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2B – Daily News – Wednesday, January 26, 2011 Commerce business The work to brand Tehama County as a tourism destination continues to gain momentum, with nearly $50,000 raised and just $20,000 more needed to sign a contract with Roger Brooks for Phase I of Brand Development. Donations have been received from all over the county. Richard and Suzanne Muench’s generous offer to host a 100-Mile Harvest Dinner and Art Auction at their home in early November had a committee quickly scrambling. The result was a beautiful, festive outside dinner with 125 guests and delicious food grown and raised within 100 miles of Tehama County. A live auction of local artwork, including a framed set of blueprints for the Cone Kimball tower, netted the effort $5,600. Nearly all of the food and art- work was generously donated. A generous commitment from the City of Red Bluff’s Lake Red Bluff mitigation monies met with cheers from the audience and also contributed $19,500 for a great November. December saw $10,000 in business & sponsorships, ending the year with $46,300 in the fund. Time is of the essence. Phase I of the branding work can begin when $70,000 has been raised. During Phase I, Roger Brooks and his team from Destination Development International will return to Tehama County to gather community input. They will conduct extensive mar- keting and demographic analysis to identify brands that have the most eco- nomic potential for Tehama County, Red Bluff, Corning, and Manton. Brands, key marketing messages, and graphics will all be developed during this phase. Visit the Red Bluff/Tehama County Chamber of Commerce website for a full copy of Roger Brooks’ proposal for the work to be done, or to see Brooks’ Assessment of Tehama Coun- ty through the eyes of a first time visi- tor. The possibilities are there, but require our energy and Tehama Coun- ty spirit for success. Vibrant commu- enterprise Branding effort on mark nities that attract visitors and offer great quality of life for their residents don’t just happen by themselves. We’re competing with thousands of other communities for new business, industry, private investment, visitors, and revitalization. Communities must operate more like business and set themselves apart from the competi- tion with a unique image…a success- ful brand that conveys things to do that the visitor can’t do closer to home. This is not a five or ten year plan. Our goal is to retain Roger Brooks in early 2011 and move this project for- ward. We need businesses, residents and fans of Tehama County to join the campaign. To invest in the future of Tehama County, please send your tax- deductible contribution to Tehama EDC: Branding Project, P.O. Box 1224, Red Bluff, CA 96080. Thank you to those who continue to contribute their time, energy and dollars to this special initiative. For more information, contact Kathy Schmitz or Kathy Garcia at the Job Training Center. Is your estate plan complete? Most people would agree that some of the more important goals of any estate plan should be avoid- ing family feuds and unnec- essary court involvement, known as probate. By plan- ning ahead you can mini- mize the risk of family feuds and keep your loved ones from spending unnec- essary time and money often associated with the probate process. Many times, people believe that if they have a Will they have a proper estate plan in place to avoid probate and minimize the delay of administering their estate after they pass away. The truth is, however, that a Will simply guarantees pro- bate. Wills must be probat- ed in California. Probate involves filing your Will with the court (a public record of your estate plan), a time consuming court process with family and creditors that can cost thou- sands of dollars, and months of delay before your family can get back to the business of life. One of the most popular tools for avoiding probate is the Living Trust. A Trust is the single most effective estate planning tool avail- able. Although there are many different types of Trusts, the most popular is the Joint Revocable Living Trust utilized by married couples. In addition to pro- tecting your privacy (you don’t have to file your Trust with the court like a Will), a Trust will help you leave what you want, to whom you want, in the way you want—at the lowest possi- ble overall cost to your estate. While there are some costs associated with trust administration after death, and you will pay more for the preparation of a Trust over a Will, a Trust avoids probate, which includes things like probate court filing fees, statutory attorney fees, executor fees, appraisal fees, you get the idea. A living Trust can avoid the headache of pro- bate, and do so at a fraction of the cost. One more caveat on the Trust based Estate Plan. You need to be sure your Trust is funded. What does this mean? Well, let’s think of your Trust as a safe. It can do a great job of pro- tecting your hard earned wealth, but if there’s noth- ing in the Trust —i.e. noth- ing in the safe—what good does it do you? None what- soever. Which begs another question, why would some- one go to the trouble of pur- chasing or creating a Trust and then not fund it? The answer is quite often that the person in question sim- ply does not know what steps to take or never gets around to it, resulting in an unfunded Trust. An unfund- ed Trust is worse than no Trust at all. Not all Trust based estate plans are created equal. In order to address the non-financial matters often dealt with by the terms of your written Trust, you need to ensure that your estate planning documents also address who will care for your minor children if something hap- pens to you, who will handle your money if you are incapaci- tated (your Trust is effective only when you actually pass away), who will make health care decisions for you, and will the hospital release your medical infor- mation to them. These are just some of the issues that can be resolved with a com- plete estate planning pack- age that includes documents like a power-of-attorney, a pour-over will, advance health care directive, and HIPAA Authorization to name a few. For example, an Advanced Healthcare Directive can dictate how you wish to be cared for, whether you desire to be an organ donor, and what steps you authorize medical per- sonnel to take to prolong your life. A HIPAA Autho- rization can ensure your pri- Shawn vacy while still making cru- cial medical information available to the people you want to have it. A Power of Attor- ney for financial affairs deter- mines in advance who will be able to make financial decisions for you in the event you cannot make decisions for yourself. McCammon Another fac- tor to consider when spending time and money on having things like Health Care Directives and HIPAA releases prepared is whether they will be there when you need them. I recently read an article from the American Med- ical Association that stated 3 out 4 Advance Health Care Directives are never seen by the medical pro- fessionals involved with end of life decisions. This is like the unfunded trust discussed above. What good is the document that never makes it into the hands of those who are helping you in your most critical hour? Some firms incorporate a service provider that solves this problem as part of their estate planning package. These service providers store your advance health care directive and HIPAA release electronically. You are given a credit card like insert for your wallet or purse that can be pulled out at any hospital or medical facility in the world (24 hours a day/7 days a week), which contains your account and access code. Shawn McCammon of Liberty Law, A.P.C.is a local estate planning attorney that is here to help if you need to get your estate complete plan in order.Feel free to set up an appointment by calling 529- 4329 for an appointment. ★★ Parker, Pacific join chamber • New Members – The Corning Chamber of Commerce welcomes these new members: Pacific Conservation Tech- nology in Orland, (530) 865-3253 and Individual Member, Clay Parker. • Business Spotlight – Pacific Conservation Technology is a new, local business established in response to two criti- cal problems: The universal demand for safe, healthy, puri- fied drinking water, and the environmental crisis created by plastic water bottles – specifically the jugs used by conven- tional office water coolers. There are an estimated 19.5 million cases of water-borne illnesses every year in the United States alone. As a result, millions have turned to bottled water to protect their health. But is bottled water a responsible solution? 1.5 million tons of plastic, and 30 million barrels of oil, are used in the pro- duction of water bottles every year – only 27 percent of which are recycled. Bottle water is also susceptible to chem- ical seepage from the plastic and to bacterial contamination from the holding tank. Studies have shown bottled water to be no cleaner than ordinary tap water. Pacific Conservation Technology provides "point-of- use" water purification systems designed to eliminate the need for plastic water bottles in your home or workplace. These attractive water stations use state-of-the-art purifica- tion methods which provide the safest possible drinking water, at an affordable price, while conserving our nation’s most valuable resources and protecting the environment. "Going green" is not only the right think to do but is also healthy, convenient and inexpensive. A two-week free trial is offered to all qualified members of the Corning Chamber of Commerce. For more informa- tion call 865-3253. or visit www.pacificconservation.net. • Installation Dinner – Don’t miss the Chamber’s Annu- al Installation Dinner this Saturday, Jan. 29. A no-host reception starts at 6 p.m., and dinner is at 7 p.m. You have a choice of beef, pork or butternut squash ravioli for $20 per person. You still have time to make your reservation if you call 824-5550 and let us know how many. You may pay at the door. Besides installing the new Chamber Board of Directors, there will be entertainment and presenting of awards. • What is Tehama County Business Incubator Program? – The Tehama County Business Incubator Program, (BiP) provides entrepreneurs with the professional assistance they need to achieve real business development goals. It is an innovative approach to growing companies and creating jobs. The basic premise of the program is that business growth will occur when sound business models are com- bined with expert mentoring, hands on technical assistance and the appropriate financing tools. Participation in the BiP can greatly help an entrepreneur move successfully through the business development or expansion process. The consultants who provide services through the pro- gram possess expertise in a variety of business sectors, have actual experience in forming and growing entrepreneurial ventures and have the management training skills necessary to assist businesses with a wide variety of issues related to business start-up, expansion, and retention. To learn more about BiP and program qualification requirements, contact 3CORE, Inc. at (530) 893-8732 ext. 206 or visit wwwTehamaBiP.org. Tax Preparer vs. Enrolled Agent The tax season has just kicked off, yet there are still many questions circulating regarding new tax preparer regulations that the taxpay- ing public may not have answers to – or be aware of. The initiative announced by IRS in 2010 to increase oversight of all paid return preparers has resulted in the soon-to-be-established “registered tax return pre- parer” (RTRP) designation. With a number of different types of tax preparers already in existence, it’s important for the taxpaying public to understand the limitations of each kind. More specifically, how will the requirements for the new registered tax return preparers stack up against what’s required of an enrolled agent? Enrolled agents are fed- AMERICAN SELF-STORAGE ★ 64 Mulberry Ave., Red Bluff • 527-1755 • Fully Fenced • Onsite Manager • Well Lit Property website: www.americanselfstorage.biz • RV & Vehicle parking now available $11 NEED SPACE? Start the New Year off right! MOVES YOU IN Some restrictions apply Good through 1/31/11 CALL NOW FOR RATES! erally-authorized tax practi- tioners who have technical expertise in the field of tax- ation and who are empow- ered by the U.S. Depart- ment of the Treasury to rep- resent taxpayers before all administrative levels of the IRS for audits, collections, and appeals. Beginning this tax sea- son, all tax preparers, including EAs, will be required to have a preparer tax identification number, or PTIN. Once the RTRP pro- gram launches, the newly registered will also be scru- tinized for felony convic- tions and money owed to IRS – this is nothing new for EAs. As targeted for June 2011, all RTRPs will have to pass basic competency testing, which will be less challenging than the testing EAs presently undergo. One of the most differen- tiating factors between an RTRP and an EA goes beyond tax preparation and into IRS representation. While registered tax return preparers will be able to prepare tax returns and may, on a limited basis, represent taxpayers in examinations of tax returns they prepared, enrolled agents have the authority to prepare any type of tax return and may represent any taxpayer at all levels of the IRS, whether or not they prepared the return. This season, taxpayers are urged to choose their preparer wisely.