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This is where we'll announce the most recent changes and additions to our web site, as well as capture the latest news about our company and about the industry.  If you've visited us before and want to know what's changed, take a look here first.

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PRESS RELEASE: LegalWills.co.uk Launches DIY Online Legal Will Service
The new, online service from Legalwills.co.uk allows individuals to prepare their will, in the convenience of their own home, for a fraction of the cost of hiring a lawyer.

A Last Will and Testament - The Worst Excuses For Not Having One
What should every adult have, but nearly three quarters do not? An up-to-date Last Will and Testament. Most people do not have a legal Will because of these top 10 excuses.

PRESS RELEASE: A Legal Will Does not Last a Lifetime
Most Canadians do not have a legal Will, but of those that do, most are not kept current. The process of maintaining one's Will is extremely important, but with a lawyer it can be inconvenient and expensive. A new online service by LegalWills.ca allows people to maintain their legal Will conveniently and cost effectively.

Where There's A Will...
The one thing in life that is guaranteed is death, and it is never too early to start thinking about your last wishes.

Living Wills
Death and dying-it's something that many people avoid talking about. But refusing to talk about it and make your end of life decisions can cause you--and your family--more grief and money than you may know.

Everybody's going to die, so we all need Wills
It may not be a pleasant thought to think about, but it happens. Everyone will die, and not all of us will die peacefully on our deathbed. It is vital that everyone, including teens, have a will.

Poll: More planning ahead for death, living wills
People are more likely these days to plan for their own death or talk to close relatives about the subject that many have long been inclined to avoid, a poll found.

The Web of Grief
Mrs. Strom is one of countless bereaved individuals who have turned to the Internet in their time of grief, using it not only to plan a funeral or contact relatives, but to pay tribute to a life lost.

Promoting Advance Directives
Society has paid a price for not recognizing the value of advance directives.

End of Life Care
There are a great many care options for the last days of life. Emotional and philosophical concerns, deciding where to receive care, and legal documents (such as advance directives, a health care proxy, and a living will) need to be discussed, decided, and legally secured to ensure you receive the treatment you want.

Gay Wills: Giving You The Choice
Under current legislation, if you don't make a Will your gay partner has no automatic right to your estate.

Wills Protect Children's Interests
Your will may be the most important document you ever create for your children.

Remains of Star Trek's 'Scotty' headed for space
Evidently Star Trek actor James "Scotty" Doohan took the catchphrase "beam me up" very seriously - his cremated remains will be launched into space in accord with his last wishes.

Clearing Up Estate Document Confusion
Few topics confuse investors more than figuring out what estate-related documents they need. Living Wills, Living Trusts, and Powers of Attorney are just a few of the terms that most find hard to define, let alone understand.

Be specific about your final wishes
What is the difference between advance directives and DNR (Do Not Resuscitate)? What should I do?

Legal Issues of Elderhood
There are four crucial documents each senior citizen should have: 1. An updated and valid will; 2. A durable power of attorney; 3. A living will; 4. A durable power of attorney for health care.

Living Wills Can Help In Hard Times
Q: My family and my doctor have been pushing me to sign a living will. I'm not comfortable signing a living will at this time. Do I really need one, or is this something I can do without?

Think About Your Estate Planning Checklist
You may think it's too soon to do estate planning. Yet, none of us can predict the future - so you'll want to be prepared for anything.

Digital Inheritance Raises Legal Questions
As more of our personal lives go digital, family members, estate attorneys and online service providers are increasingly grappling with what happens to those information bits when their owners die.

Families Need To Communicate End-of-Life Wishes
What do "quality of life," "heroic measures" and "dying with dignity" mean to you? What kind of care would you want if you were unable to speak for yourself? What are your hopes and fears about the medical treatments you might or might not receive? What makes life worth living or, conversely, not worth living?

What Next?
So, you've planned carefully, consulted the professionals and have your estate plan in order. Have you considered, however, what would happen if you became incapacitated or died suddenly? Would your spouse, family, attorney-in-fact or successor trustee know what to do?

Young, Single and in Need of an Estate Plan
Remember that hilarious episode of "Friends" where Ross convinces Rachel, Phoebe and the others to sit down and write their wills and designate durable power of attorney to each other in the event something should happen to them?

Little Things Cause Big Problems After Death
Death and taxes. We can't avoid them. And though we talk about taxes, death is a subject most of us avoid. We know it's out there and coming this way. Yet, we don't discuss it.

End-of-life Issues
Few things are more unnatural than talking about the end of one's life. It is a very uncomfortable topic to discuss with your partner, children, family and sometimes even your health-care provider.

As a Life Ebbs, the Ultimate Family Quarrel
Many people will put off the writing of a Living Will thinking that their family will be able to agree on the most appropriate care. Countless press articles suggest that the 30 minutes or so that it will take to prepare a Living Will is time very well spent.

Loved ones' ashes can give back to nature
As if shooting them into space or pressing them into artificial diamonds were not sufficiently offbeat, the deceased can now have their ashes mixed into concrete to help form ocean fish habitats.

Florida Supreme Court Decision on Schiavo Legal Case Highlights Importance of Getting Health Care Wishes in Writing
Elder Law Attorneys Offer Nine Tips to a Living Will, Health Care Proxy and Health Care Power of Attorney.

The Desperate Case of Terri Schiavo
The lengthy legal battle over the fate of Terri Schiavo in Florida has heightened people's interest in Living Wills and the Healthcare Power of Attorney.

Get Cracking On Will
People, in general, are often hesitant to prepare wills. There's a number of reasons for this.

Internet Can Help Send Loved One On
Sure, you can buy a car, order flowers, download music, purchase videos, fill prescriptions and even order pizza and grocery deliveries via the Internet. But when a loved one passes away, would you log on to a web site such as PartingWishes.com to send her on the way to the hereafter?

Digital Wills Concept Tested in Australia
People have been known to hide their wills in some pretty unusual locations, but concealing one in digital form inside a watch may take some beating.

Member wins Six Feet Under DVD set during "Make A Will Month"
Affiliate websites of PartingWishes.com (www.USLegalWills.com and www.LegalWills.ca) ran a "Six Feet Under" contest. This contest was to promote the October "Make A Will Month" at these web sites.

Online memorial adds second site for pets
A Canadian dot-com firm has expanded its business beyond online memorials for friends and family members to create a site exclusively for honouring the lives of pets.

PRESS RELEASE: ILovedMyPet.com Online Pet Memorial Service helps grieving pet owners
The loss of a pet can be one of the most stressful moments of a person's life. When a faithful companion of 10 years or more passes away, the feeling of loss can be more profound than the loss of a family member.

Official Launch of the ILovedMyPet.com Web Site
The web site is dedicated to assisting in the grieving process that follows the loss of a loved family pet.  Visitors can step through a simple question-and-answer wizard to create a personalized memorial web page as a tribute and commemoration to the life of their pet.

MyLife™ and MyMemorials™ services now Available
Have you ever wished you knew more about a relative who has now passed away, their philosophies on life, their experiences, their achievements? Would you like people to know the real you, after you are gone?

Out there: Remembering the dead
The price of immortality? How's 10 bucks sound? That's how much it costs to create an online memorial to yourself that family and friends can visit when you've left this mortal coil.

Create Funeral Plans, Wills at Unique Web Site
No one wants to think about dying, but failure to do so can leave loved ones in a bind. A unique Web site, PartingWishes.com, offers a variety of services to help consumers deal with this difficult topic.

PRESS RELEASE: PartingWishes.com Launches Unique Internet Estate Planning Services
PartingWishes.com has launched a unique portfolio of services that allows consumers to communicate their final wishes to loved ones after they have passed away. The interactive web site includes services for describing funeral wishes, drafting a legal Will, preparing multimedia messages and creating online memorials.

PRESS RELEASE: PartingWishes.com Introduces New Online U.S. Legal Will Service
PartingWishes.com announces a revolutionary new service, enabling consumers to create and update their Wills over the Internet. Now, from the comfort and privacy of their own home, all that a consumer needs is an Internet connection and about 30 minutes to create a custom Will that is legal in their local jurisdiction.

U.S. MyWill™ Service is now Available
PartingWishes.com is pleased to announce that the MyWill™ service is now available for our U.S. members. (This service was made available to our Canadian members earlier this year.)

A Death In The Family Brings Financial Issues
Here's a list of my top financial issues to consider when your spouse or common-law partner (CLP) dies.

Death Becomes You
Say goodbye to stodgy funerals. Boomers want more colourful sendoffs, something with flair and personality. Flashy coffins and turning your loved one's ashes into wearable gemstones are part of a whole new death experience.

Canadian MyWill™ Service is now Available
Who will care for your children? Who inherits your house, your money, or your prized baseball card collection? At PartingWishes.com we have removed the obstacles to writing a Will. It is convenient, low cost, and simple.

PRESS RELEASE: PartingWishes.com Launches Unique Internet Estate Planning Services
PartingWishes.com has launched a unique portfolio of services that allows consumers to communicate their final wishes to loved ones after they have passed away. The interactive web site includes services for describing funeral wishes, drafting a legal Will and preparing multimedia messages.

Divas Divine on Stairway to Heaven
When the coffin lid closes, would you really like the sound of Black Sabbath to accompany you to your heavenly reward?

Elders' 'Day-At-A-Time' Approach Neglects Planning
Senior citizens must ensure that their Will, Living Will, Power of Attorney, funeral plans and healthcare directives are in order.

Family Feud Over Ted Williams Body
The family feud over Ted Williams' body deepened when his Will showed that he wanted to be cremated, but the executor of his estate said the slugger later decided to be frozen.

Wills Can Leave a Bitter Legacy
Poor planning, vague bequests may lead to family feuds, lawyers warn.

Stuart Adamson of Big Country dies without a Will
A number of high profile cases have made headlines in North America which demonstrate the importance of writing a Will and keeping it up to date.

Same-sex Partners Should Each Write a Legal Will
News articles highlight the importance of writing a will in same-sex relationships.

PartingWishes.com secures additional funding
PartingWishes.com has secured additional funding from private investors. The undisclosed amount assures the viability of PartingWishes.com and its legal, funeral and estate planning services for the foreseeable future.

Estella Warren tries to communicate her final messages
On a commercial flight in June, Planet of the Apes movie star Estella Warren was so convinced that the plane was about to go down, that she felt compelled to document her final messages.

More Than Half of Americans Don't Have a Will, Says New Survey by FindLaw
According to a recent survey, 59% of American adults don't have a will, giving them little control or input into issues, such as what will happen to their assets and any minor children, after they die.

MyMessages™ service goes live
PartingWishes.com unveils the MyMessages™ service, which allows members to prepare multimedia messages to be delivered to designated friends and family members after they have passed away.

CBC's Market Place attacks the Canadian Legal Will Kit (also known as the Canadian National Will Kit, the Canadian National Will Guide, and the Complete Canadian Will Guide)
Consumer affairs TV show 'Market Place' attacks a product called the Canadian Legal Will Kit, and questions the use of all Do-It-Yourself Will kits.

Complete Strangers May Get a Share of Your Estate
Another case demonstrating the consequences of dying without a Will has been reported in California. This time the California Supreme Court reluctantly decided that a widow whose husband died without a Will must share his property with his half siblings, even though he never knew of their existence.

PRESS RELEASE: PartingWishes.com Launches Online Funeral and Estate Planning Services
PartingWishes.com has launched their online funeral and estate planning services web site.  This innovative Internet site allows members to create and maintain their Funeral wishes, Last Will and Testament, Living Will, Power of Attorney, and other advanced directives securely online from the convenience of their web browser.

PartingWishes.com is now online!
The initial launch of the web site includes services such as the "MyFuneral", "MyKeyholders", and "MyWalletCards" services.
 

News Headlines - March 11, 2010

Reduce Estate Tax By Making Gifts
You can do a lot to minimize your estate taxes before you die. One way is to make some gifts.

Nightmare On Elm Street
Declining home prices and higher adjustable rate mortgage payments spell big trouble for some borrowers.

Choosing The Right Financial Adviser
Like hiring a personal trainer, finding the right financial adviser can help whip your finances into shape.

Pay Death To Go Away
Five ways to turn your wealth into health.

Insuring The Future
Newlyweds need protection now more than ever.

Taxes: Estate Planning
You can't take it with you, but you don't have to give it all to the government either.

Estate Planning
Here are ten things you need to know about estate planning.

Estate Planning In The Digital Age
If you died, could anyone access your online accounts? Here's how to protect and pass on your digital assets.

You're Dead, Now What?
An estate plan will help your loved ones avoid delays, legal problems and uncertainty.

Grandma's Got A Boyfriend, Now What?
The older you are, the more complicated your finances, especially if you're combining households.

Hookers, Cookers and Married Men in Drag: Will You Watch Bravo's New Lineup? (seattlepi.com)
Bravo recently announced that it will add a fifth night of original programming, so it's developing a slew of new original series, including another Real Housewives franchise and a scripted dramedy about male prostitutes. Read our snap judgments on the ...

NHI Announces $29.7 Million of Purchase/Leaseback Transactions with Three Assisted Living Facilities and One Specialty ... (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
MURFREESBORO, Tenn.----National Health Investors, Inc. announced today a total of $29.7 million in purchase/leaseback transactions. The transactions include three assisted living and memory care facilities totaling 102 units in Minnesota with Suite Living Senior Specialty Services for $17.2 million and a 66-bed acute psychiatric hospital known as Alvarado Parkway Behavioral Institute in La Mesa ...

Thrifty Thursday--Living Art (KOAA Colorado Springs - Pueblo)
There's a free event in Colorado Springs this weekend at First Lutheran Church in Colorado Springs. Church members will be presenting a Gallery of Living Art Passion Play. The different scenes they show will depict the life of Jesus through famous works of art. The play will be Friday at 7:30, Sat at 2 & 5, and Sun at 3pm. The church is located at 1515 N. Cascade. Click here for more information ...

Holland debates 'tired of living' euthanasia law (Brisbane Times)
HEALTHY, elderly people who are simply ''tired of living'' could be allowed to end their lives with a lethal injection under new euthanasia laws being debated by the Dutch parliament.

Moon supervisors reject rezoning for assisted living facility (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Moon supervisors have turned down an application to rezone property from residential to commercial on Coraopolis Heights Road that would have allowed an assisted living personal care home.

New! Canterbury Support Group for People living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder (Leader Community Newspapers)
The Anxiety Recovery Centre Victoria (ARCVic) is launching a new monthly self help support group for people living with Body Dysmorphic Disorder to share their experiences, feelings, support, validation and what has helped along their journeys to recovery.

Living Green in the KRV (Kern Valley Sun)
Valerie CassitySpecial to the Sun Get ready to paint the town green this weekend as Kern River Valley Revitalization (KRVR) hosts the second annual Living Green Festival March 17-21! After the great success of the first festival last year, this year’s event looks to be even bigger and better with new events, more volunteers, and even more children’s activities.

Cost of living rises again (Belfast Telegraph)
The cost of living rose in February for the first time in 14 months, official figures have revealed. Related Stories 31 jobs face axe at crystal maker Call to simplify energy bills Plan to create up to 215,000 jobs Bid to end dual salaries for MLAs Teenager's torture gang jailed

SENIOR QUALITY LIFESTYLES CORPORATION ANNOUNCES COMPLETION OF $79,040,000 IN FINANCING FOR MIRADOR (dBusinessNews.com)
Senior Quality Lifestyles Corporation (SQLC), a Texas-based nonprofit sponsor of senior living communities, announces that financing has been completed for its latest project, Mirador . A 501(c)3 nonprofit life care senior living community, Mirador will feature 25,000 square feet of commons areas on a 17-acre campus in the heart of south Corpus Christi.

Oxbow Living Center holds open house (The Ashland Gazette)
ASHLAND – For those who have still not had a chance to see the new Oxbow Living Center, the opportunity arrives Sunday, March 14, from 1 to 4 p.m.

Idaho House Committee Says "Conscience" Trumps Patients' Rights (PR Newswire via Yahoo! News)
State Affairs Advances Legislation Allowing Health Care Professionals to Trump Advance Directives & Living Wills for End-of-Life Care

House Aides Mull Plans to Overhaul, Codify NOAA (New York Times)
Aides from the two House committees with jurisdiction over the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are working to...

SAGE to host program on advance medical directives (MyCentralJersey.com)
SUMMIT — “The Importance of Using and Understanding Advance Medical Directives and Health Care Proxies” is the topic to be addressed at a free presentation to be offered at SAGE Eldercare, 290 Broad St. on Tuesday, March 9 from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m.

Barbara Coombs Lee: Find Yourself A Good Doctor (The Huffington Post)
At Compassion & Choices we encourage people to plan for death so they can enjoy life. If you already understand the importance of completing an...

Gabriel Resources Ltd.: Fourth Quarter 2009 Report (Marketwire)
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - March 11, 2010) - Gabriel Resources Limited (TSX:GBU)

Veterans being surveyed in advance of VA clinic opening (Cadillac News)
CADILLAC - The Veterans Administration has confirmed it is still on track to open a clinic in Cadillac by the end of the year.

Think of the future for elderly parents (Centre Daily Times)
Do you worry that your parents lack estate plans? If something happens to one parent, can you help t

Hospital deal stirs emotions (The Sierra Vista Herald)
By Bill Hess Herald/Review SIERRA VISTA — With a partnership pending between the local hospital and a Catholic-based health care network, some in the community are seeking a dialogue. In a Tuesday letter to the Sierra Vista Regional Health Center board of trustees, a local physician, a vice president of the National Women’s Law Center and the director of a group called MergerWatch addressed a ...

Gabriel Resources Ltd.: Fourth Quarter 2009 Report (Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance)
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 03/11/10) - Gabriel Resources Limited (TSX: GBU - News ) Highlights "The recent change in Government has resulted in a more active dialogue with senior members of the Government and key officials, and a greater interest in the full range of benefits that will flow to Romania as a result of the Rosia Montana Project," said Keith Hulley, Chief Executive Officer. "As ...

BRMALLS Announces Adjusted EBITDA of R$ 110.0 Million in 4Q09, Growth of 36.6% Over 4Q08, With an Adjusted EBITDA ... (Marketwire)
RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL--(Marketwire - March 10, 2010) - BRMALLS Participações S.A. (BOVESPA: BRML3), the largest integrated shopping mall company in Brazil, announces today its results for the fourth quarter of 2009 (4Q09). BRMALLS has a portfolio of 35 malls, comprising 1,035.6 thousand m² of gross leasable area (GLA) and 467.2 thousand m² of owned GLA. The Company currently has five greenfield ...

Blumenthal To NRG: Show That Power Plant Layoffs Are Safe (Hartford Courant)
NRG Energy should specify how many workers it plans to eliminate at each of its Connecticut power plants and provide assurance that the job cuts won't compromise operations or safety, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal said.

Federal suit accuses former sheriff of taking funds (Carteret County News-Times)
BEN HOGWOOD BEAUFORT — The U.S. Attorney’s office has filed charges against the former sheriff of this county, as well as a former deputy, for allegedly stealing money that was intended for undercover drug work.

Elder Law: Used carefully, durable powers of attorney often prove useful (Naples Daily News)
Last week, I began to answer a reader’s question about the liability of a person acting under the authority of a durable power of attorney.Specifically, the reader was concerned about the liability of the agent (also called the “attorney-in-fact”) when acting for an elder who resides in a nursing home and who no longer has private funds to pay for care. The reader was concerned that the agent’s ...

Liz Cheney targets 'al-Qaida 7' of law (Guardian Unlimited)
Keep America Safe group draws backlash after dubbing lawyers who defended terrorist suspects 'al-Qaida seven' Not long after the Twin Towers fell, Dick Cheney declared the death of more than two centuries of American tradition. "It will be necessary for us to be a nation of men, and not laws," he said. The then vice-president did his best to follow through by riding roughshod over the ...

Scandal: Attorney General Once Had Principles [Homeland Security] (Gawker)
# homelandsecurity Are you ready for a what will become the most enraging and omnipresent pseudoscandal of the next, say, year? Attorney General Eric Holder once acknowledged that we cannot be completely safe as long as we remain an open democracy. More »

Release of power plant documents argued (KTVQ Billings)
GREAT FALLS (AP) - The developer of a planned natural gas-fired power plant near Great Falls plans to appeal a judge's decision that requires the city to release nearly all the documents detailing the financial relationship between the city and the developer.

Mont. city told to release power plant documents (AP via Yahoo! Finance)
An exasperated District Court judge has ordered the city of Great Falls to make public nearly all the documents detailing the financial relationship between the city and a power plant developer.

Court Rules A-G TroyKing has the Power (WSFA 12 Montgomery)
Who has the power to prosecute illegal gambling cases in Alabama - the Governor or the Attorney General? A court could make that decision. Monday, a Circuit Judge in Birmingham intervened ordering a response from the Attorney General on the Governor's Task Force on Illegal Gambling's raid of the White Hall Gaming Center.

Rival AG Candidate Throws Fund-Raiser on Kamala Harris' Turf (SF Weekly Blogs)
SoCal Assemblyman and Attorney General candidate Ted Lieu -- who earlier publicized a poll showing he was drawing a fat 7 percent of the electorate thus far -- has now made another bold mo...

Food Safety Attorney Marler Calls for Criminal Prosecution of Manufacturers Who Knowingly Sell Contaminated Food (Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance)
SEATTLE----Food Safety attorney William Marler is calling for enforcement of a federal law that allows criminal sanctions to be imposed against food manufacturers that can prevent harmful food products from being distributed, but do not do so.

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