I have some experience in dealing with a trust. The advice to see a lawyer is spot on. It should be relatively easy for a lawyer to set up a trust that will restrict distributions to care for your family.
Posts by JeffT
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11Of times and $$$$
by zebagain inin sorting insurances out updating , i just mentioned to my wife who is 'in' that in the event you have to claim "dont give any of it to anyone else".. there was a pause i didnt like.. comments by others on this site indicated the wts has been beating the drum for $$ i fear what she may have agreed to.. to those who have insurance it is not.. not to go, not a cent to the wts as they have belittled anyone taking out insurance or retirement benefits.. my insurance has been created to keep her and our handicapped offspring not the gb on a building spree..
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I need to verify some information
by JeffT inthere have been a lot of threads regarding changes in donations, kingdom hall ownership etc.
and what it all means.
i'm about to put on my accounting hat on and seriously consider the what it all means part (and why they may be doing it).
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JeffT
There have been a lot of threads regarding changes in donations, Kingdom Hall ownership etc. and what it all means. I'm about to put on my accounting hat on and seriously consider the what it all means part (and why they may be doing it). I want to confirm my understanding of two basic facts:
1) Kingdom Halls are now owned by the WTBS and not the local congregation
2) Mortgages have been canceled, instead of making loan payments to the Society, the local congregations are pledging contributions of roughly the same amount. Congregations that had already paid off their mortgage are expected to pledge an amount roughly equal to what their mortgage would be if they had one. These payments will never end.
I have some thoughts on what they're doing. I will probably post on my blog (and notify everybody when I do) as I'm trying to get the blog up and running again.
Thanks for your help.
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Looking at the McDonald's Real Estate Model
by OnTheWayOut inwhen you think of mcdonalds (mcd), you typically think of the worlds biggest hamburger distributor, but they are also the worlds biggest toy distributor with their happy meals.
mcd also has one of the world's best real estate portfolios.
mcd owns much of the best commercial property all over the world.. mcd earns revenue as an investor in properties, a franchiser of restaurants, and an operator of restaurants.
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JeffT
Interesting idea. The WTBS had a very workable (and I'm sure profitable) business model for many years. Their volunteer "labor" bought 12 million magazines four times a month. In theory, the R&F got their money back when they sold the magazines at the door, but the WTBS didn't care about that because they'd been paid already.
This thing hummed along nicely until the supreme court decided that the income was taxable in a case involving Jimmy Swaggart. They tried going to the donation arrangement, but obviously that has not worked. They are clearly trying to launch a new business model, involving owning the real estate and collecting "pledges" to recover the income stream. The pledge arrangment is significant when dealing with banks (my granddaughter's school is going through this right now trying to fund a new building). Banks look at donations as an income stream that can dry up any time. A pledge is regarded by the banks as a more reliable source of money, as its evidenced by a piece of paper.
As they implement this new model I would not be suprised to see some major changes over time. Field service will always exist, but the emphasis may be reduced. In their shoes, I would relax the prohibition on higher education, particulary I would emphasize two year degrees, internships, and union programs, as they are faster, cheaper and don't encourage as much thinking as a full university. I would start taking about tithes as the membership moves into higher paying jobs. This will all take time, but eventually the religion could morph into something more like Mormons or Seventh Day Adventists, a bit querky, but a more mainstream.
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last big convention-last memorial buzz
by scotoma inare others hearing this meme from speakers at their congregation?.
is it a newspeak technique for instilling a sense of urgency?.
if it is - it's more manipulative than 1975. it seems like a way of getting around over use of the word "soon", "just around the corner".. maybe after 100 years of waiting they feel they need to approach it from another angle.. i should mention that the qualifier "may" is added "this may be our last___________________ fill in the blank.. lots of wiggle room.
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JeffT
I was in from 1973-1988. They always said that every memorial and every convention was potentially the last one.
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Speculation on why now?
by Crazyguy inin the last couple of years the org has gone money crazy, selling off over a billion dollars worth of property and now a new tithing program.
just wonder what every one thinks is the reason for all this now?.
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JeffT
If the Watchtower controls the assets of those other corporations, those assets can be attached. I've done a lot of work with regional real estate companies, which owned multiple properties. Each property was organized a a seperate partnership or LLC. Whenever we got sued (happens a lot with apartment buildings) the suit always named the property, the property LLC, the managment company, and the parent company as defendents. If we lost, the lawyers would go wherever they needed to get their money.
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Who negotiates a lower price when buying a new vehicle?
by hoser ini don't.
whatever the sticker says on the side of the window is the price i pay.
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JeffT
Crazyguy, what's on the inovice is NOT what the dealer pays for the car. There are all sorts of back room deals that don't show up on the invoice. Accounting for a car dealership is a real zoo.
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Speculation on why now?
by Crazyguy inin the last couple of years the org has gone money crazy, selling off over a billion dollars worth of property and now a new tithing program.
just wonder what every one thinks is the reason for all this now?.
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JeffT
Putting assets where they can't be reached in a civil lawsuit is a lot harder than DOC seems to think. Lawyers are very good at locating assets that can be attached. Money in a bank in the Cayman islands doesn't do you much could if you can't take it out to spend it.
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Comstock Sign Systems!
by Atlantis incomstock sign systems .
http://www.comstocksigns.com/files/kingdom-hall-signs.pdf .
.. petra.
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JeffT
Interesting. I noted that on their website, Comstock says they make all kinds of signs, but the only link to a catalog is for JW related stuff. I agree, it looks like they have a nice little deal going on here.
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New Study On Alzheimers And Coconut Oil
by metatron inhttp://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24150106.
there have been a number of dramatic anecdotal accounts about coconut oil and alzheimers but this is the first clinical study (favorable) that i am aware of.. .
metatron.
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JeffT
What is described in that abstract is not a clinical study.
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The REAL reason for the elder and ms appointment change......
by EndofMysteries inas seen in recent posts, beginning later this year appointments and deletions of elders and ms will only happen through the circuit overseer.
this means that individual congregations and elders have no say anymore.
if the gb want only certain people in or out, they tell the co and he makes it happen.
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JeffT
Plausible deniability is a political, not legal, concept. As I said on the other thread, I've seen big corporations sued for actions by low level managers. "We didn't know about it" and "we didn't hire that individual" are not defenses that will fly in court. The courts take a position that a corporation is responsible for the actions of all their employees. In order to break that link (in my opinon) would be for the GB to give real autonomy to the local congregations, something I don't see them doing.