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When I talk with clients about estate planning, I often need to start with the basics, giving them a good solid foundation. I am not sure I have done that yet on my blogs, so I am excited to do a four part series where I talk about the basic, foundational documents of every estate […]
The 3 Roles in a Trust, and Why They’re Important to Understand Before Sitting Down With Your Estate Planning Attorney
A couple of weeks ago I was discussing a trust with a client, and thought I had explained what a trustmaker, trustee, and trust beneficiary were. While I was talking about how only one of their kids would act as the Trustee, the client reacted with haste, exclaiming, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN ALL OF MY […]
Estate Planning and Collaboration, A Great Combination
I have a confession. A dark secret that I hide behind a facade of confidence and competence. I know this may come as a surprise to some people who know me well, but I am here to admit, “I don’t know everything.” (I can hear a collective gasp of disbelief from my friends, and a […]
Estate Planning: No Laughing Matter, Or is It?
One of my guiding business philosophies comes from the great philosopher Bugs Bunny “You can’t take life too seriously. You will never get out of it alive.” I attribute this quote to Bugs Bunny because I recall having seen him say it once, but it is possible that the sentiment comes from somewhere else. I […]
How to Involve Family In Your Estate Plan – Get on the Bus
When I was a little kid, I used to sing the song, “The Wheels on the Bus.” I would sing about the wheels on the bus going round and round, the wipers on the bus going swish, swish, swish, the driver on the bus, and the people on the bus. When I became a parent, […]
How to Determine Mental Capacity for a Will or Estate Plan
Your mind matters! I often have people I meet who feel the need to apologize to me for not having created an estate plan before they met with me. Many times this comes from an older couple who realized that they should have planned sooner. I think I addressed that attitude in my last blog […]
I’ll Get To It Tomorrow
As a child, I watched the movie “Annie” where the little orphan Annie sings the lines: “Tomorrow, tomorrow. I love ya, tomorrow. You’re always a day away.” Annie is singing about how the sun will come out tomorrow, and that she will have brighter prospects for her life in the orphanage because of the sunny […]
Where there’s no Will, There is a Way
When someone asks me, “Well, if I set things up right, I don’t even need a will or a trust, right?” I often wonder if the person asking the question wants an actual answer, or just wants me to agree with them. I think I understand what the person is asking, but I am not […]
Talk Among Yourselves: Why Professional Advisors Communicating Matters
Almost everyone has someone in their life who they look to for advice and guidance. Most people look at their parents this way (I certainly do!), but people also have other influential advisors — whether it be a school teacher, church leader, business mentor or some other sort of influential advisor. These people help show […]
How Often Should You Update Your Estate Plan?
Almost everyone with whom I work asks me how often they should review or update their estate plan. I don’t have a definitive answer for them, and I sometime I wonder if some people think there is a secret magic formula passes among lawyers to determine the answer to this question. (Spoiler Alert: There is […]
