• THINKING ABOUT AND PLANNING FOR DISPOSITION OF ASSETS AT DEATH is a generally unpleasant and procrastinated task. But the time delay and cost of estate distribution to beneficiaries, coupled with uncertainty about age/ maturity/ relationships with heirs at some future point, and potential taxation, should make Estate Planning a priority for most. The mechanism to address these issues are Wills and Trusts: An Inter Vivos (aka ‘Living’) Trust is created during lifetime and can be modified or ‘Revocable at any time before death, assigning assets to then be administered by a Trustee (individual(s) or corporate) and distributed to heirs or organizations under stipulated terms. Those terms can be dollar limitations based on age, usage of funds (like health, housing, education, behavior, donation purpose, etc.), as Trustees oversee at that time. Assets exceeding $166K in California which are not so pre-assigned create a Testamentary Trust, requiring approval by a Judge in a costly and lengthy Probate process, typically also requiring legal representation.  DCG have decades of experience in Estate Planning to most effectively facilitate intentions, family-wise and tax-wise. Call for courtesy consult. 
  • OUTDOOR DINING IN LOS ANGELES MAY BE DISAPPEARING. Pandemic ‘Emergency Orders’ allowed restaurants to stay alive by setting up outdoor seating on private property including parking lots, along sidewalks, and even some adjacent street lanes, expanding capacity by up to 50%. This was allowed without the usual expansive paperwork, expenses & bureaucracy involving “at least seven different departments’ approvals, each with its own priorities, fees and timelines often up to a year.”  Now that covid is supposedly ‘over’ (except as vaccination & masking requirements selectively remain), the City, in its Regulation & Taxation wisdom, is now considering an Ordinance that would require multiple new Permit process for restaurants to continue outdoor services – “in the same manner as if doing a major remodel. A section of the Ordinance also outlines prohibited activity including private events and cover charges in outdoor areas.”  [LA TIMES – 2/7/23]
  • POLITICAL VIEWS CAN NOW BE PREDICTED FROM BRAIN SCANS. Research studies at two universities have found that people with different political views process information differently. Brown University participants responded to words in a manner showing “brain activity patterns in the striatum clustered according to their politics”; those in a Tel Aviv University study, shown videos of campaign ads & speeches, measured “changes in blood flow, as a proxy for neural activity in parts of the cortex that deal with vision, learning, and movement…clearly distinguishing the responses of left- and right-wingers.” [ECONOMIST – 2/4/23]
  • THOSE WHO CONTROL THE LANGUAGE CONTROL THE CULTURE, as George Orwell authored in 1984. Get ready for directives from the updated Associated Press Stylebook now: (1) Banning offensive words including – heroine/ businessman/ manpower/ she (when referring to nations, ships, storms, voice assistants)/ thug/ unarmed Black man/ Indian summer/ warpath/ powwow/ childfree/ childless/ able-bodied/ special needs/ senior citizen; and mentioning of ‘race’ once a suspect has been apprehended; (2) Revising terms like – gender-fluidity/ genderqueer/ bigoted/ biased/ racially divisive; (3) Recommending wording like – (instead of ‘looters’) “a group of people at the protest broke into the store and took what was on the shelves, sometimes stealing to obtain water, food, medicine or essentials to survive.” [TOWNHALL 2/13/23]
  • THOUGHTS FOR THE WEEK:

How do politicians at top levels of government agencies, particularly the federal executive branch, get away with hollow boasts, embarrassing fabrications, even flat-out lying? According to a Nobel Prize-winning behavioral economist: “People aren’t persuaded by facts and solid arguments, but rather by people they like more than dislike… so their response is to just shrug or even smile.” 

ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF HEALTHY BEHAVIOR & EXERCISE: The inventor of the treadmill died at the age of 54, the inventor of gymnastics died age 57, world bodybuilding champion at 41, best footballer in the world, Maradona, at the age 60, runner Jim Fixx – credited with helping start America’s fitness revolution – died of a heart attack while jogging at age 52.   Meanwhile, the KFC inventor died at 94, cigarette maker Charles Winston at age 102, the credited inventor of opium lived until age 116 and died in an earthquake, Hennessey Liquor’s inventor died at 98.  How did smart people come to the conclusion that exercise prolongs life?  Rabbits spend their lives jumping up and down but live only a couple years, while turtles who barely move can live 400 years.  Get some rest, chill, stay cool, eat, drink and enjoy your life!   [INTERNET ANON]

How U.S. Navy submarines operate and why considered so vital for our defense: https://biggeekdad.com/2019/02/how-submarines-work/