Philadelphia probate law and commercial litigation blog

Almost all of us have some form of digital footprint. This means that some of our personal data, ranging from administrative data to nostalgic memories, is stored online. We should be able to decide what happens to all of this data at the end of our lives, and in order to do this, we will need to address it on our estate plan.

There are many reasons why making a digital estate plan is so important. However, many people do not understand the full extent to which planning digital asset management can help their beneficiaries. The following are just some of the reasons why you should consider investing time in creating a digital estate plan in Pennsylvania.

When you first begin to put together your estate plan, your primary goals may have more to do with leaving something to the ones you love than caring for your own needs. Unfortunately, this can cause major problems if you don't include some important documents about your own personal preferences.

Some estate planning documents deal directly with your end-of-life choices and establishing a plan to care for your needs if you suffer a disability or long-term illness. For your own sake and for the sake of those who love you, be sure to include these documents in your plan, so that you don't waste valuable time and resources if you do suffer a serious injury.

For many people, banking seems like a necessary evil. They don't relish the idea of needing to store their money outside their home or pay someone to access it, but the security and convenience of a bank account is almost necessary. While it is possible to get by without a bank account, that usually means that you have to pay a lot of money to cash checks and purchase money orders to pay bills.

The fees and costs associated with a standard bank account may seem reasonable compared with the hassle that people have to go through to avoid opening a bank account. In some cases, however, the bank actually has an abusive or inappropriate policy for fees that ends up having a negative effect on customers.

Part of owning a business is accounting for income and expenses and there is more than one way to do this. For example, you can follow Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or choose a non-GAAP method such as cash basis accounting. The format you choose is going to affect the net income you report to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and the numbers you provide to current and potential investors.

It is important that you choose an accounting method that provides a reasonable level of transparency and reports your business activity in the most accurate way possible. In other words, choosing the wrong accounting method could be misleading. Here are a few things to know about GAAP versus non-GAAP reporting so that you can choose the accounting method that fits your business.