The Foreign Service Journal, January 2003

LEGAL SERVICES ESTATE PLANNING, WILLS, POW- ERS OF ATTORNEY. General practice; estate planning: wills, trusts, living wills, pow- ers of attorney; review and update of old wills or drafting of new one; probate administra- tion. Charles S. Abell, Furey, Doolan & Abell, LLP; 8401 Conn. Ave., #1100, Chevy Chase, MD 20815, Tel: (301) 652-6880, Fax: (301) 652-8972. WILL/ESTATE PLANNING by attorney who is a former FSO. Have your will reviewed and updated, or new one prepared: No charge for initial consultation. M. Bruce Hirshorn, Boring & Pilger , 307 Maple Ave. W, Suite D, Vienna, VA 22180 Tel: (703) 281-2161, Fax: (703) 281-9464. E-mail: mbhirshorn@boringandpilger.com GRIEVANCE ATTORNEY (specializing since 1983) Attorney assists FS officers cor- rect defective performance appraisals, reverse improper tenuring and promotion board deci- sions, secure financial benefits, defend against disciplinary actions and obtain relief from all forms of discrimination. Free Initial Consultation. Call William T. Irelan, Esq. Tel: (202) 625-1800 Fax: (202) 625-1616. E-mail: wtirelan@vais.net ATTORNEY WITH 22 years successful experience SPECIALIZING FULL TIME IN FS GRIEVANCES will more than double your chance of winning. 30%of grievants win before the Grievance Board; 85% of my clients win. Only a private attorney can adequately devel- op and present your case, including neces- sary regs, arcane legal doctrines, precedents and rules. Call Bridget R. Mugane at Tel: (202) 387-4383, Tel: (301) 596-0175. E-mail: fsatty@comcast.net Free initial consultation. TAX & FINANCIAL SERVICES ROLAND S. HEARD, CPA 1091 Chaddwyck Dr. Athens, GA 30606 Tel/Fax: (706) 769-8976 E-mail: RSHEARDCPA@aol.com • U.S. income tax services • Many FS & contractor clients • Practiced before the IRS • Financial planning • American Institute of CPAs, Member F IRST C ONSULTATION F REE PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD: $1.25/word (10 word min.) First 3 words bolded free, add’l bold text $2/word, header, box, shading $10 ea. Ad Deadline: 20th of the month for pub. 5 wks. later. Contact: Ad Mgr: Tel: (202) 944- 5507, Fax: (202) 338-6820 E-mail: miltenberger@afsa.org ATTORNEY FREE TAX CONSULTATION : For over- seas personnel. We process returns as received, without delay. Preparation and rep- resentation by Enrolled Agents. Federal and all states prepared. Includes “TAX TRAX” unique mini-financial planning review with rec- ommendations. Full planning available. Get the most from your financial dollar! Financial Forecasts Inc., Barry B. De Marr, CFP, EA 3918 Prosperity Ave. #230 Fairfax, VA 22031 Tel: (703) 289-1167, Fax: (703) 289-1178, E-mail: finfore@aol.com 10 AFSA NEWS • NOVEMBER 2002 State’s Student Loan Repayment Program T he State Department’s Student Loan Repayment Program recently com- pleted its first of two pilot years. The program, which can provide up to $6,000 a year and $40,000 over a recipient’s career to pay off his or her loans, was designed by law as a recruitment and retention incentive. In the case of the Foreign Service, the program is specifically designed to encourage bid- ding on greater hardship and danger pay posts. Foreign Service personnel serv- ing (or soon to arrive) at such posts pre-qualified for the program if they had eligible student loans that were not in default. Other FS personnel were accept- ed for the first-year program on a case-by-case basis by showing a pattern of hardship assignments and a record of outstanding performance. Altogether, 584 Foreign Service and Civil Service personnel applied for the Fiscal Year 2002 program and 407 were accepted. Of these, 270 were Foreign Service. Successful applicants received incentive payments of up to $4,700— for a department-wide total of $2 million. In terms of funding and number of participants, State’s program is by far the largest of any federal department or agency. State expects Fiscal Year 2003 funding to at least equal Fiscal Year 2002 funding. Some changes will be made to the program. After they are approved, an open season for applications will be announced early in 2003. Those inter- ested in the program should send messages to SLRP@state.gov for updates or check out the SLRP Intranet site at http://hrweb.hr.state.gov/er/employment/ SL/StudentLoan.html. The site also contains instructions on how to join the SLRP Listserv. (Thanks to the Human Resources Employee Programs Office for this information.) ▫ CLASSIFIEDS AFSA DUES INCREASE New Dues Schedule for 2003 I n accordance with the AFSA Bylaws, the AFSA GoverningBoardhas adjustedmember dues for infla- tion by approving a dues increase of 1.4 percent. This change reflects the increase in the Consumer Price Index for 12months ending Sept. 30, 2002. The newdues rates will take effect on Jan. 1, 2003. Members paying dues via payroll deduction will see a small, automatic increase in the amount deducted from their pay- checks. Members who pay annually will be billed the new rate on their regularly scheduled renewal date. Membership dues account for approximately 75 per- cent ofAFSA’s total income. This revenue provides the associationwitha stable and predictable income source, which allows AFSA to con- tinue offering excellent member services and ben- efits. ▫ 2003 AFSA Dues Schedule AFSA NEWS BRIEFS Continued from page 4