Posts Tagged ‘Beneficiaries’

The First Examples of Glassware: Ancient Egypt

Friday, November 20th, 2009

This glass is more than merely antique; in fact it’s literally ancient. While glass itself may first have been invented and used by the ancient Phoenicians, where Lebanon is today, the earliest known examples of glassware actually come from ancient Egypt.

During the Old Kingdom, glass was mixed with other substances to create decorative beads, amulets, and small figurines. These became more plentiful as the Old and Middle Kingdoms progressed. But genuine glass vessels first made their appearance around the time of Thutmose I, at the end of the 16th century BCE.

Some people believe this new use for glass occurred because Egypt had begun to expand its sphere of influence farther into the Middle East. If that was the case, and glass really was invented by the Phoenicians, the Egyptians could have found it in areas where those people traded, and brought this innovation back to Egypt. They might have brought craftsmen back to their country, whether as slaves or volunteer teachers.

In the beginning of the practice of the glass making craft in Egypt, production was a royal monopoly, and the main beneficiaries were the royal court, priests, and high officials of the land. It’s no coincidence that the glass making workshops that have been discovered have pretty much all been adjacent to royal palaces.

The search for workshops such as these took some time, and archeologists have uncovered them only gradually. Some might think it odd that tomb paintings, which often portray other industries like fishing, building, bread making, shipping, hunting, and so on, do not include glass making among them. That might have helped the search for Egyptian glass making find results much earlier.

But it was not unusual for industries that fell under royal monopoly not to be painted in the tombs. These paintings were done for the purpose of showing what was connected to the tomb owner’s life in particular. So if he had land where people grew grain and prepared bread, that would be painted. If he or his tenants engaged in fishing, that would be there as well. But since none of the aristocracy owned glass making shops, those would not be portrayed in the paintings.

The glass itself was made from a silica-sand, lime, and soda mixture. Egyptian glass vessels were created by first forming a core of clay and sand, and then this core, in the shape of the interior of the future vessel, was dipped into a crucible of molten glass and turned several times to coat it with several layers. Before the end product cooled, that was when lines and other decorations were made in it. Once the whole thing was cool, the core was scraped out. Various colors were produced with different sorts of pigments: tin or lead oxide produced a milky white color, copper oxides produced red or orange, and so on.

The Egyptians produced mostly smaller vessels of glass such as little bottles, bowls, or goblets. The bottles often held perfumes, and most of the glassware was destined for high-born women, to be used for cosmetics and fragrances.

Production of glass stopped for a while after the New Kingdom ended, perhaps around 1077 BCE, and didn’t arise again until the Graeco-Roman period a few hundred years later. But despite some of the fits and starts that Egyptian production went through, it’s clear that the use of glassware goes back a long way, and glass vessels have been important to human beings, both for their beauty and their utility, for almost as far back as you can go.

 

About the Author: Bob Hayes is the webmaster of dozens of websites. One of his newest sites, getsamedaypaydayloans.net offers tips on getting same day payday loans fast when you need cash fast.

Extensions Of Your Life Insurance Policy

Thursday, November 5th, 2009

When most people think of life insurance, they are usually understand the concept that they will pay a monthly premium towards their policy, and then, when they pass away, their specified beneficiaries are paid out the sum of money that was being paid for over all the years. This is mostly true, but there are many other aspects to your life insurance policy that you may not know about. There are so many more ways you can be adding to your policy to ensure that your loved ones are cared for when you are gone.

The first thing that you can add onto your insurance policy is funeral cover. This is normally at a very small extra fee, which will go a long way in helping your bereaved family. Funerals are quite costly, and can sometimes be a lot of money to come up with in the short space of time that is required. Speak to your insurance broker about the funeral cover. If you have the funeral cover added onto your policy, confirm their payout time period for the funeral cover. It should be within no more than 24 to 48 hours of the notification of your death to your insurance company.

Functional impairment and disability cover is often included in some life insurance policies. This cover protects you if you become disabled and suddenly unable to work. This kind of cover can be very important if you provide towards the finances of your home. You do not want to suddenly be financially stuck if you are unable to work anymore. It will also ease some of the pressure on those who need to help you! Some insurance companies, especially those specifically for women, will provide a cash payout for dread diseases such as cancer. Again, speak to your life insurance broker or company about this option, and the reach of the cover.

If possible, you can sign up with a life insurance policy that offers a cash back bonus. This is where you will receive a percentage of your premiums paid over a specified number of years in cash back! This can be a nice little boost for a something extra you wanted, and a good initiative to go with a certain life insurance company.

You can easily source your life insurance online by browsing a few websites for quotes. Once you have enough quotes you can make a wise choice. Talk to others who have a life insurance company that they are happy with, and perhaps obtain quotes from that same company.

This will ensure you are going to be insuring yourself with a trusted company.

 

 

 

The Top 3 Tips on Choosing the Best Family Life Insurance Coverage

Sunday, October 11th, 2009

If you are interested in choosing the best family life insurance coverage, it is important to know and understand what to look for. Insurance designed for families is meant to provide financial security to remaining family members in the event that a member passes away. The money paid by a policy allows beneficiaries to cover medical expenses, funeral costs, time taken away from work, and other financial situations. Here, you will be introduced to the top 3 tips to ensuring that you choose a policy that is best suited to the needs of your family.

1. First, you must determine if you prefer family life insurance that covers financial obligations in the event of a death, or a policy that that will provide cash assistance during the course of the lives of each member of the family should assistance be necessary. In the situation in which a family is covered by a life insurance policy, it is often best to choose a policy that builds cash value. This may prove to come in handy in the event of job loss or other emergencies.

2. The next step in purchasing family life insurance is to determine what amount of coverage is available for each family member. Young children and teenagers may not require as much coverage as an adult or an individual that makes the most income in the family. It is important that the policy allows you to detail the amount of coverage based on each individual.

3. Last, but not least, you should choose family life insurance through a provider of your choice. It is not advised to acquire coverage under an employer because many companies require you to relinquish the coverage if employment ends for any reason. Furthermore, employer coverage is often more expensive. By choosing your own provider, you can choose the policy that is most affordable to you and one that will allow you to stay with the provider for as long as the premiums are paid.

By using these top 3 tips, you will be able to successfully choose a family life insurance plan that is appropriate for your needs. Finding a policy that builds cash value, one that allows you to designate coverage on each individual in your family, and one that is not part of an employee package deal will help you find a policy that will be effective for you and the members of your family.

The author of this article runs a web site devoted to camera tripod carry on and dual camera tripod and tripod for camera.

Family trust problems

Thursday, February 26th, 2009

So you’ve decided the best thing to do to protect your hard earned assets is to put them in a Trust.

But what happens when things turn sour and the Beneficiaries want to know what’s in the Trust and what they’re entitled to.  Are they entitled to know all about the Trust and its affairs?

This issue comes up more than most people realize.  It especially raises its head when Beneficiaries are fearful and suspicious which can occur if there is limited communication between Trustees and Beneficiaries. 

Historically, it has been thought that a Beneficiary’s right to information stemmed from whether they were a Fixed or a Discretionary Beneficiary.

Fixed Beneficiaries had an entitlement to Family Trust assets pursuant to the Trust Deed provisions.  Therefore, it was argued they had an entitlement to view Trust documents and to receive disclosure of Trust information.

Discretionary beneficiaries on the other hand had no entitled to Trust assets.  All they possessed was a right to be considered by the Trustees when the Trustees exercised their discretion with respect to the paying out of capital, income and /or the allocation of assets.  

Accordingly, it was supposed Discretionary Beneficiaries had no power to demand to see Trust information or to view Trust documents.

Recent case law has now clarified the basis on which a Discretionary Beneficiary may seek disclosure of Trust documents and this has nothing whatsoever to do with whether they are a Fixed or a Discretionary Beneficiary.  Rather, the approach has been to apply to the Court’s on the basis that the Court has an inherent jurisdiction to administer Trusts.

Using this approach, the Courts have said that they possess inherent jurisdiction to supervise and if necessary, to administer Trusts.  Beneficiaries of both classes have a right to approach the Courts to seek discourse of a Trust’s documents and it will be for the Courts to determine whether they will exercise their inherent jurisdiction or not. 

This of course means that the right of a Beneficiary to view Trust documents is at the discretion of the Courts. 

The Courts have said that when they are considering exercising their discretion they will be mindful that they are engaging in a balancing exercise, balancing the competing interests of different parties (eg: trustees and beneficiaries and third parties) and will take into account various issues including personal and commercial confidentiality, parties privacy, consequences of disclosure, etc. 

Types of information that Courts have approved for disclosure include:
 
- Deeds of Trust;
- Deeds of Variation of Family Trust Deed provisions;
- Deeds of Changing of Trustees;
- Deeds of Resettlement;
- Legal opinions relating to the interpretation of a Trust Deed’s provisions;
- Legal opinions with respect to a Beneficiary’s rights;
- Valuations of assets of the Trust;
- Financial accounts of the Trust.

This is some information that Beneficiaries are not entitled to see.  For example, the Courts have ruled beneficiaries are not entitled to view letters and notes from Settlors, Memorandum of Wishes, Trustees reasons for decisions made and motives of Trustees.

Because the Trust’s financial statements may be viewed by a Beneficiary under a Court Order, it is important to deal with allocation of income each and every year. 

Any income that has been allocated to a Beneficiary and shown as such in the financial statements,  may be called by that Beneficiary to be paid to them upon them becoming adults. 

The best way to avoid any type of disagreement is communication.  If full communication is made with a Beneficiary, whether they are a Fixed or a Discretionary Beneficiary, then there will be no mystery or reason for distrust to arise. 

Whilst Trustees are not legally required to show Beneficiaries all Trust documents, it is in our view, sensible to be clear with Beneficiaries when they ask about a Trust’s affairs.  Failure to do so will simply create suspicion and tension.

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Getting Life Insurance

Tuesday, February 3rd, 2009

There are two major forms of life insurance that you should know about before making your decision to obtain it. They serve the same purpose, but they offer the purchaser of the policy some different features.

Term Life

Term life insurance offer the purchaser a low monthly life insurance rate, or premium, in exchange for a limited term for the policy’s existence. Term life insurance policies can be purchased for 5, 10, 15, 20, and 30 year terms, depending on the needs of the purchaser and the beneficiaries. Many people purchase this type of life insurance to protect their family while children are growing up or before they have reached retirement. Getting a quote for a life insurance policy will help you learn the type of coverage available and what different providers will charge.

Talk to Multiple Companies

It’s smart to talk to at least three life insurance companies before making a decision. The same insurance company may also provide auto insurance coverage. Many people buy Term life insurance because it seems the easiest to understand, although it may not always be the best type for them. Term is simply life insurance that pays a death benefit if you die within the time limit of the policy, usually 20 years.

Life Insurance Benefit

The premium and the death benefit stay the same for the initial term after which the premium increases sharply. The policy has no cash value; it simply provides coverage, meaning that if you let it lapse, you have no refund or surrender value coming to you. You want something that will last your entire life, providing a way to pay final expenses, leave a legacy to your heirs, or pay taxes on an estate.