Smart Stops on the Web

Test Your Knowledge
www.aaepa.com

The American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys Web site offers a top 10 estate planning techniques section which gives an overview of various approaches and how to use them to protect clients’ wealth. The FAQ area helps CPAs answer common questions such as “Why do I need an estate plan?” and “What’s the difference between a will and a living trust?”

Plan for the Future Today
www.estateattorney.com

Pennsylvania attorney Robert Clofine’s site has information on estate taxes, Medicaid and powers of attorney. Visitors can access timely articles by clicking on the What’s New? link. Titles include “Is the Death Tax Dead?” “Paying for Nursing Home Care—Protecting Income” and “IRAs—The Beneficiary’s Options.”

Find Local Estate Planners
www.netplanning.com/consumer

For CPAs and their clients alike, this National Network of Estate Planning Attorneys site lists estate planners. Visitors can fill out the online form and receive a local planner’s contact information via e-mail within two business days. They also can read about common pitfalls and articles explaining why having an estate plan is important.

Link to Wealth Preservation
www.estateplanninglinks.com

We all know you can’t take it with you, but at least you can decide where it will end up. Find help making that decision with links to various estate planning resources including estate tax calculators, forms, and life and long-term care insurance sites. You can read articles such as “The Tarnished Years—Who Will Protect Our Seniors?” located under the Keeping Current section of the site.

Insurance Quotes Online
www.budgetlife.com

This site features a Needs Calculator that figures out how much coverage you or your client must have to protect current income. It also gives two kinds of life insurance quotes: quick estimates and expert quotes.

Successful Succession
www.taxlawsb.com/resources/FamBus.htm

( Note: This url is case-sensitive.) Users can find articles about asset protection, estates and trusts, passing down a business to children, and tax litigation on this Ambrecht & Associates site, as well as links to organizations pertaining to family businesses, partnerships and LLCs.

Free Samples
www.morebusiness.com

Marketing your services or managing a staff? Find resources to help you with these tasks and more at this Web site. Sample business plans, checklists and templates for legal forms are available. Read articles such as “12 Steps to a Successful Business.” Sign up for a free e-newsletter, too.

“No Chat … Just Stats”
www.bizstats.com

Need to know what the most rent-sensitive businesses are or to research the safest and riskiest small-business industries? This site offers current statistics—edited by a CPA—on debt-to-equity ratios, industry profitability, and S corporations’ profitability and expense ratios. Choose from the following fields of study—accounting, auditing, bookkeeping, consulting, legal services, management and public relations—and compare a company’s financials with industry averages by completing an electronic form 1040 Schedule C.

Intro to Wealth Accumulation
www.dallasfed.org/htm/wealth/index.html

The Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas site offers beginners a guide to securing their financial futures. Covered topics include budgeting to save money, controlling debt and investing. The glossary will help users master “investorspeak.”

Simulate Financial Transactions
www.investingonline.org

Novices and seasoned investors alike can benefit from the Investing Online Resource Center’s trading simulator. The novice can test-drive the online investment experience while a more comfortable trader can learn how margin accounts work and spot the hype in the Don’t Get Burned simulator.

Accounting Makes Headlines
accounting.smartpros.com

News and industry insights pervade each of the site’s 10 areas of interest. From accounting through human resources, each section of this SmartPros site has links to up-to-date articles. Visitors can register for free e-mail updates with accounting news and career tips.

Analyzers and Educators and Planners, Oh My!
www.financenter.com

Each of the solution centers on this Web site contains Q&As, discussions and worksheets to help users troubleshoot questions apropos to their companies’ target markets in categories including asset allocation, investing, life insurance, mutual funds and retirement. Industry experts answer common questions in detailed articles and exhibits.