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Nobody wants to worry about health security, but the reality is that prudent individuals who have the means and capability of risk assessment and management in other areas of their lives cannot assume that they are invincible or that either the government or the medical system will be adequate to fill in for a lack of health risk management.

Identity theft is a risk that grows and changes daily. Keeping up to date with the latest prevention methods is the surest way to protect oneself from the many forms that identity theft can take, including medical, credit and financial theft. This helpful checklist offers suggestions for minimizing the risk of identity theft as well as steps to take if such theft should occur.

An informed discussion of the issue can help a family see that between the two extremes of attitude toward kidnapping (avoiding the danger by staying at home or regarding it as an uncontrollable cost of doing business or traveling) there are a number of steps that can be taken to reduce the likelihood of a kidnapping.

While college students may act like teens, they legally are adults – a distinction parents may overlook as they send their children off to school. Parents are wise to plan for legal issues that may arise by establishing a durable power of attorney, a healthcare proxy, a will and trust instruments as well as waivers with the college to acquire access to grades and other now private information.

While it is impossible to predict the timing or consequences of an influenza pandemic, there is little doubt among world health authorities that a significant pandemic will occur. Consequently, businesses that will survive must have a plan in place to mitigate the health, social, operational and economic impacts. This guide is intended to assist businesses in either preparing or reviewing such a plan.

Hiring domestic staff can mean dealing with a shortage of qualified candidates, increased regulations, security and privacy risks, and exposure to liability and litigation. This white paper offers simple, practical steps for ultra-wealthy families who need to hire, retain and terminate staff.

Many private enterprises are just beginning to understand the changes necessitated by these rules and their implications. This is important, as preparation of annual financial statements that are subject to the rules involves a review and analysis of accumulated tax positions. Private enterprises can benefit from the accumulated experience of public companies as they prepare for the issuance of these statements.

Research demonstrates that even large pools of recognized losses may be depleted in a rather short period of time if the investor loses focus on tax management. The longer the investor can expand this window of time by continuing to actively manage their tax situation, the greater the potential opportunity for total wealth creation in the long term.

Planning can help reduce a client's tax liability and mitigate the unpleasantness of surprises when tax returns are filed. This is a valuable service advisors can offer clients, and because proper tax planning requires a discussion of a client's entire financial picture, it also can serve as a catalyst to broaden the scope of relationships with clients.

Given the relatively low current tax rates, changing executive and legislative control and the increasing need for government revenue, there is a distinct possibility of a capital gains tax rate increase. Knowing this, individuals may be wise to suspend the common practice always to defer taxation.