» UBS employee detained in tax probe

» Estate Planning and Boston's Freedom Trail

Last week my family visited Boston for a little spring break R&R (is it really spring break when the temp barely breaks 50? better than snow, I suppose).

I'd never been to the city before, and we had a nice time visiting friends and seeing the sights along the Freedom Trail. Surprisingly, a couple of estate planning issues impacted the makeup of the city. The following quotes are from the nice walking guide entitled The Complete Guide to Boston's Freedom Trail, by Charles Bahne:

1. "The [Massachusetts] State House stands on land once owned by John Hancock.... Hancock was the first person to sign the Declaration of Independence.... Hancock's elegant mansion stood on what is now the west lawn of the State House. Hancock wished to give his home to the state, for use as a governor's mansion, but he died before he could sign his will. Year later, his heirs offered to sell the old house to the state, but the price was considered too high. Much to the dismay of all Bostonians, the Hancock mansion was demolished in 1863." (page 8) Ah, the irony of one of the world's most famous "signers" failing to sign his Will.

2. Faneuil Hall is "Boston's town meeting-hall [] where the colonists first dared to speak publicly against British rule.... The building was a gift to the town from Peter Faneuil, 'the topmost merchant in all the town'.... Peter Faneuil inherited his fortune from his uncle Andrew, a prosperous merchant whose ships called at ports around the Atlantic. But Andrew's bequest was subject to one unusual provision: like his uncle, Peter had to remain a bachelor. If he ever married, he would forfeit the money!" (pages 30-31) Peter Faneuil was known around Boston as "the jolly bachelor," which is also a name he gave one of his ships. These days, a "no marriage" provision would possibly be declared void as against public policy.

» John McCain: The Prenup President?

This short blog entry on Slate regarding John McCain's income taxes is interesting. Not for what it says about Senator McCain's income, but for the following:

John McCain’s released two years of tax returns today to little fanfare. We learn that he earned $405,000 in 2007. We learn that he’s giving his ex-wife $17,000 a year in alimony. What we don’t learn, though, is how much he’s getting from his current wife. That’s because the returns don’t include the assets of Cindy McCain, whose beer fortune is estimated at more than $100 million—a reminder that McCain would be the first president to have signed a prenuptial agreement.

The post goes on to wonder if voters might object to Senator McCain because of the prenup:

Then there’s the moral aspect. In a race that has feature the thrice-married Rudy Giuliani, McCain’s marital situation doesn’t seem particularly controversial. But some Americans might look askance at a prenup, commonly considered leaving the door open for divorce.

I'm not sure about that. A recent poll (results here) doesn't seem to indicate that Americans hate the idea of prenups:

The Thomson West survey found that when asked if they would sign a prenuptial or postnuptial agreement, American adults said: -- Yes, definitely (14%) -- Yes, maybe (27%) -- No, probably not (21%) -- No, definitely not (20%) -- Not sure (18%)

While the question is "would you sign a prenup?" and not "would you vote for a presidential candidate who signed a prenup?", I don't see anything here indicating animosity for prenups per se. Only 20% said "no, definitely not," and I'd imagine that only those who feel the strongest about that "no" vote would view Senator McCain's prenup as a deal-breaker.

To me, Senator McCain's marital situation DOES seem like it might be a little bit controversial to social conservatives. The prenup isn't the problem -- the divorce of wife #1 in order to marry (younger, richer) wife #2 might be. The prenup only reminds social conservatives of the prior divorce.

» UBS to pay Mass. $35M for auction securities

» Believing in Blockbuster
Circuit City opens up its books -- and its possibilities -- for Blockbuster.