Shock grips family of Austin bombing suspect

The family of the man suspected of planting the bombs that killed two people and injured four others in the Texas capital this month expressed shock over his involvement, saying they do not know what could have motivated him.

“I mean this is coming from nowhere. We just don’t know what. I don’t know how many ways to say it but everyone is caught off guard by this so, yeah I don’t know. I don’t know. I mean I don’t know,” Mike Courtney, the uncle of 23-year-old Mark Anthony Conditt, said on Wednesday.

Authorities said Conditt blew himself up in a motel parking lot overnight as a SWAT team approached his SUV.

Conditt grew up in Pflugerville, a suburb just northeast of Austin where he was still living after moving out of his parents’ home. It is not far from the site of the first of the four package bombings — a March 2 explosion that killed a 39-year-old man, Anthony House — though it is still unknown if Conditt knew any of the victims. Authorities said the motive for the attacks remained unclear.

Conditt’s family said in a statement that they were “devastated and broken” at the news of his involvement. In the statement, the family expressed shock and grief, and offered “prayers for those families who have lost loved ones … and for the soul of our Mark.”

Courtney, who said Conditt had visited his Lakewood, Colorado, home over Christmas, told The Associated Press he does not “know that anybody saw this coming.” He described his nephew as a smart, intelligent and kind “computer geek.”

“I don’t know what happened, what snapped. I have no idea. Everybody wants and we want answers,” Courtney said.

The family’s statement said they had “no idea of the darkness that Mark must have been in.”

Conditt was the oldest of four children and all of them were home-schooled. Courtney said Conditt’s parents are both electrical engineers.

Authorities released few details about the suspect, aside from his age, that he was white and that he was apparently unemployed. He attended Austin Community College from 2010 to 2012 and was a business administration major, but he did not graduate, according to a college spokeswoman. He worked for a time at an area manufacturing company and Gov. Greg Abbott told KXAN-TV in Austin that Conditt had no criminal record.

Conditt left little discernable trace on social media. Aside from a few photos of him on his family’s Facebook pages, he apparently made six entries on a personal blog in 2012 in which he addressed a range of topics. In those posts, a blogger identifying himself as Mark Conditt of Pflugerville wrote that gay marriage should be illegal. He also called for the elimination of sex offender registries and argued in favor of the death penalty. He described his interests as cycling, tennis, and listening to music.

Of gay marriage, Conditt wrote: “Homosexuality is not natural. Just look at the male and female bodies. They are obviously designed to couple.”

A friend of Conditt described him as smart, opinionated and often intimidating.

Jeremiah Jensen, 24, told the Austin American-Statesman that he was close to Conditt in 2012 and 2013. Jensen said they were both home-schooled in the same Pflugerville community and he would often go to the Conditt home for lunch after church on Sundays. He also said they attended Bible study and other activities together.

“I have no idea what caused him to make those bombs,” Jensen told the newspaper .

He said Conditt came from a good family, was athletic, and was a “deep thinker.”

“When I met Mark, he was really rough around the edges,” Jensen said. “He was a very assertive person and would end up being kind of dominant and intimidating in conversation. A lot of people didn’t understand him and where he was coming from. He really just wanted to tell the truth. What I remember about him he would push back on you if you said something without thinking about it. He loved to think and argue and turn things over and figure out what was really going on.”

Jeff Reeb, a neighbor of Conditt’s parents in Pflugerville for about 17 years, said he watched Conditt grow up and that he always seemed “smart” and “polite.”

Reeb, 75, said Conditt and his grandson played together into middle school and that Conditt regularly visited his parents, whom Reeb described as good neighbors.

Conditt was living with roommates a few miles from his parents’ home and was in the process of gutting his home, Reeb said. Conditt’s father, whom Reeb referred to as Pat, worked as an Amway distributor and also bought electronics on the side to resell, Reeb said.

Michael McCaul, a Republican congressman, told The Associated Press on Wednesday that the suspect matched the FBI’s initial profile suspicion that the bomber was likely a white male. But he said a psychological profile probably would not be known until investigators go through Conditt’s writings and social media postings.        /kga

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Canadians a bit less happy, but satisfied with their jobs

OTTAWA, Canada — Canadians are less likely to find a good balance between work and family, but are mostly satisfied with their jobs, according to a survey released Tuesday.

In the eight years to 2016, the number of Canadians who reported being satisfied or very satisfied with their work-life balance fell by 10 percentage points to 68 percent, according to the Statistics Canada study.

This downward trend, said the government statistical agency, “may have implications for the well-being of Canadians.”

Women were slightly less likely than men to be satisfied with their work-life balance — 66 percent versus 70 percent, respectively.

Just over one in five Canadians said they “always or often had difficulties fulfilling family responsibilities because of the amount of time they spent on their job.”

Happy or not with their work-life balance, however, Canadians are overwhelmingly satisfied (84 percent) with their jobs.

For others, a bad “work environment” or “too low” pay were the two top reasons cited for having soured their work experience.

Another part of the survey that looked at new technologies found that most Canadians viewed being virtually connected as positive and that technology improved life. /cbb

source: newsinfo.inquirer.net

Buy Life Insurance with Social Security Benefits to Create a Retirement Nest Egg for Your Kids

Are you at or near the point of qualifying for Social Security benefits? If so, you may or may not need those payments to supplement your other income sources. For many of us, the focus becomes repositioning those payments to create a greater legacy for our kids or charity. We’ve dealt with this issue at length and below you’ll find a few ideas about how to handle this situation. 


Using Social Security to Buy Life Insurance

Let’s take Jim, a retired executive who has accumulated $15 million in assets over his lifetime. At 69 years old, Jim still has not turned on Social Security benefits because he knows they continue to increase each year that he waits. However, at 70 years old, the payments max out and there is no further benefit to waiting.

Jim’s plan is to turn on the roughly $40,000 of income and have it directly deposited into his checking account. In the process, he will withhold one-third of the payment to cover taxes that will be due on the income. Jim is trying to figure out the best way to leverage those payments into an eventual legacy, either for his kids or charity, and how to do so without increasing the size of his taxable estate.

We believe Jim should use his payments to buy a life insurance policy. Doing so will allow him to access some incredible advantages not offered through other vehicles. First, to prevent his Social Security payments from increasing the size of his estate, Jim decides to set up an irrevocable life insurance trust in which to purchase the policy. He decides to make his cousin the trustee and his two kids the beneficiaries. 

Given the roughly $25,000 that is left after paying taxes, Jim can purchase over $1 million of life insurance. As soon as he makes that first premium payment, the $1 million benefit is locked in. This strategy perfectly meets Jim’s desire to create a future nest egg for his kids without increasing the size of his estate. Plus, he can do so without taking on the market risk associated with stocks and bonds. 


Charitable Giving with Social Security Payments

Now, let’s suppose Jim wanted to use those payments to support his favorite charity instead. Rather than own the policy himself, he can $40,000 each year to the charity and have them use the money to buy a life insurance policy. Why would he do this? By donating the money, he can more than likely take a tax deduction for the full $40,000, part of which is the net amount of his Social Security income.

Also, by having the charity own the policy rather than himself, he is avoiding the death benefit being included in his estate: Nothing would upset Jim more than watching 40% of his gift slip away to unnecessary taxation. Also, because his premium is now $40,000 per year instead of $25,000, the face amount of his policy has jumped from $1 million to $1.5 million.  

When we compare the results of these strategies against the alternatives, it’s hard to rationalize a different move. If Jim just took his Social Security payments, paid the tax, and gave the proceeds to charity, he would likely give them somewhere between $300,000 and $600,000 in total depending on how long he lives. By using life insurance, he creates a $1.5 million gift, even if he dies in year one! 

If the charity is wise, they can choose to only spend the interest from that lump sum and create a gift that gives forever into perpetuity. Life insurance also provides a guaranteed death benefit, avoiding the volatility and uncertainty of market investments.   


The advisors at Howard Kaye can show you how to think differently about your estate plan. A fairly simple strategy such as the one illustrated above can change lives, just by taking an extra income stream and repurposing it for the benefit of your family or charity. Call 800-DIE-RICH to speak with us today and let us start crafting a similar plan for you.

source: howardkayeinsurance.com

KimYe Moves Out of Kris Jenners’ Home, Finally Settle in $11M Mansion

When you are really invested in creating a good life for your family, you’ve got to make some big decisions. For Kanye and Kim, it’s recently about the need to finally leave Kris Jenner’s abode and move into their $11-million mansion.

The move comes after months of waiting on the completion of the renovations in the Bel-Air property. “When we bought our Bel-Air house, we didn’t have a baby, we weren’t even  pregnant. After you have a baby, you realize that you need so many other  things and a different kind of space. So being in the city is a different life. We wanted to be away and have more privacy,” says Kim about the house when they first acquired it.

And now that Saint West has joined in the picture, we’re sure that the Wests will find space and privacy in a home that boasts of 900 square feet and includes a hair and makeup salon (You need a place for Kim’s glam team, right?), gym, two pools, a bowling alley, and a movie theather.

The house is Kim and Kanye’s first of two houses in California as they also purchased another estate in Hidden Hills. With a price tag of $20 million, the house is much closer to Kris’ home but is also still undergoing some renovations. That mansion, on the other hand, has two spas, two swimming pools, and a vineyard along with large custom wardrobe rooms. Maybe something to live in if ever the Wests decide to have a third child?

People]

Photos courtesy of Zillow

source: preen.inquirer.net

Seven Mistakes to Avoid when Choosing Life Insurance

Choosing life insurance can be an onerous task. It doesn’t just make you think about all the bad things that could happen to you and your family, it makes you think about it in detail. On top of that, you then have to decide what type of insurance you need, what level of cover is best, and which insurance provider to go for.

It can be enough to put you off altogether. But, try not to be discouraged. Here are a few guidelines on what not to do. After all, once you know what not to do, the rest should fall into place!

Don’t settle

As we said, it can be easy to get discouraged when you are looking for life insurance. There are so many options, so many insurance providers and so many insurance products. Wading through them can seem like a huge task. However, it’s never a good idea to settle. Don’t just go for the first half-decent option, just so you can stop looking. Taking some extra time should mean you get life insurance that actually suits you – and at a better price. If you’re hung up on where to start, you can begin with a quote from mainstream providers.

Don’t be uninformed

Knowledge is power, as they say. Knowledge is also the key to finding the best life insurance. Do some research to find out what type of life insurance products are out there, and try to find out more about each insurer. This should help you to find a product that suits you, any extras that need to be added on, with an insurer that is professional and offers the kind of service that benefits you.

Don’t be pushed

Once you know what you want, you will also know what you don’t want. While some insurers may try to convince you to buy certain products or extras, it may be the case that you don’t actually need them. As long as you know what you need, you won’t waste money on anything you don’t need.

Don’t be put off by prices

When you find out the price of the policy you’re interested in, there can be a certain amount of ‘sticker shock’. Try not to be put off by prices. As long as you take the time to find out what level of cover you need, as well as what’s on offer, then you know you will be getting the best deal for the type of cover that suits you. And remember, life insurance offers valuable protection – it’s not really something you want to scrimp on.

Don’t let someone else fill in the forms

There is often one person in the household that deals with the finances and paperwork. However, you must make sure that you are the one who answers any questions about you, when life insurance applications and paperwork are being completed. However well you and your partner know each other, it’s still possible that incorrect information could be given. This could lead to a void policy, or a claim being denied.

Don’t undervalue non-working partners

Non-working partners and partners that work part-time are often undervalued on life insurance policies. Often, we only pay attention to the actual paychecks that come into the household, and forget about all the work that goes on around the house. However, if you think how much it would cost if an outside party was brought in to do those tasks, the costs would really add up.

Don’t just forget about it

Unfortunately, you can’t just forget about your policy once you have purchased it. It’s more than likely that your life insurance will need to be updated over the years. Try to have a look over your policy every year or so, or when there is a life-changing event in your family. Update your policy as required, to be sure you are still covered for any lifestyle changes.

source: bripblap.com