For the past few years, my church has set up “Giving Machines” along the 16th Street Mall in Downtown Denver between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The “Giving Machines” are like vending machines that allow people to purchase items or services for those in need. A person can purchase food for a poor family, or socks, shoes, or other items to be donated…I have even seen where a person can purchase a chicken or a goat and have that donated to a less fortunate family. These temporary “Giving Machines” are not always well understood, or well publicized. As such, we members of the church will go … [Read more...]
Why Your Estate Plan Will Work (in Colorado) Even If Someone Doesn’t Like It
My wife likes to talk about love languages, and how everybody’s love language can be different. Some people want physical affection, while others prefer gifts, and still others want you to spend time with them. I am not nearly as into the differences in love languages as she is, or as some people are, but I did get an interesting, almost Halloween-y lesson in love languages just a week ago. I had come home from work and went to change out of work clothes. I gathered my other clothes, and went to sit down on the bed to remove my shoes, when out of the corner of my eye, I noticed … [Read more...]
How Do I Leave My Car to My Family After I Die?
I have several clients who restore old cars, usually classic cars, and then either keep them, or sell them to other collectors. They often want to leave the car to their family and ask me, “How do I leave my car to my family after I die?” These really are some neat cars, so I understand wanting to keep the cars in the family. I have seen some really cool cars from the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s that my clients have collected, restored, or just found. I think these are really cool, but restoring cars is not one of my hobbies, so I don’t have a cool classic car, but rather just a normal … [Read more...]
Colorado Residents: Benefits Of Working With A Local Estate Planning Attorney
As I drive around the Denver Metro Area, I see the bumper stickers that say “Native” on them. I have also seen variations that say “Not Native, But I Got Here As Quick As I Can,” or “Almost Native.” I fall into the “Not a Native, But I Got Here As Quick As I Can” category. I was born in Portland, Oregon, and I lived there with my family for nearly the first six years of my life. Right before I turned six, my dad got a new job at Hewlett Packard - working in the Loveland location. My family moved to Fort Collins at that time, and I grew up in Fort Collins. I left Colorado to attend … [Read more...]
Didn’t You Get The Memo? Leaving Specific Gifts for Specific People in Your Estate Plan
It’s December, and many of us are thinking about giving gifts. I have started asking my children what they want as gifts for Christmas presents, and they are thinking about it. Even harder than that, I am trying to figure out what to ask for as a Christmas present for myself. I tend to purchase what I need or want as the need comes up, so when it comes to Christmas gifts, I am also at a loss. I could write out a list and send it to my wife and children as suggestions, but that seems kind of silly, and a little bit too much like work. I tend to make lists of tasks I need to accomplish, but … [Read more...]
What is the difference between doing your Estate Plan Online and using an Estate Planning Attorney?
In the time that I have been working as an estate planning attorney, I have seen a lot of online options to set up an estate plan appear. Some of these websites are free, some are services you pay for, but all of them seem to have the same thing in common: Online services are mostly self-help services that help you create your own will or other estate planning documents. While I suspect most of these online services are set up by people who are either attorneys, or have a working knowledge of the law, I am not completely sure that is the case. Oddly enough, the online services don’t run … [Read more...]
Do I Need An Estate Plan, Will, Or Trust?
I refer to myself as an estate planning attorney, and I prepare estate plans. Oftentimes I will be asked what that means, and I explain that I help people prepare their will, trust, financial power of attorney, medical power of attorney, living will, or other documents related to the end of life. People either understand my further explanation, or have at least heard of the documents I list, so they tend to respond to the explanation by saying something like, “Oh, I get it.” However, some people seem to have an almost angry reaction of, “Well, why didn’t you just say that in the first … [Read more...]
Wills vs. Trusts Compared Side by Side (My 100th Blog)
The most common question that I get in my law practice is what is the difference between a will and a trust? I really do wish the question is simple and easy, and perhaps someday I will be able to come up with a satisfying answer that only takes a minute or two. In my experience, the answer to this question can be quite complex, as you can see that I'm still writing about it after 100 blogs, so it's a question I'm still happy and proud to clarify into more simplistic terms. In this blog, I will compare a will and a trust side by side, hopefully to show what the similarities and … [Read more...]
Can You Have Both A Will And A Trust? In Colorado, Yes You Can!
Whenever someone asks me if they need a will or a trust, I tell them that the answer depends on their circumstances. I then offer to discuss their life circumstances during my free hour long consultation to determine what options would fit their needs. Many clients are surprised to learn that even if they set up a trust, they also need a will. A will and a trust can serve the same purpose: distributing assets at death, but wills and trust have other purposes, too. When you set up a trust, you also want to set up a will to make sure your estate plan is complete. One main purpose of a … [Read more...]
What Is a Beneficiary’s Deed & Why Might You Want One
I talk with a lot of people who want to avoid probate, so they ask me about their options to avoid probate and want to know what is available. One of the options that comes up is a beneficiary’s deed. A beneficiary’s deed may also be called a “transfer on death deed,” but in Colorado the proper term is a beneficiary’s deed. Not all states allow for such deeds, but Colorado does. A lot of the people asking about avoiding probate don’t want their heirs to need to go through any legal process, but they also don’t want to go through the time and expense of setting up a trust to avoid probate. … [Read more...]