By Naomi K. Bonman

 The best Hollywood success stories are those that have testimonies of triumph, courage, and strength. They are the ones that capture the audience’s hearts and inspires them that they too can overcome whatever they are going through or where they are from in order to accomplish their dreams. Kimberley Zulkowski is a former foster child that has broken the mold and has become a successful Hollywood filmmaker.

I recently was able to catch up with Zulkowski for a second interview where she went deeper into her life’s journey. She shared her story of strength, survival, and sparkle through her upbringings in Milwaukee. She is now using her experiences to inspire others and to also give back to her community. 

In the interview, Kim chatted about her current crusade to help #OperationSaveMilwaukee, which is on a mission to stop the killing and clean up this 52306 zip code. The area has been seeing a spike in homicides within the last two years which has become a nightmare for such a small town. In lieu to #OperationSaveMilwaukee, Zulkowski is also working on a new production titled, “53206” where she has used local city actors who are now up to par with big names, such as Loretta Devine, Denzel Washington, and many other greats.

In addition to the film, Zulkowski also serves as a private donor of ‘Angels of Darkness’ to families who are unable to pay for funeral services for those that were victims of the violence in the community. She helps victims of homicide with their transition to heaven from outfitting them in the most beautiful of clothes, often releasing doves with a horse and carriage with proper prosthetic make-up and complimenting casket.

“From 9-year-old children gunned down in the comfort of their own home watching television on their couch to grown men, Kimberley dedicates herself entirely to the repair of her former community. Though successful and with a beautiful family of her own in the safety of the suburbs,  Kimberley still returns to serve as a mentor to those in dire straights needing guidance, food, “blessing bags” stuffed with personal hygiene products and more. If anyone knows how to #GiveBack, it is Kimberley Zulkowski.” stated by Kelly K. of Jaded Umbrella. 

To listen to the interview, click below:

LOS ANGELES, CA – LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS (LC), a multicultural integrated marketing communications agency, announces the promotion of Keisha N. Brown (KB) to executive vice president and chair of the new Health and Wellness Practice. As chair of the practice, KB will drive creative solutions for all of the agency’s healthcare clients. With more than two decades of healthcare experience working with clients on a local, regional and national level, LC is excited to launch their Health and Wellness Practice with a skilled professional that works across all disciplines and cultures.

“I look forward to leading the new Health and Wellness Practice at the agency and utilizing my experience and passion to make a difference in the lives of African Americans and Latinos,” said KB. “I have worked on health care accounts for more than 20 years, and understand the challenges that impact behavioral change to make our communities healthier and people live longer.”

KB brings a wealth of experience, insight and maturity to the Health and Wellness Practice. She has worked with corporate, not-for-profit and government clients, including American Cancer Society, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), Novartis and the Office of National Control Drug Policy, to name a few. Relying on her keen understanding of health disparities and cultural nuances amongst African American and Hispanic communities, KB has successfully executed award-winning campaigns with multi-million dollar budgets and led multidisciplinary teams. She now manages the advertising and marketing account for Covered California, educating African American consumers about their services and maximizing the number of Californians enrolled in health insurance coverage. In addition, under KB’s leadership the team will focus on entities such as hospitals, healthcare plans, not-for-profit, government, biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies

“KB is the biggest success story of the agency’s internship program,” said Mr. Kim L. Hunter, President and CEO of LAGRANT COMMUNICATIONS. “She is the epitome of what an IMC specialist is and does. KB is one of the few communicators that has a good understanding of the three disciplines (advertising, marketing and public relations) and how they intersect with one another to create a truly holistic campaign.”

As a 21-year veteran of the firm, KB is an integrated marketing communications specialist that has successfully executed integrated advertising, marketing and public relations campaigns for clients such as L.A. Care Health Plan, The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the Martin Luther King Jr., Community Hospital.

Throughout her career, KB has been recognized for her work and expertise in multicultural communications. Most recently, the firm received the Healthcare Public Relations & Marketing Association (HPRMA) Golden Advocate Award for the launch of the L.A. Care Covered Campaign, a project headed by KB. Johnson Publications, the publishers of Ebony and Jet magazine, also named KB “One of the Most Outstanding Women in Marketing and Communications” and PRWeek Magazine featured her in a roundtable discussion regarding diverse viewpoints on multicultural communications.

The Los Angeles native holds a bachelor’s degree in journalism with an emphasis in public relations and a minor in business administration from Howard University in Washington, DC.

By Lou Coleman

Now that’s what being stuck on stupid sounds like …..Ah, Ah, Ah…. Listen, if you find yourself doing something stupid, Just Stop!  My mother use to tell me, “The first thing you need to do when you find you’re digging yourself into a hole is to quit digging.” You’re already in a hole. Don’t make matters worse by digging deeper.  I tell you lying is perilous than it seems. It’s more Satan-like than Christ-like. And Jesus referred to Satan as “a liar and the father of lies” [John 8:44]. So as the actress said on the movie “Friday” “You ain’t got to lie Craig; you ain’t got to lie!”

I tell you lying have become so prevalent, that many Christians do not look on lying as the grievous sin that it is. We have come to the point where we don’t expect to hear the truth. Spouses lie to one another in the name of keeping the peace, parents lie to their own children and vice versa, employers and employees lie to each other. Politicians lie in order to spin things their way and gain votes. Advertisers lie to sell products. Careful!  [Rev 21:8] says, “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars—they will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” Do you see how serious lying is? Breaking the 9th commandment has the consequence of eternal death! When you lie you align yourself with everything that brings death, destruction, doom, and damnation to this world. Sin is what leads to death, but that sin was brought about by a lie! Therefore, don’t take lying lightly. There’s no such thing as a little white lie. God is Truth, and anything less than truth is wrong, it is a lie, and it is sin!

So how does one overcome lying? Love the truth. When Jesus stood before Pilot, Pilot asked, “What is truth?” Truth was standing in front of Him. Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. We need to love Truth and Jesus more than ourselves. The truth needs to be more important than our own life. [Philippians 4:8] say, “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable – if anything is excellent or praiseworthy – think about such things.” Saturate your mind with good things, like the Word of God. It’s how Jesus defeated Satan in the wilderness, with the Scriptures! Live the truth. Be accountable to others. Immediate confess, immediately correct, and immediately commit yourself again to truth. And never forget what God thinks about lying and what He will do with all liars [Psalms 26:45; 1 Corinthians 15:33].

Now if you are guilty of lying, the Holy Spirit is lovingly urging you to confess your sin, and repent by telling the truth, so God can forgive your sin and purify your heart. Do whatever the Spirit is telling you to do. And if you have never given your life to Jesus by confessing Him as Lord and Savior and dying to self through baptism, I invite you now to receive a new life born of the Holy Spirit. “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you.” [John 8:32]

“This day I call the heavens and the earth as witnesses against you that I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life, so that you and your children may live” [Deuteronomy 30:19].

By Mildred Henry

Each time I travel to and from my home and see the devastation caused by the Cajon Blue Cut Fire, I utter a prayer of thanks for the firemen who did a magnificent job of protecting property and lives. I marvel at how the fire burned right up to and around the houses, yet the firemen were able to save people’s homes and possessions. 

Firemen came from near and far to fight the blaze and it is amazing how valiantly they fought and contained the inferno. These true unsung heroes do a Herculean job every day protecting their fellow citizens. For this we say thank you!

By Sylvester McGil a.k.a. Sylvester Muhammad  

Real men stand tall even when sitting. We live by certain principles and we are prepared to perform certain task. We each must perform as assigned by The Taskmaster. We are not the designer nor did we draw the blueprint. We do not know that we are planks being brought together to build an Ark.

We Black people do not know that we are being raised from the dead. (This is the third day). We did not see who rolled the stone away from the ‘tomb of ignorance, which has been our home for more than four hundred and fifty years. Some of us do not know any of the original organizers of The Nation Association for the Advancement of Colored People, The Congress on Racial Equality, The Urban League and others. These people along with Mr. Colin Kaepernick and those I am unable to name are all representatives of the mind of people like Mr. John Brown. These people gave their lives in the service of others, and may their rewards be greater than their needs.

We Black people in The Americus are not responsible for what was done to us that resulted in our mental and spiritual death. However, we are responsible for our actions after being raised from the dead. What have we done, what are we doing and what will we do to improve our condition so that we will all be accepted in the ‘civilized societies’ of planet earth. We must read and study the thirteenth amendment to the Constitution in its entirety. Read between the lines and the obscured ‘fine print’. And please do not forget we were taught “ignorance of the law is no excuse. Study the status of Blacks in the Americus during the year 1850 that was to be our Manifested Destiny. We must help those who are trying to help us. We will understand it better by and by.

By Anna Challet, California Black Media Correspondent

A coalition of attorneys, civil rights advocates, and advocates for sexually exploited children are calling for California Attorney General Kamala Harris to manage the investigation into the alleged exploitation of a teenage girl by officers at several Bay Area police departments. 

The alleged misconduct came to light nearly a year ago, and no officers at any of the law enforcement agencies – the police departments of Oakland, Richmond, San Francisco, and Livermore, and the sheriff’s departments of Alameda and Contra Costa Counties – have been prosecuted.

Advocates think the case is being swept under the rug, and have little faith that district attorneys’ offices can be trusted with the investigation given their close relationship with law enforcement. The advocates, led by Oakland-based attorney Pamela Price and including Kimberly Thomas Rapp, the executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area, want Governor Jerry Brown to issue an executive order putting Harris in charge.

“We need to have an independent, impartial investigation,” said Price, speaking at a demonstration in front of the Richmond Police Station on Thursday.

President of the Richmond/Contra Costa chapter of Black Women Organized for Political Action Kathleen Sullivan added, “This is a time in our country when we need to restore the trust in our law enforcement like never before.”

The investigation into the officers’ alleged crimes began with the September 2015 suicide of Brendan O’Brien, an officer with the Oakland Police Department. He left a suicide note that referenced his relationship with the young woman whose exploitation is being investigated, who goes by the name Celeste Guap.

Guap, now 19, was questioned in the aftermath of O’Brien’s death. Allegedly, O’Brien’s exploitation of her began before she turned 18, when he’d come to her aid on the street; Guap was at the time being commercially sexually exploited in Oakland.

Since then, the investigation has come to involve approximately 30 officers in different Bay Area departments. Some of the officers’ alleged sexual misconduct took place when Guap was a minor; Guap also says that some officers compensated her. 

Speaking at the demonstration, President of the California National Organization for Women Jerilyn Stapleton said, “We want other law enforcement agencies throughout the state to know that there are going to be repercussions, that it’s not going to be this code of silence, that they are going to be prosecuted” for misconduct of this nature.

Cat Brooks, the co-founder of the Oakland Anti-Police Terror Project, says that because of the relationship that district attorneys have with law enforcement,

“It’s the fox in the hen house” to leave the investigation up to local D.A. offices. “In the same way we can’t expect when there’s an officer-involved shooting for district attorneys to hold law enforcement accountable, it’s not going to happen,” she says.

In calling for an executive order, the coalition is referencing the part of the state constitution (Article V, Section 13) that holds that the attorney general can prosecute violations of law in any county where she feels that the law isn’t being enforced, and that the governor can direct her to do this. In June, Harris said she would intervene if the local investigations were insufficient.

At the same time, Brooks says, “I would be remiss if I didn’t say that we don’t have a lot of faith in Kamala Harris either. The community has asked her repeatedly to intervene in [other] instances of officer misconduct.” In this case, the fact remains that no officers have been arrested.

The East Bay Express reported on Thursday that Celeste Guap has been arrested in Florida for aggravated battery. She traveled to the Port St. Lucie area in late August to start a drug treatment program; the circumstances regarding the choice to go to Florida are at this point unclear. Guap and her mother have told the East Bay Express that the Richmond Police Department is paying for Guap to go to rehab.

The coalition calling for Harris to take on the investigation believes that Guap is not the only young woman who has been allegedly exploited in this manner. They add in their public statement,

“We understand and appreciate that minors and women engaged in sex work in our communities are extremely vulnerable to the abuse of power by our law enforcement agencies and that ‘blaming the victim’ is not an appropriate response to our crisis.”

SAN BERNARDINO, CA – On Friday, August 26th, 2016, United Nations of Consciousness hosted Artivism: Activism Through the Arts for Safer Communities at their new facility, Anne Shirrells Park Community Center. This event was part of the #SchoolsNotPrisons campaign to bring awareness to school discipline policies and to advocate for prioritizing prevention over punishment for safe and healthy communities for our youth. 

They were honored to have shared the night with over 250 guests including community members, families, youth, community leaders and partnering organizations such as COPE, BLU Education Foundation, Time for Change Foundation and YAP. The night began with a gallery viewing, followed by powerful performances from local youth artists of the Inland Empire, who set the stage ablaze with poetry, music and dance. The room was filled with much diversity, and various forms of artistic expressions.

UNC would like to thank each and every person for coming out to support their event and contributing to make it a success.

“You all left a positive impact on our community through your contributions of partnership, performance, art and/or volunteering,” LaNae Norwood, President and Founder of UNC, said. “Together, we have spread the message of the importance of funding education, youth, intervention and prevention programs to help create safe and healthy communities for all.”

The work does not stop here! Please join them by continuing to support #SchoolsNotPrisons ensuring that we end the “School to Prison Pipeline” and to give our youth opportunities for a brighter future. For more information, please visit www.unitednationsofconsciousness.com.

In partnership with Metro, this year marks Metrolink’s 24^th year of providing Southern California residents with a special stop at the Los Angeles County Fair. Starting Sept. 3, San Bernardino Line weekend trains will stop at the Pomona Fairplex platform except for trains 351, 352 and 353.  A free shuttle service is offered to the yellow gate entrance. The Fairplex Station is located just west of the Pomona Station on the San Bernardino Line.

Travel with ease with your family and friends by skipping traffic while avoiding the hassle and cost of parking. Riders can purchase Metrolink’s $10 Weekend Day Pass and take the train to the fair on Saturday or Sunday ONLY. The L.A. County Fair is offering Metrolink riders a special online price of only $12 for a single day admission ticket. Those interested in purchasing these tickets in advance should visit www.lacf.com.

Metrolink is also adding a train to provide later service from the fair back to Los Angeles. The train, 391, will depart the Fairplex stop at 8:30 p.m. and make all stops into Los Angeles Union Station.

As a result of the modified schedule to support the L.A. County Fair, Metrolink trains may operate late into other stops along the San Bernardino Line on weekends in September.

For real-time service updates or to get more information please visitwww.metrolinktrains.com or follow @Metrolink on Twitter.

By Lou Coleman

Well boo, boo, that’s what happens when you abandon your first love [Jesus].  Scripture says this: “Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, but ye have set at naught all my counsel…I will show you [my] back, and not [my] face…” I will even laugh at your calamity. I will mock you when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you, then you will call on Me but I will not answer. You will seek Me diligently but you shall not find Me. Because you hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the Lord. You would not accept My counsel, you spurned all My reproof. So you shall eat of the fruit of your own way and be satiated with your own devices, seeing that you no longer desired My company” [Proverbs 1:24-31].

I tell you there is nothing worse can be said of a child of God but that “the presence of the Lord departed.” In His place comes a spirit of hopelessness and emptiness, [1 Samuel 22:8]. To the sons of Israel, God said in [Judges 10], “You have forsaken me and served other gods, therefore I will deliver you no more. Go and cry out to the gods which you have chosen, let them deliver you in the time of your distress.” I’m done with you! For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense, how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? I tell you drifting away from God is infinitely dangerous.

Listen; there is what you could call consequential wrath. Consequential wrath is the sowing and reaping wrath; you live a certain kind of life and you set in motion certain forces that will produce judgment. But then there is another kind of wrath and that is the wrath of abandonment. It is that wrath exhibited by God when He turns His back on a society [Romans 1:24 to 32]. In [Hosea 4:17] we are reminded that there comes a time when God abandons men. God comes to a point where God will say enough is enough and He will allow us to go our own way, to the consequences of our own sinful choices. Of the Pharisees Jesus said, “Let them alone, they are blind leaders of the blind,” [Matthew 15:14]. The most terrifying words “Let them alone.” It’s a frightening thing to think about that. Frightening thing to think that you might be abandoned by God, that the opportunity for salvation is past, that the day of grace is over.

You may be wondering …is there any hope? Well Jesus said in [Psalms, 81:16], “O that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways. I would turn from abandoning them, from giving them over to their own sinful choices to defending them and protecting them and punishing their enemies and I would feed them with the finest of the wheat and with honey from the rock I would satisfy them.” What are you waiting for…? Take the next exit and go back to your first love [Jesus]!

By Debbie Forté 

One main difference between a Will and a Trust is that a will goes into effect only after you die, while a trust takes effect as soon as you create it.

Another difference between a Will and a Trust is that a Will must pass through probate. That means a court oversees the administration of the will and ensures the will is valid and the property gets distributed the way the deceased wanted.

By contrast, a trust can be used to begin distributing property before death, at death or afterwards.

What Is a Will?

A will is a written document—signed and witnessed—that appoints a legal representative or executor to carry out your wishes; and directs how your property (estate) will be distributed at the time of your death to your named beneficiaries.  It is revocable and can be amended at any time during your lifetime. It also allows you to appoint a guardian for your minor children.

A Will covers any property that is only in your name when you die. It does not cover property held in joint tenancy or in a trust.

What Is a Living Trust?

A living trust provides lifetime and after-death property management. If you are serving as your own trustee, the trust instrument will provide for a successor upon your death or incapacity. Court intervention is not required. Livings trusts also are used to manage property. If a person is disabled by accident or illness, the successor trustee can manage the trust property. As a result, the expense, publicity, and inconvenience of court-supervised distribution of your estate can be avoided.

A trust, on the other hand, covers only property that has been transferred to the Trust. In order for property to be included in a trust, it must be put in the name of the trust. Listed in the trust and transferred by Quitclaim Deed with the county recorder’s office.

A trust passes outside of probate, so a court does not need to oversee the process, which can save time and money. Unlike a will, which becomes part of the public record, a trust can remain private.

Wills and trusts each have their advantages and disadvantages. For example, a will allows you to name a guardian for children and to specify funeral arrangements, while a trust does not. On the other hand, a trust can be used to plan for disability or to provide savings on taxes. Your elder law attorney can tell you how best to use a will and a trust in your estate plan.

Who Needs A Trust And Who Needs A Will?

A trust is always recommended when you are over the age of 55, with real property in your name and assets worth transferring to your loved ones without probate.  A trust is always backed up by a “Pour Over Will.”  Which means that assets and property you obtain after the trust is created, and you failed to fund them into your trust, will automatically be “poured” over into your trust when you die.

A Will can be sufficient if you are a renter, and own no real property, with only moderate tangle items and assets.

What Is A Health Care Directive?

A Health Care Directive (also called a living will) is a document that express your wishes to medical personnel and your loved ones what treatments you will allow in the event of total incapacity, coma or life threatening illnesses.  In example, if you become brain dead with no chance of recovery you can elect to not be put on life support or have life support removed.  You can elect which surgeries, medications and treatment plans you support or wish to decline in the event these decisions have to be made.

It allows you to name an agent(s) to also be able to make medical decisions for you as well in the event you are unable to.

What Is A Durable Power Of Attorney?

A power of attorney is a legal document that gives someone you choose the power to act in your place to handle your finances in case you ever become mentally or physically incapacitated. A durable power of attorney simply means that the document stays in effect if you become incapacitated and unable to handle matters on your own.

With a valid power of attorney, the trusted person you name will be legally permitted to take care of important matters for you — for example, paying your bills, your banking needs, managing your investments, or directing your medical care — if you are unable to do so yourself. Your agent can handle mundane tasks such as sorting and opening your mail, depositing your Social Security checks, as well as more complex jobs like watching over your retirement accounts and other investments, or filing your tax returns. Your agent doesn’t have to be a financial expert; just someone you trust completely who has a good dose of common sense.

What Is A Hippa Authorization And Who Needs One?

The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), is a Federal law that required the establishment of national standards to protect the privacy of patients’ health care information. The Privacy Rule, which took effect on April 14, 2003, regulates the use and disclosure of “Protected Health Information.”

This authorization allows your doctor or hospital to disclose protected health information to a third party specified by you (your agent–spouse or family member) to obtain necessary information in order to make medical decisions for you in the event of you being incapacitated and unable to make decisions for yourself. 

What Is Probate?

Probate is the legal^] process whereby a will is “proved” in a court and accepted as a valid public document that is the true last testament of the deceased. 

A probate also officially appoints the executor (or personal representative), generally named in the will, as having legal power to dispose of the testator’s assets in the manner specified in the testator’s will. However, through the probate process, a will may be contested.

The probate process includes:

• proving in court that a deceased person’s will is valid (usually a routine matter)
• identifying and inventorying the deceased person’s property
• having the property appraised paying debts and taxes

What Is A Transfer On Death Deed (Tod) And Who Can Use It?

The new Transfer on Death Deed (or Beneficiary Deed) is an easy and inexpensive way to bypass probate court when you leave real estate without a Trust or a Will.  It’s like a regular deed used to transfer real estate to your beneficiaries, with a crucial difference: It doesn’t take effect until your death.

When you die, your real property is automatically transferred to your beneficiaries.  All states do not allow this but California is one that does.

What Is An Estate; And What Happens To It If I Don’t Have A Will Or Trust?

An “Estate” is simply the legal term used to describe all of your assets and tangible items you own.  This includes:

• Your home and any real property you own
• Furniture and furnishings
• Clothing, jewelry and personal items
• Car, Boat, Motorcycle
• Bank and savings accounts
• Retirement and pension funds
• Stock, Bonds and IRA’s
• Interest in a business

Can I Leave Real Property To Minor Children?

The short answer; YES

Parents, grandparents, uncles and aunts commonly leave real property and other large assets to minor children.  When probate is opened the court will assign a custodian to manage the minor’s inheritance.

A custodial account is established for a minor child under the Uniform Transfer to Minors Act (UTMA) or Uniform Gifts to Minors Act (UGMA). These are usually established through a bank and a custodian is named to manage the funds. But if the amount is significant (say, $10,000 or more), court approval may be required. In any event, the child will still receive the full amount at legal age.

A better option is to set up a children’s trust in your will and name someone to manage the inheritance instead of the court. You can also decide when the children will inherit. But the trust cannot be funded until the will has been probated, and that can take precious time and could reduce the assets. If you become incapacitated, this trust does not go into effect… because a will cannot go into effect until after you die.

Another option is a revocable living trust, the preferred option for many parents and grandparents. The person(s) you select, not the court, will be able to manage the inheritance for your minor children or grandchildren until they reach the age(s) you want them to inherit—even if you become incapacitated. Each child’s needs and circumstances can be accommodated, just as you would do. And assets that remain in the trust are protected from the courts, irresponsible spending and creditors (even divorce proceedings).

Can I Name A Guardian For My Minor Children In My Will And/Or Trust?

You can name a guardian for your minor children in your Will.

What Happens To Credit Card Debt When You Die?

Essentially there are two main factors that will determine who is responsible for your credit card debt after you die: whose name or names are on the account and where you live.

Whose name is on the account?

If the card is only in your name, your estate is responsible for the debt. As the estate goes through probate, the executor or administrator of the estate will make a determination of the assets and debts of the estate and pay off debts in the order that state law requires. If assets remain after that, they will be distributed to heirs according to your will or, if you don’t have a will, state law.

Remember that not all assets go through probate, however; things like insurance proceeds, IRAs, and 401(k)s usually go to beneficiaries without being counted as assets in the estate; accordingly, beneficiaries receive those regardless of debts, and an executor or administrator of an estate can’t use them to pay off credit card debt.

If you share your credit card account with someone else, i.e., someone else also signed the application, that person could be held responsible for the debt; if there is another person listed on the account but only as an authorized user, they will not be responsible for the debt. An authorized user is generally someone who can use the card but didn’t sign the application and doesn’t pay the bills.

What happens if the estate’s assets don’t cover the debt?

If your estate is solely responsible for the debt and there isn’t enough money in your estate to cover it, the debt ends there. The credit card company has to write it off, and neither your heirs nor anyone else can be held responsible for it.

What Is The Difference In “Joint Tenancy”,  “Tenancy In Common” And “Right Of Survivorship”?

When two or more people own property like a home, either as joint tenants or tenants in common, each individual owns a share (or interest) of the entire property. This means that specific areas of the property are not owned by any one individual, but rather shared as a whole. While joint tenants with survivorship are similar to tenants in common in many ways, particularly the right of possession with respect to the property, there are some important differences with respect to what happens when a co-owner dies.

Ownership Interest

While none of the owners may claim to own a specific part of the property, tenants in common may have different ownership interests. For instance, Tenant A and Tenant B may each own 25 percent of the home, while Tenant C owns 50 percent of the property as a whole. Tenants in common also may be created at different times; so an individual may obtain an interest in the property years after the other individuals have entered into a tenancy in common ownership.

What is a joint tenancy?

If they opt for joint tenancy, the deed to the property will then name the two owners as joint tenants. Then if one person dies, the other person will automatically become the full owner of the property.

A joint tenancy is broken if one of the tenants sells his or her interest to another person, thus changing the ownership arrangement to a tenancy in common for all parties. However, a tenancy in common may end if one or more co-tenant buys out the others; if the property is sold and the proceeds distributed equally among the owners; or if a partition action is filed, which allows an heir inheriting the property to sell his or her stake.

What is joint tenancy in common?

There is no right of survivorship in a tenancy in common. A tenant in common may deal with their interest or share in the property as they wish without permission of the other owner. Interests in property held under a joint tenancy must be held in equal shares.

What is the meaning of tenants in common?

Tenants In Common (TIC) are co-owners of an undivided interest in real property. Tenants in common each own a separate and undivided interest in the same real property and each has an equal right to the possession and use of the property.

But tenants in common have no rights of survivorship. Unless the deceased individual’s will  specifies that his or her interest in the property is to be divided among the surviving owners, a deceased tenant in common’s interest belongs to his or her estate.

Right of Survivorship

One of the main differences between the two types of shared ownership is what happens to the property when one of the owners dies. When a property is owned by joint tenants with survivorship, the interest of a deceased owner automatically gets transferred to the remaining surviving owners. For example, if four joint tenants own a house and one of them dies, each of the three remaining joint tenants ends up with a one-third share of the property. This is called the right of survivorship.

Why It’s Important To Talk To Your Family About Your Wishes?

When it comes to the issues of estate planning it’s always good to educate yourself and be informed on what is best for your family.  But one of the best tools you can do to make sure things go smoothly when you die is to talk to your family now. 

Engage in conversations with your loved ones to express your wishes, concerns and plans.  Hearing from you audibly speaks volumes over a document they read after you die.  It aids in eliminating confusion, resentment and misunderstanding.  When we leave our family behind they are in a grieving state of mind in which emotions are running high and this does not always add up to making important decisions.  The more they remember what you spoke when you were alive will always keep family drama down.