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TUESDAY,
JANUARY 11, 2005
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Chris Kinnas
Investment Advice
Think about
estate-planning
'checklist'
You may think it’s too
soon to do estate planning.
Yet none of us can predict
the future- so you’ll want to
be prepared for anything.
Where do you begin?
Consider developing an
estate planning “checklist.”
Here’s one to consider:
- Assemble your estate
planning team.
Your estate-planning
team can include an invest
ment professional, an attor
ney, a tax professional and
an insurance consultant.
Use this team to help you
complete the following
steps.
- Identify your objectives.
Your first step is to set out
some broad goals, such as
these:
• Distribute assets fairly
to your family members.
• Designate someone to
handle your financial affairs
if you become incapacitated.
• Support charitable, reli
gious or educational institu
tions.
• Name a guardian to
take care of your minor chil
dren, should you and your
spouse die prematurely.
- Create a list of all your
assets.
You’ll need an accurate
list of all the assets you
own, as well as the registra
tion of these assets and any
beneficiary designations
associated with them. Ask
your investment represen
tative or attorney if he or
she can provide a document
that will help in organizing
this information.
- Create the legal papers
you’ll need.
Estate planning can
involve a variety of legal
documents. Here are some
of the most common ones:
• Will - Ensures that your
assets transfer in the man
ner that you choose.
• Revocable living trust -
Assists in distributing
assets to beneficiaries, pro
tecting assets, carrying out
your wishes if you become
incapacitated and minimiz
ing estate taxes.
• Durable power of attor
ney - Names someone to
make financial and health
care decisions on your
behalf should you become
unable to do so.
• Health care
directive/living will
Provides evidence of your
wishes regarding the
administering of life-pro
longing procedures if you
are no longer able to com
municate.
- Estimate estate taxes.
Your taxable estate con
sists of the value of your
gross estate - including your
savings, investments, real
estate, insurance policies,
retirement plans, etc. - less
any deductions. In 2005,
you can pass along up to
$1.5 million of your estate,
free of federal estate taxes,
to your heirs. This estate
tax exclusion rises gradually
over the next several years.
- Explore ways to reduce
estate taxes.
Here are a few widely
used strategies for lowering
estate taxes:
• Gifting - You can give
up to SII,OOO per year to as
many people as you choose,
free of gift taxes.
• Establish “bypass trust”
See KINNAS, page 7A
FVSU conference to offer participants
a look at ag, natural resource use
New ways to look at land
use and farming enterprises
will be the thrust of this
year’s Farm, Home,
Ministers’ Conference, Jan.
25, at Fort Valley State
University.
“Innovative Ideas for
Success in Agricultural and
Natural Resources” will
begin with an 8:30 a.m. reg
istration in the C.W.
Pettigrew Farm and
Community Life Center.
Conference workshops
and presentations will high
light a number of agricul
tural production opportuni
ties open to Georgia farm
ers, ranchers and landown
ers, according to conference
chair Dr. Will R. Getz.
Getz, an FVSU extension
animal science specialist,
says the event’s nine break
out sessions are designed to
provide participants with
useful information on pro
duction opportunities rang
ing from organic agriculture
to aquaculture and timber
resource management.
Other sessions will deal
with family land retention,
water quality, faith-based
community development
opportunities, rural busi
ness opportunities, niche
marketing and youth entre
preneurship.
“This year’s conference is
devoted to production
opportunities open through
innovation because
diversification is as impor
tant in agriculture as it is in
any other occupation,” he
said. “A producer’s economic
wellbeing depends exploring
and implementing alterna
tive enterprises to maximize
his or her operation’s prof
itability.”
Sponsored by the FVSU
Cooperative Extension
Program and Flint
Collins appointed Main
Street director
FORT VALLEY - Macon
native Jim Collins has been
appointed director of Fort
Valley Main Street, effective
Jan. 1, 2005, according to
Fort Valley Downtown
Development Authority
Board Chairman Bryant
Culpepper.
Collins comes to Main
Street with more than 20
years experience in sales
and marketing. He has
(To send in your event for
the Business Calendar, fax
the details to 988-1181, e
mail to hhj@evansnewspa
pers.com or mail to Houston
Home Journal, P.O. Box
1910, Perry, GA 31069. The
deadline for inclusion is 5
p.m. Fridays.)
Jan. 11: Starting your
Own Business
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University of Georgia Small
Business Development
Center, will teach the
requirements for starting
your own business. Topics
include financing, business
plan formation, legal issues,
and more. The class will be
from 6 until 8 p.m. at the
ATDC Building, 151 Osigian
Blvd. Prepaid registration is
required; cost is S4O. (478)
751-6592.
Jan. 27: Selling
Through Customer
Service
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University of Georgia Small
Business
Energies, the daylong con
ference will open with a
brief review of the event’s
history and purpose by
Clarence Williams Jr.,
retired FVSU extension pro
gram leader for community
resource development.
Williams, who developed
the conference, will provide
a historical overview and
discuss what has changed
since the first conference in
1985 and what functions
continue to be the event’s
focus.
Calvin R. King Sr., execu
tive director of the Arkansas
Land and Farm
Development Corp., will fol
low with a presentation on
empowerment in agricul
ture and land stewardship
that will cover issues related
to keeping farm land and
rural property in family
hands.
Getz said the event is
expected to attract area
community leaders and offi
cials, farm families, legisla
tors, church members, sen
ior citizens, high school
teachers and students, and
other interested members of
the public.
Presenters will include
specialists associated with
the FVSU College of
Agriculture, Home
Economics and Allied
Programs, the FVSU Rural
Business Outreach
Institute, the USDA Farm
Service Agency, the
University of Georgia
Center for Agribusiness and
Economics Development,
Georgia Organics, the
Georgia Forestry
Commission and the
Georgia Center for
Aquaculture Development
at FVSU.
Getz said a highlight of
the conference will be the
BUSINESSPEOPLE
, JH
worked
with several
companies
throughout
the south
east and
has a varied
background
in trans
portation,
manufac
turing, dis-
tribution, design and con
struction.
Collins received his bache
lor’s degree in industrial
BUSINESS CALENDAR
Business Development
Center, will show how a
business can compete with
anyone. The class will be
from 6 until 8 p.m. at the
ATDC Building, 151 Osigian
Blvd. Prepaid registration is
required; cost is S4O. (478)
751-6592.
Feb. 8: Writing a
Successful Business Plan
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University of Georgia Small
Business Development
Center, will show how a
business plan helps you
start, build and manage
your business. Participants
will receive a detailed plan
ning outline and other infor
mation to help develop a
plan immediately. The class
will be from 6 until 8 p.m. at
the Advanced Technology
Development Center, 151
Osigian Blvd. Prepaid regis
tration is required; cost is
S4O. (478) 751-6592.
Feb. 9: Starting your
Own Business
(Open to Robins Air Force
luncheon, when the FVSU
Cooperative Extension
Program will present the
Farm Family of the Year
award to an area farm fami
ly in recognition of that fam
ily’s contributions to agri
culture and its community.
Getz said the luncheon
program will also feature an
informative and enlighten
ing presentation on the his
torical Flint River Farms
Settlement Scheme by
FVSU graduate Dr. Tasha
Hargove, a member of
Tuskegee University’s
Rural Sociology Group, and
Ricky Waters, an FVSU
extension program assistant
in Macon County.
He said another highlight
will be an optional after
noon tour of the FVSU agri
cultural research and out
reach facilities. During the
tour, participants will be
able to visit with research
scientists and extension spe
cialists working with small
ruminants, medicinal plants
and exotic fruits, and aqua
culture and hydroponics.
The tour will also include
stops at the newly renovated
campus veterinary science
facility, the equine center
facility and the extension
program’s Life on the Farm
educational exhibit.
While there is no registra
tion fee for this event, con
ference sponsors say a limit
ed luncheon seating capacity
means participants need to
register no later than Jan.
20.
For more information
about the event or to pre
register, contact Sandra
Daniel at (478) 825-6269 or
Dr. Carol Ann Johnson,
interim associate dean for
extension, at (478) 825-
6296.
relations in 1971 from the
University of Alabama
School of Business. He is a
member of the United
Methodist Church and has
been active in such civic
organizations as Hospice,
the Mental Health
Association, the United Way
and Rotary International.
Fort Valley was designated
a Main Street city in 1992,
and in 2003 Fort Valley was
named a City of Excellence
by the Georgia Municipal
Association.
COLLINS
Base personnel only)
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University of Georgia Small
Business Development
Center, will teach the
requirements for starting
your own business. Topics
include financing, business
plan formation, legal issues,
and more. The class will be
from 9 a.m. until noon.
Prepaid registration is
required; cost is S4O. (478)
926-1256.
March 8: Starting your
Own Business
WARNER ROBINS - This
seminar, sponsored by the
University of Georgia Small
Business Development
Center, will teach the
requirements for starting
your own business. Topics
include financing, business
plan formation, legal issues,
and more. The class will be
from 6 until 8 p.m. at the
ATDC Building, 151 Osigian
Blvd. Prepaid registration is
required; cost is S4O. (478)
751-6592.
Insurmountable?
Have you ever come up
against a challenge that
felt overwhelming?
Life is a whole series of
these situations. It’s as if
you are walking comfort
ably across a field, and
suddenly you’re at the
bottom of a cliff that
looms in front of you. You
stand there looking up at
the vertical rock face, and
the challenge of scram
bling up to the next
plateau seems insur
mountable!
Part of you is stymied
and says, “I can’t do this!”
Part of you realizes you
have no choice. So you gut
it out, do what you have to
do, and somehow you find
a way to scale the heights.
Our first experiences
with this phenomenon
usually occur as we
become adolescents. Can
you recall the fear of pos
sibly being rejected when
you asked for that first
date? How about that
scary feeling as you pre
pared to take your dri
ver’s license examination,
knowing you’ll have to
parallel park with a high
way patrol officer in the
car?
Perhaps you experi
enced feelings of doubt
when you were preparing
to give a speech or buy
your first house. Maybe
you had to deal with
msgor bad news, such as
an unexpected illness or
injury, or a divorce in your
family - maybe your own!
Some people realize
early in life that new chal
lenges come routinely.
Knowing that trials are
part of the process, they
take each new ordeal in
stride. Though each situa
tion carries fear of the
unknown, some folks just
breeze right through
them.
Others struggle with
each new event. They fix
their focus on the chal
lenge, envisioning the
worst-case scenario.
Some day, I want to do a
study comparing “confi
dence” with “compe
tence.” I’ve dealt with
many people over the past
few years who seem to be
quite capable but who
lack confidence. Yet some
are so self-assured, even
cocky - well beyond what
they deserve based on
their observed abilities.
Somehow, the individu
als with confidence have
faith, perhaps in their
skills, perhaps in God’s
protection. They certainly
have more faith than fear.
Are you aware that the
Assessing Your
Leadership Skills
-SBS/person
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Dennis Hooper
.. . even greater things ...
dhooper2@juno.com
definitions for faith and
fear are the same?
“Believing that what we
don’t see will happen”
applies to both words
equally well! This is the
phenomenon of the self
fulfilling prophecy. Won’t
you agree that it’s health
ier to face a difficult chal
lenge assuming your abili
ty to overcome?
I invite you to take an
inventory of the times
you’ve successfully met
challenges in your life.
Start listing your past
accomplishments. Take
the time you need. Work
for a while, then set the
list aside, coming back to
it later. Strive to identify
at least thirty achieve
ments.
If you have difficulty
with this task, seek the
help of someone who
knows you well.
Achievements seem less
significant after we’ve
accomplished them.
Therefore, we have a ten
dency to forget or mini
mize them - but your
friends or relatives will
remember!
Now go through the list
and identify those that
seemed insurmountable.
Recall them staring you in
the face, when you had no
assurance that you would
be able to overcome the
challenge.
As you look back on
these, which ones now
seem like they were fairly
simple? Does what looked
like a rock-solid barrier on
the front side now seem
like a small stairstep in
retrospect? That’s often
how our life challenges
seem when we look back
on them.
I encourage you to keep
your list of achievements
where you can review
them. Add to them occa
sionally. They’ll build
your confidence to attack
the next seemingly insur
mountable challenge
that’s sure to come!
F. Dennis Hooper
Certified
Leadership Development Coach
Building leaders and
organizations of excellence
(478) 988-0237 dhooper2@juno.com
GOL Pg^pHt-E°A S G B^ RNE
(1 -800-843-3245)
6A
13742
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