HCH March 25 2011 Legal - Chattanooga Bar Association

8 Friday, March 25, 2011 www.hamiltoncountyherald.com
HAMILTON COUNTY HERALD
“The Longevity Project”
By Howard S. Friedman, PhD
and Leslie R. Martin, PhD
$25.95 / $32.50 Canada
248 pages, includes index
Life is good.
When you reflect on the
years you have lived, you’re content.
Sure, there have been times
when everything seemed lower
than a worm’s belly but, overall,
you’ve been blessed by friends,
family and happiness.
Life is good. So good, in
fact, that you would kind of like
to stick around for more of it.
But is it too late to live long and
prosper? In the new book “The
Longevity Project” by Howard
S. Friedman, PhD and Leslie R.
Martin, PhD, you’ll see how your
past influences the future you’ve
got left.
In the fall of 1921, Stanford
University psychologist Dr. Lewis
Terman embarked on a research
project that was destined to
outlive him. With the help of
his colleagues and his subjects’
parents, teachers, and – later
– their spouses, Terman hoped
It’s no secret that sticker
shock sets in quickly when you’re
looking at education expenses.
The price for yearly tuition alone
can range from nearly $8,000
at public four-year colleges for
in-state students to an eye-popping
$35,000 or more at private
four-year institutions, according
to the College Board. And those
amounts don’t include the cost
of room and board as well as
other expenses.
The good news is that the
tax laws offer a number of opportunities
to minimize your outof-pocket
education costs, if you
know how to make the most of
them. The Tennessee Society
of CPAs provides these valuable
tips.
An Important
Credit Extended
Late last year, Congress
voted to extend the American
Opportunity Credit (AOC),
which taxpayers can use to
reduce their tax burden for two
years. Since 2009, it’s been possible
to qualify for this credit for
as much as $2,500 per student
per year for qualified tuition and
expenses during the first four
years of post-secondary education.
The credit covers not only
school fees, but also course materials,
which might include books,
supplies and equipment.
The
Bookworm
B y T e r r i S c h l i c h e n m e y e r
to study 1,500 gifted schoolchildren,
long-term, in an effort to
understand why some people live
longer than others.
In 1990, when Friedman
was a professor and Martin a
grad student, they stumbled upon
Terman’s research and realized it
was exactly what they needed for
their own study on longevity.
Terman began his project
when the children were young,
and by the time Friedman
and Martin reconstructed his
findings to fit modern statistics,
most of the children were
dead. But the thousands of bits
of information they left were
astonishing.
To live a long life, must you
go early to bed, early to rise, eat
your veggies and exercise? In a
way, say the authors. The single
best indication of longevity was
conscientiousness. Conscientious
people tend to take better care of
themselves.
Hanging out with friends
might be fun, but it doesn’t
guarantee a long life; in fact,
social children tended to party
more, which lead to poor health.
There are income limits on
who can qualify for the credit, so
check with your CPA to learn
whether it applies in your situation.
Keep in mind, too, that you
can’t claim the credit unless you
are enrolled at least half-time.
The Lifetime Learning Credit
If the AOC doesn’t fit your
situation, look into the Lifetime
Learning Credit. It is worth up
to $2,000 per year for qualifying
students and covers an unlimited
number of years of education. It
can be used for students who are
going to school part-time and for
classes that don’t necessarily lead
to a degree. There are income
limits, so ask your CPA for more
details.
Tax Advantages for Loans
and Scholarships
Many students who carry
a heavy debt load to finance
their college education will be
happy to hear that it’s possible to
deduct up to $2,500 of the interest
paid on a student loan, even
if you don’t itemize deductions.
To qualify, the loan proceeds
must have been used for specific
educational expenses, such as
tuition, housing and board, fees,
books, supplies, transportation
and other related costs specified
by the IRS. Once again, income
limits apply; your CPA can tell
you more about how they work.
Diversions
Worrying is sometimes good, but
catastrophizers, generally speaking,
had a high rate of suicide.
Parental divorce had more of an
effect on longevity than did one’s
own divorce. Hard work doesn’t
just seem to make life longer.
Being feminine (for either sex)
was indicative of longevity and
marriage is good – if you’re a
man, and as long as you don’t
become a widower.
And that silly grin you’ve
got? Just stop it. Happiness has
nothing to do with long life.
Think you’ve already blown
your chance for near-immortality?
Not so: grab this fascinating
book before you get discouraged.
As it turns out, you may be able
to overcome your past by changing
your future.
Authors Friedman and
Martin wipe aside those old
wives’ tales we’ve all heard,
replacing them with useful,
intriguing results from an almost
100-year-old study. Not only is
that a fun look back at the social
mores of times past (check out
the boy-girl stereotypes), it also
helps make sense of the health
advice-blast we seem to receive
nearly daily.
Tweak your regimen here,
stop doing things, adjust your
thinking, read this book and
learn how to live to a ripe old
age. For any future senior citizen
wanna-be, “The Longevity
Project” is pretty good.
The Bookworm is Terri Schli-
Scholarships and
Employer-Paid Expenses
Students fortunate enough
to receive a scholarship or fellowship
should be aware that
they are not taxable as long as
the recipient is a degree candidate
and uses the money to cover
qualified education expenses at
an eligible educational institution.
If your employer is picking
up the bill for some or all of your
chenmeyer. Terri has been reading
since she was three years old
and she never goes anywhere with-
Federal tax laws can help lower your education costs
HCH
Hamilton County Herald
University Tower
651 East 4th Street, Suite 100
Chattanooga, TN 37403
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Herald
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education, the first $5,250 they
ante up each year is not subject
to federal income taxes. The
money can be used for undergraduate
or graduate courses, and it is
not taxable even if the courses
are not work related. Qualifying
expenses include tuition, fees
and similar expenses, books, supplies
and equipment.
Tax Savings on Savings Bonds
Finally, U.S. savings bonds
out a book. She lives on a hill
in Wisconsin with two dogs and
12,000 books. v
are a popular gift that recipients
often use to help defray college
costs.
It may not be necessary to
pay taxes on the interest earned
on qualified U.S. series EE bonds
issued after 1989 or a series I
bonds if the taxpayer meets certain
income limits and other
requirements.
Source: Tennessee Society of
CPAs v
Brainbuster — Make your brain tingle!
By Kay Bona
1. During the 1990 season,
this team rolled to a 29-5
regular season record before
annihilating the competition
in the NCAA Tournament.
Led by head coach Jerry
Tarkanian and his “amoeba
defense”, which team walloped
Duke 103-73 in the
championship game? Georgia
Tech; UNLV; Fresno State;
Arkansas.
2. The 1998 National
Champion won its second
title of the decade by defeating
an unlikely Mountain
West Conference opponent.
Who was the 1998 champ?
Arkansas; Kentucky; North
Carolina; UNLV.
3. Who won the 1994
NCAA championship? Duke;
Arizona; Florida; Arkansas.
4. Who made the threepointer
in the latter part of
the game to put the dagger in
the Blue Devils heart? Scotty
Thurman; Corliss Williamson;
Dwight Stewart; Ken Biley.
5. The 2008 March
Madness saw the Final Four
made up of all number one
seeded teams. How many times
had this happened before? 9;
3; 0; 6.
6. Who did North
Carolina beat in the elite
eight to advance to the final
four? Michigan State; Arizona;
Kentucky; Wisconsin.
7. Which of the final four
teams scored the most points
during the two final four
games? Louisville; Michigan
State; North Carolina; Illinois.
8. Which team won
the 2005 NCAA Men’s
Basketball Tournament?
North Carolina State; Duke
University; University of
Illinois; University of North
Carolina.
9. In 2007, Ohio State
defeated this team in the Elite
Eight to advance to the Final
Four. UCLA; Georgetown;
North Carolina; Memphis.
10. In 2007, which two
teams advanced to the championship
game? Florida and
Georgetown; Ohio State and
Georgetown; UCLA and Ohio
State; Ohio State and Florida;
Ohio State and Florida.
ANSWERS
1. UNLV 2. Kentucky 3.
Arkansas 4. Scotty Thurman
5. Zero. This is the first time
that all four No. 1 seeds made
the Final Four, since the seeding
process began in 1979. 6.
North Carolina beat Wisconsin
88-82 on March 27th. It was
the final for the Syracuse
region. 7. North Carolina
beat Michigan State 87-71,
and Illinois beat Louisville 72-
57. The final four took place
on April 2nd. 8. University of
North Carolina beat Illinois
75-70 on April 4th. This was
the first time Roy Williams
had won a NCAA championship.
9. Memphis. The Ohio
State Buckeyes defeated the
Memphis Tigers with a score
of 92-76, advancing to the
Final Four. 10. Ohio State
beat Georgetown, and Florida
beat UCLA. During the 2007
regular season, Florida and
Ohio State played, ending in
a 26-point Florida victory.