Blog - Michael Bailey Law, LLC

Planning for Life’s Milestones: A Look at Changing Estate Planning Through Pictures

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus said, “Change is the only constant in life.” Although this saying is often attributed to better known philosophers like Plato or Aristotle, Heraclitus gets credit for giving us this slightly oxymoronic truth. I think we all see how this plays out in our own life's. We are children, grow up, become adults, and … [Read more...]

Setting the Stage: Understanding the Difference Between Estate Planning And Estate Administration

I received a call last week from a client who I had represented almost a decade ago in setting up a will. The client, lets call her “Jill,” informed me that her husband had passed away, and she needed to know everything that she needed to do now. I let her know that she would need to take her husband’s will to the probate court and apply for … [Read more...]

The Estate Plan MVP 🏆

I was invited to referee a basketball game on Championship Saturday for the Colorado High School basketball playoffs this year. It was my first year working the final day / weekend of the season. I have been assigned plenty of playoff games in previous years, but I have never been given the opportunity to referee a championship game until this … [Read more...]

Basketball and Estate Planning – Why Perspective Matters

I keep writing about basketball lately. Perhaps I do so because it is high school basketball playoff time, and I am refereeing the playoffs at this time. Or, perhaps it is because the Denver Nuggets are playing at a high level and I enjoy watching the Denver Nuggets play. I can appreciate how the Denver Nuggets are playing basketball as a fan, … [Read more...]

You Need a Good Coach to Succeed in Basketball – and Estate Planning

As I have previously mentioned, I referee high school basketball. As a referee, I see many different types of coaches. Some coaches are constantly yelling at their players, or at the officials. Others call out plays and let the players play the game. Some are quiet the whole time and make me wonder why they are even there. And some like to … [Read more...]

What Do Basketball and Estate Planning Have To Do With Each Other?

I have liked basketball for as long as I can remember. I always liked to play the game, and looked forward to the winter, because that is when basketball was played. I was probably not the best player when I started playing in elementary school, but I did develop my basketball playing skills and abilities, and improved enough that I captained my … [Read more...]

Lessons From a Coffee Mug: You Can’t Fix Stupid in Estate Planning

My website designer / web marketing guru / all things concerning my internet presence person has a coffee mug that says “I’m a Lawyer. I can’t fix stupid, but I can fix what stupid does.” I do think the coffee mug may be a bit overzealous and overly optimistic in that saying. I understand that there are many areas of law where this saying might … [Read more...]

Coloradans: You Deserve To Have Your Estate Planning Questions Answered

In November of 2022, we spent Thanksgiving in Kansas City with friends. We drove out the Saturday prior to the week of Thanksgiving and planned to spend the entire week with our friends. Neither I, nor my wife, planned to work during the week of Thanksgiving. However, the Sunday before Thanksgiving, my wife’s second level supervisor called her … [Read more...]

The Year Is Ending, Not You – Get Your Estate Plan Started Now!

Christmas is upon us…in just two days! Christmas carols and songs (like I wrote about in my last blog post) are still playing, but they are soon to end, and we will then all move on to the New Year’s celebration after Christrmas. Sometimes the holidays seem so fleeting and come and go so quickly. I hope everyone has their shopping done, or you … [Read more...]

Santa Claus is Coming To Town and Other Cautionary Tales for Estate Planning from Christmas Songs

Growing up, we sang a lot of Christmas Carols and a lot of Christmas songs in my family, and in other settings. I liked some of them, and others were not my favorites. For instance, the song “Santa Claus is Comin to Town” contains the following lyrics: “He Sees You When You’re Sleeping. He Knows When You’re Awake. He Knows If You’ve Been Bad … [Read more...]