"Branding Ecstasy"

Seven months in the making, our pet project/experiment with dear friends and client Gino and Aimee Sierra is finally getting some attention. See the article below for the awesome details.

We couldn’t help but “want in” when Gino shared the idea of his epic concept “The MadHouse Sandwich Shop”. This was going to be “Branding Ecstasy” for me, and I could not wait to get the right side of my brain rolling on it.

We concluded the objective and challenge was to be edgy, cultish, disturbing, revolting and eclectic while maintaining a trend setting look and feel that was fun and entertaining.
Is it possible to be absurd and delicious at the same time? The logo’s Icon, Dr. Revolto was right up my alley “Character Development”. When the preliminary designs were unveiled you could hear the crowds roar, it was over the fence, out of the park and hence a brand was born.

Great brand design should come from the ground up. Dig very deep to find the objectives and support it with a thorough creative brief. Soak in it till your full and let the juices flow. Anyone can design a logo; it takes an experienced, skilled professional to create a timeless, sustaining brand.

The scope of the project consists of a Corporate Identity Package with applications to interiors, signage, social media, web, and marketing material. Now we are introducing their new apparel designs at www.madhousegear.com, we think you’ll love it.

Follow them on Facebook for daily specials or download a $2.00 off coupon from the website www.madhousesandwichshop.com.
Hope you enjoy and remember, “Be in a complete state of design”!!

Angelo Piazza
Creative Director
Piazza Business Services & Consulting

 

Houck: Sandwich King of Insults serves everything but politics

www2.tbo.com

Bawdy language and insults are welcome at the R-rated Madhouse Sandwich Shop, where the talk and food come

 

Joshua T. Keleske, P.L.

Early Detection Could Save Your Life                       By now, you have started seeing pink everywhere since October is Breast Cancer Awareness month. Since my wife's mom died from breast cancer a few years ago, we think that it's great that awareness is raised each year so that women (and men, who can get breast cancer, too) are alerted to the importance of early breast cancer detection. Be sure to take advantage of this advertising to learn as much as you can about this deadly disease for yourself and your loved ones.      We all live by our calendars, so we perhaps one of the simplest things we can do is to schedule a monthly self-exam. Yes, put it done on your calendar! It takes less than 10 minutes and could save your life.      We also suggest that you visit the American Cancer Society's website HERE to learn more about breast cancer.  What About Your Funeral?                        When you think about estate planning, you most certainly think about death.  You really have no choice - your Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust is all about who is going to get your stuff when you die.  It can be a pretty grim topic, which probably accounts for the large percentage of Americans who don't have any planning in place.  After all, who wants to talk about death and dying?      That is one way to view your estate planning, but it is not the way we choose to do so.  We believe that estate planning is all about the living - not you, of course, since you are dead in this discussion, but rather your family.  If you leave loved ones, you can show them how much they mean to you by creating a thoughtful estate plan.  This could include a Last Will and Revocable Trust, as well as a Power of Attorney and Medical Directives.      The first two documents are usually thought of in the context of death, although Revocable Trusts often own assets during lifetime to avoid probate and create a smooth transition of ownership and control if you become incapacitated.   The set two documents (which may be broken down into three or four documents) name someone to make decisions for you if you become incapacitated.  These decisions may be financially driven (e.g., financial power of attorney) or medically driven (e.g., health care surrogate designation and living will).      Here's another interesting and important way to show your family that you truly love them - write out your funeral wishes.  We know - that's morbid. But, if you have lost a loved one and needed to plan his or her funeral, then you know that this is a very difficult and emotional process.        To help you with this process, you can use our new Funeral Guide, which will be linked to our site in the coming weeks.  In the meantime, call our office at 813-254-0044 for your FREE copy today.      Don't hide from this - it is not going away.  Spending an hour or so putting your wishes on paper while save your family hours of heartache and confusion when they are most vulnerable.  Once you are done, you can upload your Funeral Wishes to The DocSafe for easy retrieval! "Cancer is a word, not a sentence." John Diamond

Joshua T. Keleske, P.L. | 3333 W. Kennedy | Suite 204 | Tampa | FL | 33609

Trusted Counsel of Tampa Bay

Florida's New Divorce Law                                Last month, Florida enacted a new law concerning beneficiary designations on life insurance policies, annuities, IRAs, 401ks and other employee benefit plans.  This is great news for estate planners as it removes some uncertainty and concern over an ex-spouse's rights to these assets at death.      The statute generally provides that the entry of a final judgment of dissolution or annulment will result in a divorced former spouse being treated as having predeceased the other spouse for purposes of these non-probate assets.  This is now consistent with the statutes for Wills and Trusts, which treat a former spouse as having predeceased the testator (removing him or her as a beneficiary of an estate/trust).  The legislature, though, did not include joint accounts with rights of survivor-ship in this law.  In other words, certain jointly held assets could still pass to a surviving ex-spouse, even if that is not desired!      Before this change, we saw significant litigation between a surviving ex-spouse and a decedent's surviving children (usually from a prior marriage).  In many cases, courts would not look past the language of a beneficiary designation, meaning that an ex-spouse would receive those benefits.      While this change are helpful, it is really just a band-aid, of sorts, for those who may not get around to updating their estate planning upon divorce.  In reality, when you experience a significant life event, such as a divorce, a complete review of your estate plan, including beneficiary designations and asset titling, remains important and necessary.  This One Hurts...At Least a Little                                 How would you like to get a gift worth $65 million at someone's death? Sounds great until you learn that you owe $29 million in estate tax.  That still sounds okay until you find out that the gift is a stuffed bald eagle that cannot be sold under Federal Law.      The IRS believes that this work of art is worth this amount and is in court challenging to get $29 million in estate tax plus $11 million penalties.  Quite a stiff penalty!  (Bad joke, but I could not resist)      Check out the article on Fox News.    Estate Tax Update (sort of)                                 In many of our meetings this year, we have been asked about what is happening with the estate tax.  Many of you know that the estate tax exemption for this year is $5.12 million, which means that you can pass either during lifetime or at death this amount without expose to a transfer tax, with a tax rate of 35%.  This amount, though, is scheduled to go down to $1 million on January 1, 2012, with a top tax rate of 55%.  This drastic change suggests opportunity for some of our clients who wish to reduce their estate tax exposure.      The question, then, is what is really going to happen?  The only fair answer to that question is that no one knows.  Both Houses of Congress have attempted to draft bills and pass legislation that would effect the estate tax, albeit differently.  Some legislators would like to extend the so-called Bush tax tax cuts through 2013, which may mean that the $5+ million estate tax exemption will continue for at least one year.  Others would like something more "permanent," perhaps an exemption of $3.5 million.      Perhaps we will know more after the election in November.  However, do not think that you do not need an estate plan if your estate is less than either of these amounts - if you want to minimize the government's involvement in the disposition of your assets at death and you want to protect your family, then you need to have a plan in place!     "Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great make you feel that you, too, can become great." Mark Twain

Digital Assets in Estate Planning

Digital Assets in Estate Planning                           Have you given any thought to who will receive your digital photos or iTunes collection?  Assets like these, which we will call digital assets, are becoming much more prevalent with so many places to purchase and store them on the internet.  These assets are subject to property law as intangible assets and contract law since your use of certain media are governed by the contract that you "signed" when you joined a site.  Because of their uniqueness as assets, they are not talked about much from an estate planning prospective, but probably should be.  After all, if you have thousands of photographs on your computer or the Internet, who should get the rights to them?         As important may be who will get access to all of your online accounts (like Facebook, Twitter and The DocSafe) if you become disabled or at the time of your death.  Imagine at your death that your loved ones cannot gain access to your accounts for a variety of reasons - they don't know that they exist, or they don't have the account information (username or password). What happens if you own several domain names that are valuable?  We own several domains (www.trustedcounselors.com, for example) which get renewal notices through our email accounts.  If our loved ones don't know about or have access to our email accounts, our domain registrations may very well expire and be lost forever.         Here are a few suggestions for digital assets:         1.   Make an inventory of all of your digital assets and update it at least annually.  Your inventory should also include a listing of all websites in which you have a username and password along with those usernames and passwords.         2.   Share your inventory with a trusted family member or advisor.  Give them instructions to access and secure your digital assets in the event of death or disability.  In doing so, you would be smart to give this inventory to your named personal representative and agent under your power-of-attorney.   Keeping your inventory in The DocSafe will also allow your trusted family members ready access.         3.   If you have specific wishes for the disposition of those assets, include them in your Florida Will or Florida Revocable Trust.  Failing to do so may result in family members who will fight of your digital assets.         4.   Contact us if you need help updating your estate plan.  Your digital assets, in particular your photos, may not have monetary value, but they likely have sentimental value.  Do not let your family have unnecessary fights over these assets!         Be on the look-out for a story on digital assets on Fox13 this month - we were interviewed and provided some insight for the story!        Major Errors in Estate Planning                              I recently read an article in Forbes that highlights seven errors in Estate Planning.  This article is worth a few minutes of your time.  While the article refers to these as major errors, I'd suggest that they are also common errors that we see all of the time in our practice.  These are our "top three":         1.  Not recognizing that the State of Florida has a default estate plan for you.  In many instances, the default plan is not very good and inconsistent with many of our clients wishes.  For example, did you know that a married person who dies with no will and assets in his individual name will have those assets pass in part to his wife and in part to his children?         2.  Do-it-yourself Wills are not for everyone.  Some folks think that typing their name on a form constitutes estate planning.  That's just not the case; estate planning involves frank discussions about a person's family and his/her wishes for them.  DIY estate planning is not a substitute for a seasoned professional's experience.         3.  Failing to complete the estate planning process.  Preparing a Florida Will or Revocable Trust is not the end of the process.  Once a document is signed, it is important to update beneficiary designations on life insurance and retirement plans consistent with that document.  Also, if an estate plan includes a Living Trust, then retitling certain assets into that trust allows for an efficient plan.  Failing to update titling may result in probate at death, which is generally why many individuals seek trusts (to avoid that process).         Do any of these apply to you?  It's not to late - just give us a call.  We'd love to help.   "We can't help everyone, but everyone can help someone." Ronald Regan