T he P ortland O bserver • O ctober 2 6 , 1994 P age A 3 A Will Or A Revocable Living Trust? by O mari K enyatta , J.D . One o f the common mistakes made by most people is that they think an up to date will is the only and best way to protect theirestate. Noth ing could be further from the truth. There is an alternative to a will. In some states, real estate does not pass through the Probate Court. You should know, however, every state has its won statutes. You should check your state statutes before you begin to make plans for your person al and real estate property. many states have altered their laws relating to adopted children. Adopted children may have the same rights as the natural children o f the deceased person However, it should be noted that the rights o f an adopted person are only recognized by law in the state where the adoption took place and may not be recognized by in some other states. W hat I have pointed out to you is the downside of a will. You need this educational information so you can make the right decision for your I- For African-Americans K ing * Do you know that it is possible for you to be a citizen of the Afri can country of your choice and still retain your American citizen ship? Yes you can. All it takes is a little time and few dollars for pa per work and you will be officially crowned bonafide citizen of the glorious land of your ancestors. I t ’s tim e to forget the tell-tale of western media frenzy about Afri c a ’s wretchedness and stories about so rro w and d e spondency. May I remind you again that there is no place like your ancestral home? Or that there is nothing more fulfilling than stepping into a whole new world where you stand with dignity and knowing you are a free citizen of your cherished motherland. Many African nations are open ing their doors to African-A m eri cans to come in and provide leader ship and become citizens. I hope you begin to take advan tage o f this opportunity by applying today. Since most African countries have their embassy in W ashington D.C. and New York, I advise you call the embassy o f the country o f your choice. But for those o f you who are picking my native Nigeria, here is what you should do. • ' ' Call the Director o f A fri nAmer ¡can Immigration Service at (718) 743-5845 or write the agency at 1424 Sheepshead Bay Road, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11235. Tell them your concern and I am sure you’ll be helped. O r plan a trip to N igeria and while staying there seek community or family sponsorship and make sure you stay out o f trouble because that would slim your chances of having your citizenship I approved. Avoid the visa scams and go through the proper legal chan nels and every thing should work out just fine. O r write me through the Port land O bserver’s for any assistance. Your dual citizenship is a pride o f being an American of African descent. Long live Africa and God bless America. heirs and next o f kin. You are probably by now saying to yourself, “If not a will, what should I have?” Solution: The Answer is a Revocable Liv ing Trust. The reason why you should have a Revocable Living Trust is because o f the changes in the tax laws. You can avoid costly probate fees, plus eliminate lengthy legal delays. A trust can distribute assets without delays. This kind o f trust can be changed any time doing your life time to meet your circumstances. Your beneficiaries will be able to obtain money or property that is due to them from this trust without hav ing to wait months, or years. Another good thing about this kind o f trust is that it can be very difficult to contest by some unhappy relative o f the de cedent. If a relative wanted to bring about aC ivil Suit, they would have to sue each of the designated beneficia ries in a separate suit. • * *4 Memory Ann Garnett Receives “Student Of The Month” Award • Memory G arnett 8, o f the King Elementary School, received “Stu dent of the M onth” Award from the school on Friday Oct. 21, 1994, with sixty-nine other students re ceiving awards o f different kinds. The award is given to students who display outstanding perfor mances in academics and shows discipline in the classroom. Miss Garnett was picked for being a “Super Citizen and W ork er” according to Samuel W ade, the school awards coordinator. The school also recognized stu d e n ts w ith p e rfe c t a tte n d a n c e records. Two outstanding students are recognized every month, from each class. This award is designed to rec ognize kids in a positive way, ac cording to the school principal Jo seph Malone. • ». » *!<-. - A ■i •< • • • ' ¿ A rte . « • . m ,'. : al ♦i* KÍ'* .U« *• » > -I > - ' * .V . M e m o r y A n n G a r n e tt w ith h e r 3 r d g r a d e te a c h e r , J a m ila T a y lo r . » ’ ■* by I THOUGHT I HAD THE KEYS TO THE UNIVERSE, II P rof . M c K inley B urt Last week I responded to a par ent’s query about the viability of “A ccounting” as a career. My rather lengthy reply may seem to have de fined the word circumlocution, but I have always adhered to the notion that “all the world is a stage”. And that some things are better under stood in that context. I will continue with my descrip tion o f a career choice that can reveal or open up scores of doors that might remain hidden to those in many other professions. After all, in accounting and auditing it is your jo b to be a consummate (and passionate) busy body. It is a field where you soon discover that for success you must earn to oav learn pay attention to ev<>rv every lini» little detail, and beyond this self-disci pline, you must develop investiga tive powers to their greatest height. In other words, you soon dis cover that “the world really is a stage”- -and despite what the text books and many mentors will tell you, “the play is the thing” and in the end it is all about the actors and players, and their ambitions, drives and emotions. Meanwhile ‘b ac k a tth e ran c h ’, I left off with a description of my ac tivities on the W illiam s Avenue “Black Business Mall”, (1946-1954). As I have indicated, this profession is a ’door-opener’, and in many cases will get you past the initial vestiges of racism, if no further. Soon after . printing my first . . business cards (w hich I handed out in copious amounts), I got a call from a car dealer on ‘Union A venue’, better known as “Car dealers row ”. W ithin months, I had a dozen car dealer clients in an area where Portland African Americans were saying a black couldn’t do it (still the case in many circumstances). Parents who are investigating the career choices for their children, as well as the students themselves, must understand that, all else being equal, much depends upon personal ity , energy and a fondness for people. Meeting these criteria will see you introduced to new worlds, new ways o f life — and to other career choices 1 „• A . •• . •• which maybe even more appealing. In te r e s tin g ly , w e le a rn e d th a t w h ile A fric a n A m e ric a n s w ere bein g told they w ere “ not q u a l i f i e d ” f o r v a r io u s j o b s , dro v es o f w h ite s w ho had not fin ish ed high sch o o l w ere h o ld ing dow n g o o d jo b s in both p u b lic se rv ic e and in d u s tr y - b e in g p ro m o te d , ris in g to the top. A few years later I anticipated H&R Block” by several years and established branch offices in Vanport, North Portland, and across the river in V a n c o u v e r and M cL oughlin Heights. I left Portland in 1954 to gain a broader experience in Los Angeles. - • ■ ■» - ' •L a * Continued next week. Death Investigated As Murder Portland police are investigating the Oct. 19 discovery o f a body in a residence at 5919 N.E. 24th at a homicide. Initially, the death o f Richard L. Klepper had been considered suspicious. The state medical exam iner is conducting tests to determine an exact cause. Officers were sent to the home after police in another jurisdiction arrested a man and woman who were driving K lepper’s limousine. The police were concerned that the people did not have legitimate possession of the vehicle. Police believe Klepper was given drugs or other medication, while he was incapacitated, that resulted in his death. The two people in custody have not been charged in connection with the death and the investigation is continuing. abric P u b lic N o tic e NA ACE General Election Mentor Program Volunteers Needed ■ * '• . V j. ’ í 'J It ta k e s a w h o le villa g e to ra ise a child. If y o u ’d like to ta k e p a rt in p ro vid in g so m e h o p e and g u id a n c e to th e yo u th of o u r villa g e , p le a s e c o n s id e r ta k in g p a rt in o u r M e n to r P ro g ra m s p o n so re d b y M Y C A P . ■ it* - ri»» F o r m o re in fo rm a tio n , p le a s e c o n t a c t R o y W a sh in g to n at 2 80 -1 050 o r Leroy P hillips at 682- 5017. $ THE LARGEST. MOST COMPLETE RETAIL FABRIC STORE IN THE WEST S a tin ( k i\ , a i » > J * . ‘ > •• - « jV k - \. TÏ OCTOBER 25 THROUGH NOVEMBER 8,1994 A *>-> J ;.'.v ï- k-'t- 1. N o v e m b e r 1 2 th S'-' 4:0(1 P M B e th e l A .M .K . ( In n eh 582S N .E . 8 th P o r t la n d ( )re g o n ABULOUS YNAMIC SSORTMENT XCEPTIONAL ASICS OPULAR EFRESHING UTSTANDING NCREDIBLE OTALLY TERRIFIC OMPLETE Bad’s We don’t gin wrap our free checl But we do include a thoiigtitfiil card. » i-jj « - ,.N f' u •5.-' -.*»*. * - * s 1* Í í SP /S' t e w f-te ■ ■ EVERYTHING Savvies ’ N E W ! T h e P a lm e r /P le ts c h Speedy Service Friendly Call For Quote I I I I n t e r n a t i o n a l S e w in g S c h o o l is H e r e ! C a ll ( 5 0 3 ) 6 3 1 - 7 4 4 3 f o r i n f o r m a t i o n . 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