Here's what happens with your stuff after you die

"In this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes," Benjamin Franklin oncewrote in a letter.

Unfortunately, those words are just as true today as they were in the 1700s.

Worse, sometimes the two come as a package deal.

After all, when someone dies, their family members must go through a lengthy series of tax, financial, and legal steps in order to sort out the affairs of the deceased.

With the help of Levenfeld Pearlstein trusts and estates associate Adam Garber, Business Insider put together a guide to many of the hurdles that surviving relatives will certainly face. Take a look below.

And just so we're being clear, this article is not a comprehensive list of what to do after someone's death. Contact your legal, financial, and tax adviser or advisers for advice catered to your specific situation. Also, some legal language was simplified for clarity.

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Thomas Sowell's "Poverty Pimps" Poem

Sometime during my social work doctoral education at Indiana University, a disenchanted PhD student introduced me to the term “poverty pimp.” The general meaning seemed to be that we future social work professors were training to make a good living from the poor. I have lately been moved to investigate that term, and have come up with a few items that may flesh out its meaning.

A key source may be Thomas Sowell (1998), whose Poverty Pimps’ Poem reads as follows:

Let us celebrate the poor,
Let us hawk them door to door.
There’s a market for their pain,
Votes and glory and money to gain.
Let us celebrate the poor.
Their ills, their sins, their faulty diction
Flavor our songs and spice our fiction.
Their hopes and struggles and agonies
Get us grants and consulting fees.
Celebrate thugs and clowns,
Give their ignorance all renown.
Celebrate what holds them down,
In our academic gowns.
Let us celebrate the poor.

In remarks preceding that presentation, Sowell referred to his “fellow-economist Walter Williams,” whom Sowell said had calculated the amounts spent annually on poverty alleviation. Sowell concluded that those amounts far exceeded what it would have cost to simply give America’s poor people enough cash to lift them above the poverty line.

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Ladies, Home Décor & Furniture Consignment Sale – Postponed to Oct. 10-11

Salisbury, MD – The Ladies, Home Décor & Furniture Consignment Sale scheduled for this weekend has been postponed until Oct. 10-11 due to the weather forecast.

What Sellers Need to Know:

Selling registration has been re-opened as a result of the postponement! Using the Coastal Consignments easy to use online software, consignors choose their own prices, decide if they want to discount or donate any unsold items, then print their tags. Once they drop off their items to sell with Coastal Consignments, sellers do not need to be present to sell. Consignors may assist during the sale in order to receive a higher percentage and earn a pass to shop before the public sale hours. To register, visit http://www.coastal-kids.com/LadyHome.html

What shoppers need to know:

Saturday October 10th from 10am – 4pm

Sunday October 11th from 9am - 2pm (many items 50% off look for tags marked Discount Yes)

Wicomico Civic Center (Midway Room) 500 Glen Avenue Salisbury MD 21804

Free admission! Cash, Visa/MC/Discover accepted with photo ID. No large bags or purses, please leave them in your car.

For complete details visit on the web at http://www.coastal-kids.com/LadyHome.html or https://www.facebook.com/CoastalKidsConsignmentSales/

Thank God Its Friday 10-2-15

What will you be doing this weekend?

Storm Path

Here's Biden's big advantage over Hillary

With the first Democratic presidential campaign slated for Oct. 13 , Vice President Joseph Biden has just about run out of time before deciding whether to enter the race at the last minute and challenge Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders for the 2016 nomination.

By now, the 72-year old vice president’s dilemma over whether to make a third and final bid for the presidency has been well vetted: He’s still grieving over the tragic death of his son, Beau, and questions whether he would have sufficient fire in his belly to drag his family through another long and difficult campaign.

While there are plenty of advisers and supporters waiting in the wings for a positive signal from Biden, he doesn’t minimize the challenge of raising big money and organizing a sophisticated national campaign organization to take on Clinton’s gold-plated campaign organization.

And while few would challenge the vice president’s domestic and foreign policy chops, he would be cast in the role of having to defend virtually every Obama administration policy, even while Clinton – the former Obama administration Secretary of State – has been gradually distancing herself from the president’s unpopular policies in Syria and Iraq.

Yet with Clinton’s campaign steadily losing altitude because of the controversy of her mishandling of her email while at the State Department and widespread voter distrust of her veracity, Biden would hold a trump card heading into the race: a compelling argument that with years of experience and political knowhow, he would be a far more effective candidate in the general election than Clinton or Sanders.

A new Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that while Clinton retains a lead in the Democratic race over Sanders and others, Biden would be a far more formidable candidate in the general election against any of the current GOP frontrunners.

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Salisbury Goes to Level 3 Partial Activation Ahead of Storm Event

Berlin Watching Hurricane Joaquin Closely

Workers are getting slammed with higher healthcare costs

Health care costs have been rising at historically modest rates for a decade now, prompting a considerable amount of discussion and debate by economists about whether the trend can continue. Most workers, though, would probably be asking another question: What the heck are they talking about?

Since 2005, premiums have grown an average of 5 percent a year, sharply lower than the 11 percent average annual increase between 1999 and 2005, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. That trend continued in 2015, with the average premium rising a modest 4 percent, according to an annual survey of nearly 2,000 employers by the Kaiser foundation and the Health Research & Educational Trust released last week.

But Drew Altman, the CEO of the Kaiser Family Foundation, saysthat shift has been “all but invisible” to consumers because deductibles have been climbing at a substantially faster rate.

“With deductibles rising so much faster than premiums and wages, it’s no surprise that consumers have not felt the slowdown in health spending,” Altman said.

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Closings and Delays For Friday October 2nd

• Worcester County Public Schools are closed to students and 10 month staff on Friday 10/2/2015. Please be safe and stay tuned for other information as needed.

• Somerset County Public Schools will be closed on October 2. All twelve-month and ten-month custodians and employees should report to work. 

•  Salisbury University Classes and other University-related activities occurring after 12:00 noon on Friday, October 2, have been canceled MORE

• UMES: No classes or other campus activities will be held at UMES AFTER 12 noon on Friday, Oct. 2. All UMES offices open during normal business hours. Liberal leave in effect for non-essential personnel during the afternoon & evening hours

• Wicomico County Schools - Friday, Oct. 2: Wicomico Schools will open on time and as scheduled today. School officials evaluated weather and road conditions in Wicomico County and consulted with law enforcement about roads before making the decision.

Apple has banned an app that maps US drone strikes

Apple has suddenly banned an app that maps every US drone strike from the App Store, Mic reports.

The Intercept's Josh Begley created the app to accompany the@dronestream Twitter account, where he posts news stories identifying when and where the US military has carried out a drone strike, and how many people have been killed. That data would then be fed into the Metadata+ app, which would send out push notifications to alert users of a strike.

It took some time — and semantic trickery — for Begley to get Apple to accept the app when it first launched. He initially called it Drones+, but after three failed attempts he changed the name to Dronestream. After another two failed attempts, Begley changed the name of the app to Metadata+, and submitted to the App Store with absolutely no content or functionality, or any mention of drones. After it was accepted, Begley went on to add the archive of drone strikes.

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Germany is printing its constitution in Arabic for refugees to learn and integrate

BERLIN (Reuters) - Germany has translated the first 20 articles of the country's constitution, which outline basic rights like freedom of speech, into Arabic for refugees to help them integrate.

Germany is struggling to cope with an expected influx of some 800,000 people this year, both economic migrants and asylum seekers fleeing war in the Middle East and Africa.

Aside from the cost and practicalities of looking after so many people -- almost one percent of Germany's population -- many voters are worried about how they will integrate into society.

Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, also chairman of the center-left Social Democrats (SPD), told Bild daily that refugees were welcome but that they have to make an effort to fit in.

"People who come here must not only learn the German language, but also learn the rules of the game of living together," Gabriel told the newspaper.

"I am convinced that the first 20 articles of our constitution are what shape our culture," he said, adding Germany had printed 10,000 copies for distribution among refugees at registration centers.

Germany's "Basic Law" was adopted in 1949 and sets out the principles which underpin the legal system and the division of power between central government and 16 regional states.

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RDI Wire & Cable Solutions Announces AS9100 Certification

RDI WIRE & CABLE SOLUTIONS COMPLETES AS9100C DESIGN CERTIFICATION 

RDI Wire & Cable Solutions, Inc. of Salisbury, Maryland announced today that it has successfully completed its AS9100C design certification audit. The certification allows RDI to competitively compete in the aerospace industry supporting national and international companies including Boeing, Northrop Grumman, Bell Helicopter, Orbital ATK and others. 

Gaining this certification is not only important to RDI, but also to the overall manufacturing community in the Salisbury area with the recent announcement by Labinal to consolidate operations to Texas. “Now that we’ve earned this AS9100C certification, our goal is to expand manufacturing operations in Salisbury by attracting new customers and providing additional employment opportunities for skilled workers in the wire harness industry,” said David Bernstein, President of RDI Wire & Cable Solutions. “We appreciate the help of Salisbury-Wicomico Economic Development, Inc. in assisting with this certification and we look forward to a continued strong relationship going forward.” 

RDI Wire & Cable Solutions, which opened in 2010, produces wire and cable products for the automotive, aerospace, military and engineering industries. They specialize in building custom harnesses from customer drawings for applications ranging from miniature multi-element subassemblies to complex terminated harness assemblies. 

The company was formed to support the drone industry with custom built harnesses for drones, controllers and ground stations. RDI currently supplies companies including Honeywell, UAV Industries and the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab. For more information, please contact David Bernstein, RDI, at 410.742.1212.

2nd Annual Peace & Praise Returns to the WY&CC Oct. 17

Salisbury, MD – This marks the 2nd year for Peace & Praise, a multicultural worship experience set for 6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at the Wicomico Youth & Civic Center. The event is sponsored by A Master’s Peace (AMP) Productions and co-sponsored by the Charles H. Chipman Cultural Center and Faith Filled Women.

The purpose of this event is to bring Christian believers of all denominations and cultural backgrounds together for an evening of worship music, dance, and drama. As we reflect on a year filled with violence in our communities and around the world, this is an opportunity to unify believers and share the awesome love and grace of Jesus Christ.

“Our mission through this event is to make a positive impact within our communities and change lives,” said Kim Clark-Shaw, Executive Director of AMP, “We believe that when believers join together in praise exciting things will happen.”

The event will feature local choirs, and praise dance ministries from various churches on Delmarva including the Phenomenal Women of Praise dance ministry, Faith Filled Women – GLOW Girls, and more. Tickets for the event are $15 in advance and $20 at the door. Ministry display tables are also available for rent to promote evangelism and outreach opportunities on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information visit www.facebook.com/amasterspeaceor email amasterspeaceamp@gmail.com.

We drove Tesla's new Model X SUV — here's what it's like

The Tesla Model X crossover is one of the most eagerly awaited vehicles in recent memory. Tesla CEO Elon Musk unveiled the production electric crossover during a massive gathering at a company facility in Fremont, California, on Tuesday night.

The Model X is unique in the automotive world. Though there are plenty of electric vehicles on the road and even a couple of electric SUVs for sale, none of them live in the high-performance luxury realm normally occupied by the likes of Porsche, BMW, and Range Rover.

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Farmer Finds Surprising Results When He Sends GMO Crop ‘Dust’

Farmer advised to wear face mask for protection

It should come as no surprise that crop dust – that is, dirt and other contaminants that accumulate mostly during harvest season – is full of some questionable ingredients. What one farmer found when he sent some dust from his hog building outside his brother’s and father’s farms where they grow Liberty Link and Roundup Ready corn is a little more shocking.

The farmer collected some dust from the corners of the building where he housed his pigs and sent it to a lab, simply labeling it ‘hog dust.’ Midwest labs sent back their results:

The ‘hog dust’ contained:

“Liberty Link corn dust, Roundup Ready corn dust

Total mold count 14,000 cfu/g 7,200,000 cfu/g 15,600,000 cfu/g

Aspergillus sp. (other) 10,000 cfu/g 7,000,000 cfu/g 15,600,000 cfu/g

Penicillium sp 3,000 cfu/g 200,000 cfu/g —”

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It's A Clock!

Fourth Turning: Crisis Of Trust, Part 3

In Part 1 of this article I discussed the catalyst spark which ignited this Fourth Turning and the seemingly delayed regeneracy. In Part 2 I pondered possible Grey Champion prophet generation leaders who could arise during the regeneracy. In Part 3 I will focus on the economic channel of distress which is likely to be the primary driving force in the next phase of this Crisis.

There are very few people left on this earth who lived through the last Fourth Turning (1929 – 1946). The passing of older generations is a key component in the recurring cycles which propel the world through the seemingly chaotic episodes that paint portraits on the canvas of history. The current alignment of generations is driving this Crisis and will continue to give impetus to the future direction of this Fourth Turning. The alignment during a Fourth Turning is always the same: Old Artists (Silent) die, Prophets (Boomers) enter elderhood, Nomads (Gen X) enter midlife, Heroes (Millennials) enter young adulthood—and a new generation of child Artists (Gen Y) is born. This is an era in which America’s institutional life is torn down and rebuilt from the ground up—always in response to a perceived threat to the nation’s very survival.

For those who understand the theory, there is the potential for impatience and anticipating dire circumstances before the mood of the country turns in response to the 2nd or 3rd perilous incident after the initial catalyst. Neil Howe anticipates the climax of this Crisis arriving in the 2022 to 2025 time frame, with the final resolution happening between 2026 and 2029. Any acceleration in these time frames would likely be catastrophic, bloody, and possibly tragic for mankind. As presented by Strauss and Howe, this Crisis will continue to be driven by the core elements of debt, civic decay, and global disorder, with the volcanic eruption traveling along channels of distress and aggravating problems ignored, neglected, or denied for the last thirty years. Let’s examine the channels of distress which will surely sway the direction of this Crisis.

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Governor Larry Hogan Announces Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month in Maryland

ANNAPOLIS, MD – Governor Larry Hogan today issued two statewide proclamations, announcing October as both Breast Cancer Awareness Month and Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

“Breast cancer and domestic violence are both serious problems that affect far too many people across Maryland and our nation,” Governor Hogan said. “It’s crucial that we raise awareness and educate the people of Maryland on the steps they can take and the resources we have available to help combat both of these issues.”

As part of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Maryland is recommending that women be screened regularly for breast cancer. According to the American Cancer Society, breast cancer trails only skin cancers as the most common cancer among women in the United States. In 2015, about 4,730 Maryland women will be diagnosed with breast cancer and an estimated 810 will die of the disease.

ISIS Planning ‘Nuclear Tsunami’

Nuclear annihilation across the globe. This is what a German reporter who successfully embedded with the Islamic State says the terror group is planning. Jurgen Todenhofer released his findings in a book titled “Inside IS - Ten Days in the Islamic State,” reports the UK’s Daily Express.

“The terrorists plan on killing several hundred million people. The west is drastically underestimating the power of ISIS. ISIS intends to get its hands on nuclear weapons,” says Todenhofer, calling the group a “nuclear tsunami preparing the largest religious cleansing in history.”

“They now control land greater in size than the United Kingdom and are supported by an almost ecstatic enthusiasm the like of which I’ve never encountered before in a war zone. Every day hundreds of willing fighters from all over the world come. They are the most brutal and most dangerous enemy I have ever seen in my life. I don’t see anyone who has a real chance to stop them. Only Arabs can stop ISIS. I came back very pessimistic.”

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