Over the last decade, an increasing number of doctors have looked at international approaches to their wealth planning. There are numerous pitfalls for using international planning that can catch naïve doctors. Learn what to do — and what to avoid — in international planning, and about specific tools top attorneys use in their international planning.

As I write this, millions of Americans are straining under the pressures of a fickle, unpredictable economy. Tens of thousands of workers have lost their jobs in recent months, savers are struggling to make sense of the lowest interest rates that some have ever seen, and the stock market has given new meaning to the word "volatility." All of this while gasoline and food prices surge to record highs.

As with any legal or insurance planning, the early bird is richly rewarded. Nowhere in practice planning is this truer than in the Buy-Sell agreement. The reason is not so much economic, but political. If this planning is done before any owner is close to a disability, divorce, retirement, or death, all owners are in the same position relative to each other. That makes the negotiation of a standard deal for all owners a much easier and smoother process. Planning early for a Buy-Sell agreement will truly benefit you, your family and your practice.

Mutual funds are a better investment choice than individual stocks for most people

In the span of a single lifetime, credit cards have evolved from their birth in the 1950s as a simple convenience for restaurant diners to one of the most potent forces within the American economy.

As frequent speakers to physicians on asset protection and advanced planning, we are often asked about captive insurance companies (CICs).

With the worst January performance in the history of the stock market behind us, what now? Are we headed for (or already in) a major recession, or is this just another of those predictable bumps in the economic road to financial security?

To offset the trend of falling reimbursement, you can either see more patients or cut costs. Before you try doubling your patient load or handing out pink slips to your entire staff, consider these ideas to trim expenses in your dermatology practice:

Yes, a rollover into a different 529 program may be made an unlimited number of times as long as a new beneficiary is named on the account each time. If a rollover is done without changing the beneficiary, no additional rollovers may be completed in the following 12 months unless the beneficiary is changed. In any case, the rollover must be completed within 60 days and you should look into any restrictive terms and charges that may apply.