

For people who must write a great deal, whether for school or work, grammar writing software can improve your image, get your message across more powerfully and get better results from those you are communicating with. English is actually not one of the easiest languages in the world, even for native speakers. Here are five ways it may be able to help you.

1. If you are in business and must send out correspondences, emails, reports and other information, you want your writing to be clear, correct and professional. This will enable people to better understand your communications. It will also improve your image as someone who writes well and clearly.

2. grammar writing software can help increase your creativity as a writer, as in addition to correcting mistakes, it also acts as a thesaurus and suggests different words, such as descriptive adverbs and adjectives. This makes your writing more interesting and versatile.

3. If English is not your first language but you have a need to communicate clearly in this language, this is the perfect solution for you. You can write down the basic ideas of what you need to say, while the software will read and correct your mistakes and suggest alternatives.

4. If you spend time rewriting or editing your reports or other correspondences, grammar writing software can save you a lot of time by automating these tedious tasks.

5. When you make mistakes in your writing and people notice it, it can have a negative effect in the way they think of you. If you are in business, trying to sell something, attempting to persuade someone of something, or even if you are just writing social emails, isn’t it better to be seen as someone who is well educated and can write well.

When you write letters or emails, you can do so faster and with more confidence, as grammar writing software will correct your mistakes and suggest better word usage, much like a thesaurus. If you have to do much writing, for any reason at all, grammar writing software can help you to communicate faster and more effectively.

Cathy Pareto


With divorce rates as high as ever, more and more families today are becoming “blended” with

children from different marriages. This can create an enormous challenge when it comes time to settle your estate and plan the distribution of your assets. Estate planning is essential for any family, but it’s even more important for the modern day “blended family”. If you don’t want to accidentally disinherit your kids from a previous marriage, read on.

One of the best techniques to ensure that your assets are distributed correctly is by incorporating a QTIP Trust in your plan.

The best reason for using a QTIP trust is not necessarily for estate tax savings, but for asset control. Under normal circumstances, in order to qualify for the federal estate tax marital deduction, a spouse’s interest in a trust must not terminate. A QTIP (Qualified Terminable Interest Property) Trust is the exception to the rule.

Contributions to a properly structured QTIP trust qualify for the marital deduction, while allowing the donor to specify the ultimate disposition of the assets. The QTIP trust is established pursuant to the donor’s will but must ensure that specific conditions are met:

• A QTIP election must be made the estate executor

• The surviving spouse has no power to distribute the principal/corpus but must have a lifetime,

annual mandatory and exclusive right to trust income

• Invasion of corpus limited to 5% of principal or $5,000 whichever is greater

• The surviving spouse (or the surviving spouse’s estate) must be entitled to and is the sole

beneficiary of all the annual income or use of property for life

• Trust income cannot be terminated by remarriage or other event

A QTIP Trust is commonly used in a second marriage situation when a spouse has children from the previous marriage and wants to ensure that assets will pass on to those children. Under most arrangements, the QTIP trust is structured so the surviving spouse receives the income from the trust and the principal is left to the children from the deceased spouse’s first marriage, as determined by the first spouse to die.

A Marital Trust, by contrast, is a trust whereby the grantor spouse transfers full control of the trust assets to the surviving spouse. These trusts are appropriate when the grantor spouse:

• Wants to leave assets in trust in lieu of an outright transfer

• Wants to take advantage of marital deduction

• Wishes to give surviving spouse total control over the assets

• Does not care who the surviving spouse leaves the money to

Many estate plans may include multiple trusts with different purposes and estate tax implications. For instance, combining a Marital Trust, QTIP Trust and Credit Shelter Trust (also known as Bypass Trust) is not uncommon. Suppose an individual wishes to transfer assets directly to the surviving spouse’s control, but also ensure that his/her children from a previous marriage receive a portion of the estate

too. The Assets left in a marital trust give the spouse full discretion over trust assets, but the assets in the QTIP and even the Bypass trust may have specific provisions for other intended heirs.

Let’s explore the use of a QTIP trust in conjunction with a bypass trust and marital trust. Here, the marital assets flow into a combination of the marital trust and the QTIP trust, both of which qualify for the unlimited marital deduction. Then the Credit Shelter/Family trust is funded with enough assets to take advantage of annual exclusion of $2,000,000 (for 2007 and 2008).

The assets in the Marital trust bypass estate tax for the first spouse to die (because of the unlimited marital deduction), but is taxed in the estate of the 2nd to die. The surviving spouse, of course, has the ability to name his/her own heirs. The QTIP trust, like the Marital trust, bypass estate tax for the first spouse to die (because of the unlimited marital deduction), but is taxed in the estate of the 2nd to die. The difference is that the remaining assets are then transferred to the remaindermen named by the transferring spouse.The Credit Shelter trust escapes federal estate tax completely. This trust is most often used as a family trust (for the benefit of all family members) and may also be used for lifetime income for the surviving spouse. Federal estate tax is avoided in the first estate, and the property in the credit shelter trust escapes taxation in the survivor’s estate too.

In blended families, a QTIP trust may also introduce obstacles. For instance, if an individual is not willing to agree on the remarriage contingency or if the individual is uncomfortable with distributing all the income to the surviving spouse, then a QTIP will clearly not work. As an alternative, he/she may

wish to purchase additional life insurance via an irrevocable trust.

Despite the various restrictions imposed by a QTIP trust, it does provide a great flexibility in federal estate tax planning, particularly for blended families. Setting up a trust for your spouse to use during his/her lifetime, qualifying for a marital deduction while then controlling the disposition of the principal to your intended heirs is a tremendous benefit and planning tool that should not be ignored. As always, it’s best to seek the advice of a qualified legal professional to execute the most appropriate

strategy.

Denice Gierach


Dollars & Sense

Denice Gierach

July 20, 2008 – As published in The Naperville Sun

If you become disabled suddenly through a car accident or health calamity, will your family or significant other know what your wishes are?  If you die suddenly, will those closest to you know what to do?  Will they know where your pertinent papers are kept or what assets may be available for your care?

             While you are well and there are no health issues before you is a good time to begin to become organized.  One area that is an absolute in this process is to have your estate planning up to date.  At a minimum, you will need a will and financial power of attorney which will appoint the proper people to handle your matters for you either during life or upon your death.  A copy of these documents should be kept in a binder with your attorney’s card on the inside.  Make a list of all of your professionals who assist you such as your CPA, certified financial planner, life insurance agent, banker, physician and include the addresses and phone numbers for each such person. You should let the people appointed know the location of that binder so that it is available in the event that you need it.

             In the event that you do not want to be kept alive by artificial means if your physician deems that you are in a terminal state, you should also have a living will and a power of attorney for health care, which should be kept in the same binder.  A copy of the financial power of attorney, which contains the HIPAA language that allows your agent to access your medical information, the living will and the power of attorney for health care should be given to your principal physician just in case it is needed.  If you travel, you should consider taking a copy of these documents with you, in case they are needed.

             Another very helpful binder would be one that contained a list of every asset you own, including real estate, bank accounts, CD’s, mutual funds, brokerage accounts, employee benefit plans, life insurance, safe deposit boxes, as well as a list of collectibles and other personal property.  This will give the person who you appoint to take care of your interest while you are alive or the person that you appoint to wind up your estate a list of all of your assets, so that they will not have to search your entire residence and office to find them.  This will also help to ensure that no asset is missed.  Once a year, it would be a good idea to make a copy of the statements as of December 31st for each and every account, so that your agent will know the account numbers and the amounts that you have that can be used for your benefit.

             Other documents that would be useful and should be kept in a binder would be your birth certificate, marriage license, divorce decree, military discharge papers, passport or green card, social security card, health insurance card, naturalization papers and copies of the car/truck/boat titles.  These documents will allow your agent to apply for the proper benefits that you may be allowed.

             Many people like to prepay their funeral expense.   If you have, include these documents and a copy of the cemetery plot deed in your binder.  Some people are particular as to the instructions that they have for their funerals.  If you are one of them and want to dictate the church, clothing, if donations will be accepted, the get together for the family and friends afterwards, include your directions in your binder.

             It sounds like a major project, but if you tackle it a little at a time, it will not be.  Instead of leaving a mess for your family, you have made it easy on them at a difficult time for them and you can have your wishes fulfilled.

             How organized are you?

 

Robert Valentine


If you’ve been keeping up with current events lately, you may have noticed that legal battles seem to take up much of the media’s focus. Since the O.J. Simpson trial, media outlets have become frenzied at the thought of a good legal battle. Case in point: Michael Jackson. There’s even a cable station devoted solely to court proceedings.

One of the most recent courtroom dramas to receive media attention was that of Terri Schiavo. No one likes being involved in long, drawn-out legal battles, and especially not ones that garner major media attention. That’s why there’s an underlying emphasis to the Schiavo case: always plan your estate.

Estates may seem like a lot of effort, but when you consult with a trusted financial professional and an estate planning attorney, they can take a lot of the stress, (and potential mistakes), out of the planning process. Estate planning is a complex endeavor, and one of the key ingredients to a successful estate plan is a will.

A will is the central part of your plan. Your will simply spells-out in legal terms, who will receive various parts of your estate, including savings, homes, and other assets. Your will can also be used to decide who will be guardians of your children if you pass away while they are still minors. By specifically laying out each asset and what person or charity it will be distributed to, you make your wishes crystal clear. This usually reduces much of the court and the government involvement in your estate.

Every will has several basic components. One of the first, and most important components, is picking someone to administer the will. Will administrators go by many titles which all essentially mean the same thing. (Executor, administrator, and personal representative are the most common names used.)

Your administrator has a large and important task in carrying out your wishes and handling the legal and financial aspects of your estate. Administrators must take inventory of your estate, make sure all remaining financial obligations have been met, and they must physically distribute the estate’s contents as spelled out in the will. This job is a challenging and time-consuming task, and it goes without saying that you should choose someone with some level of financial experience whom you trust.

A will is also the tool used when deciding who should become the guardian of your children should you pass away while they’re still minors. Usually if you leave property to the children, you must also appoint a guardian for that property.

Finally, you must decide who will get what. While it’s not always pleasant to spell-out in detail which relatives or friends will get your property, recent events have deemed this all-too-necessary. A few potentially uncomfortable conversations now may save for a long legal struggle in the future.

One interesting part of the will process is highlighted by state laws. In many states, a will must leave a certain percentage of the estate to the spouse. Thus, if for some reason you write your will leaving everything to your children or grandchildren, your spouse can challenge it and receive his or her percentage guaranteed by law.

No one likes talking about their own demise, but as we all know, it’s going to happen someday. So why not be financially and legally prepared for it? By taking the time to properly plan your estate, and more specifically, your will, you help reduce the chances of long legal struggles that can potentially drag on for years. In the process, it isn’t specific heirs who get lost in the legal shuffle, it’s your life’s work. Wills are complex and have various rules that aren’t contained within this article, that’s why seeking professional help is so necessary. Estate planning may be arduous at times, but it helps ensure that you’ll be remembered for who you were in life, not “who gets what” in death.

Philip Yaffe


by Philip Yaffe

When I am introduced at social gatherings, the host or hostess usually says: “Hi, I want you to meet Philip Yaffe. He is a professional writer.” I almost always get the same response: “Oh, really. What type of novels do you write?” In other words, people automatically associate the term “writer” with “literature”; as if fiction were the only type of writing. It isn’t. And for most ordinary people, such as myself, it is the least important, yet it always seems to take pride of place.

Scholastic snobbery has a lot to do with this.

Virtually every secondary school and many universities require students to take courses in literature. However, virtually no one who takes such courses will ever write a novel, a stage play, a film script; or any other form of fiction. On the other hand, few schools and universities require students to take courses in writing non-fiction. Yet virtually everyone needs these skills to produce reports, memos, letters, marketing plans, company newspapers, and all the other types of non-fiction texts essential for getting on in life.

Internet searches for quotations about writing almost invariable turn of the thoughts of novelists, poets, playwrights, etc., again as if fiction were the only category of writing of any consequence.

I made such a search in order to put together this article. At first I was disappointed by the lopsided results, but on further reflection they turned out to be quite fortuitous.

I normally make a strong distinction between “creative writing” (fiction) and “expository writing” (non-fiction). In fact, this difference is the foundation of a book I recently wrote on the subject, where I explained how and why they are truly very different genres. Nevertheless, when reviewing the quotations, it became apparent that the feelings and emotions of good writers in both genres are remarkably similar.

Thus, whether we are creative writers (the tiny minority of us) or expository writers (the vast majority us), we can all learn something from these renowned writing practitioners.

For convenience, I have tried to categorize their insightful quotations. However, creative writing and expository writing are both highly unified activities. Their fundamental features are so intimately interwoven that any attempt to separate them must necessarily fail. Nevertheless, pretending to disjoin them helps organize our thoughts. So with no apologies for any “mis-categorized” quotes, here is what these respected writers had to say.

1. The Essence of Good Writing

Inventor Thomas Edison once said: “Genius is 1 per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration”. In other words, it’s hard work. The same is true of writing, both creative and expository. This is good news, because it means that even the least inspired of us can write well if we are just willing to expend the necessary energy.

Here are a few more quotations along the same line.

“A writer is somebody for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” – -Thomas Mann

“The secret of good writing is to say an old thing in a new way or to say a new thing in an old way.” – - Richard Harding Davis

“Good writing is clear thinking made visible.” – - Bill Wheeler

“Writers must constantly ask: what I am trying to say? Surprisingly often, they don’t know.” – - William Zinsser

“There are two kinds of writers in the world: bad writers and improving writers.” – - William Blundell

“Every writer I know has trouble writing.” – - Joseph Heller

“Good writing is hard work” – - Snoopy (Charles Schulz)

2. Writing as Discovery

“I know very dimly when I start what’s going to happen. I just have a very general idea, and then the thing develops as I write.” – - Aldous Huxley

“There are thousands of thoughts lying within a man that he does not know till he takes up the pen and writes.” – - William Makepeace Thackeray

“The act of writing is the act of discovering what you believe.” – - David Hare

“Writing became such a process of discovery that I couldn’t wait to get to work in the morning. I wanted to know what I was going to say.” – - Sharon O’Brien

“I never know what I think about something until I read what I’ve written on it.” – - William Faulkner

In other words, if you believe you have nothing to say, pick a topic and start writing. You may surprise yourself.

3. The Objectives of Good Writing

“We are cups, constantly and quietly being filled. The trick is, knowing how to tip ourselves over and let the beautiful stuff out – - Ray Bradbury

“I write because I’m afraid to say some things out loud” – - Anonymous.

“The skill of writing is to create a context in which other people can think.” – - Edwin Schlossberg

“When I sit down at my writing desk, time seems to vanish. I think it’s a wonderful way to spend one’s life” – - Erica Jong

4. The Techniques of Good Writing

“The faster I write, the better my output. If I’m going slow, I’m in trouble. It means I’m pushing the words instead of being pulled by them.” – - Raymond Chandler

“Work extra hard on the beginning of your story, so it snares reader’s instantly. And know how you’re going to end your story before you start writing. Without a sense of direction, you can get lost in the middle.” – - Joan Lowery Nixon

“Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors.” – - Rhys Alexander

“What I like in a good author is not what he says, but what he whispers”. – - Logan Pearsall Smith.

“Cut out all those exclamation marks. An exclamation mark is like laughing at your own jokes.” – - F. Scott Fitzgerald

“Nothing is so simple that it cannot be misunderstood – - Jr. Teague

5. Writing & Rewriting

“I’m not a very good writer, but I’m an excellent rewriter.” – - James Michener

“Having imagination, it takes you an hour to write a paragraph that, if you were unimaginative, would take you only a minute. Or you might not write the paragraph at all.” – - Franklin P. Adams

“Write your first draft with your heart. Re-write with your head.” – - Anonymous

“The time to begin writing an article is when you have finished it to your satisfaction. By that time you begin to clearly and logically perceive what it is you really want to say.” – - Mark Twain

“I have made this [letter] longer, because I have not had the time to make it shorter” – - Blaise Pascal

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead.” – - Mark Twain

In other words, the first draft is almost always too long and poorly structured. To be clear and concise requires at least a second draft, and often more. Or put more succinctly:

“The first draft of anything is sh*t.” – - Ernest Hemingway

6. Clarity & Conciseness

“When something can be read without effort, great effort has gone into its writing.” – - Enrique Jardiel Poncela

“Easy reading is damn hard writing.” – - Nathaniel Hawthorne

“What is written without effort is in general read without pleasure.” – - Samuel Johnson

“Resist the temptation to try to use dazzling style to conceal weakness of substance.”

- – Stanley Schmidt

“Don’t write merely to be understood. Write so that you cannot possibly be misunderstood.” – - Robert Louis Stevenson

“The writer does the greatest good who gives his reader the most knowledge and takes from him the least time.” – - Sydney Smith

7. Style & Words

“‘I love writing. I love the swirl and swing of words as they tangle with human emotions.’ – - James Michener

“A good style should show no signs of effort. What is written should seem a happy accident.” – - W. Somerset Maugham

“You write to communicate to the hearts and minds of others what’s burning inside you. And we edit to let the fire show through the smoke. – - Arthur Polotnik

“Writers must rely more on the feel of a sentence than on the dictates of a rule book.” – - James J. Kilpatrick

“Like stones, words are laborious and unforgiving, and the fitting of them together, like the fitting of stones, demands great patience and strength of purpose and particular skill.” – - Edmund Morrison

“The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.” – - Mark Twain

8. Egoism Unbound

Few writers ever have the opportunity to quote themselves. I don’t know if anything I have ever said will be remembered a hundred years from now, or even a hundred minutes from now. But for what they are worth, here are few ideas I have encountered, developed, and believed in for over 40 years.

“Convoluted writing is easy, it takes little thought. Simple writing is difficult; it takes all the thinking you can muster – and then some.”

“Simple writing is a challenge whose rewards are boundless. Once a writer recognizes this, everything else falls into place.”

“Good writing – and by extension good speaking – depend on only a handful of fundamental principles. Once you have mastered these, all the tips and techniques for applying them become almost self-evident.”

“Clarity can be defined as a quasi-mathematical formula, which is also a recipe for effectively applying it. To be clear, you must do three things:

1. Emphasise what is of key importance.

2. De-emphasise what is of secondary importance.

3. Eliminate what is of no importance.

In short: CL = EDE”

“Conciseness can be defined as a quasi-mathematical formula, which is also a recipe for effectively applying it. To be concise, your text must be as:

1. Long as necessary, i.e. adequately cover all essential material

2. Short as possible, i.e. avoid all superfluous words, sentences and paragraphs

In short: CO = LS”

“Clarity and conciseness are two sides of the same coin. To be clear, you must be concise. Unnecessary verbiage obscures, so it must be eliminated. Likewise, to be concise, you must be clear. Only by knowing precisely what you want to say can you eliminate obscuring words, sentences and paragraphs.”

“Writing is like cooking. You assemble the ingredients and start mixing. When the lifeless liquid begins to stiffen and take shape, you know you are making a cake. For me, the feeling is really that physical.”

“Continually ask yourself: ‘Why the hell should anyone want to read what I am writing?’ If you can give at least three good reasons, stop writing and start thinking. Otherwise, you will be wasting everyone’s time – principally your own.”

“Aim for the lowest common denominator. Virtually no one will object that your text is too easy, but some may object that it is too hard. Focus on those who may not understand; they are your true audience. The others will not object.”

“The basic principles of good writing and speaking are few and easy to understand. Unfortunately, most books on the subject bury them under an avalanche of tips and techniques.”

Having just written a book myself, let me conclude with something I wish I had said, but in fact comes from someone else. “Inside every fat book there is a thin book struggling to get out” – - Anonymous

Amen.

Philip Yaffe is a former reporter/feature writer with The Wall Street Journal and a marketing communication consultant. He currently teaches a course in good writing and good speaking in Brussels, Belgium. His recently published book In the “I” of the Storm: the Simple Secrets of Writing & Speaking (Almost) like a Professional (84 pages) is available from Story Publishers in Ghent, Belgium (storypublishers.be) and Amazon (amazon.com).

For further information, contact:

Philip Yaffe

Brussels, Belgium

Tel: +32 (0)2 660 0405

Email: phil.yaffe@yahoo.com

Marilyn Katz


I have seen a lot of articles for seniors life insurance recently, and that insurance is usually marketed as a policy that will provide money for funeral expenses and other bills that come up at the end of the life. This topic is certainly worth considering since funerals average over $8,000 in the US, and also since many senior citizens live on fixed incomes. They do not want to burden their children or grandchildren with this expense, but they also do not know how they can save the money when their incomes are low and other expenses keep rising.

A senior’s burial policy is, simply, a whole life insurance policy with a small face value. It has been designed to accept most older people with simplified underwriting that asks few health questions. In fact, only simplifed issue policies even ask health questions. Guaranteed issue policies do not ask any health questions but they use a waiting period instead of underwriting by health.

But a simplified issue policy will pay out an immediate death benefit upon issue. A guaranteed issue policy may have a 2 or 3 year waiting period before the full face value will be paid to beneficiaries. If the insured person passes away before the waiting period expires, the policy will usually refund the premiums, sometimes with interest.

Simplified issue policies cost less too, and they have been designed to accept most seniors who are reasonably healthy and active. So before you, or somebody you know, buys the first guaranteed issue policy that is advertised on TV, be sure and look into simplified issue policies for seniors.

Now a burial policy can be a very affordable way to plan for a funeral’s cost and other final expenses. The face value, or death benefit, of the policy can also include other planned expenses like travel, food, and paying off debts. Most of the time, a policy can be issued with a face value of anywhere from $2,500 to $25,000. Any money that is left over, after paying for final expenses, belongs to the benficiary to use as they please.

Many seniors purchase this coverage for themselves, but just as often, grown children will purchase the policy to cover their aging parents. The covered person must answer any application questions, and of course, they must sign the policy, so they will be aware of the coverage. But most of the time, the elderly people are happy and relieved that this important obligation has been taken care of.

Both senior citizens and their caretakers may find that burial policies are an affordable way to plan for a major expense. It is a relief to everybody that nobody has to worry about where to come up with thousands of dollars in cash at a time of loss.

Just be sure to inquire about different policies to make sure that you find the best coverage that you can qualify for, and also shop around to get that coverage at the best possible rate!