Estate Planning Practice Blog

Those Nursing Home Visits.

I have posted about nursing home visits before.  TLD attorneys are available for visits off-site where necessary to assist our clients with estate planning needs. There is a consultation charge/travel fee in most instances for these services.

Having made a few more visits to nursing homes and assisted living facilities, I am continually facing individuals who are scared and facing major issues in their lives that they have never faced before.

Having an attorney come to their room in a facility is not an ideal situation for the client when they are this scared. It affects their decision making, it makes them more hostile and nervous about executing various documents that make an estate plan.

What would be ideal would be to make your estate plan complete while you are able to do so on your own accord and visit the attorney of your choosing  rather than working with an attorney selected by your family or facility management. Sure, you can always reject the attorney that comes to your room in a facility, but this rarely happens. Once the attorney is there, it's hard to say no thanks because the services the attorney is providing is something you now sorely need.

I am posting about this because nearly at some point in everyone's life, a durable power of attorney or advance health care directive will be needed. The same for a trust and a will. Put it on your list of things to do and tell yourself you will have it completed by the year end.

One Year Anniversary -- Don't Buy More Sunscreen.

Last year I posted about the shocking simultaneous deaths of young parents of three young boys. They died in a freak car accident in Arizona. The one year anniversary of their passing is coming up later this month.

I am constantly reminded by them whenever I see young families in my pool or at another person's pool. The pool is the connection to how I met the loving couple.

I always wonder silently if Mom and Dad have their estate plan in place. It avoids all sorts of hassles to have guardians nominated for your minor children, to have your home placed in a Living Trust and to make your wishes known in a medical directive.

Two weekends ago, our family was invited to join a summer BBQ hosted by a local networking group. We went and joined many other professionals that I know and their families. Part of the networking group concept is to help each other get more business. So in turn everyone learns more about everyone else's business.

A young couple with two gorgeous children were there. I knew their father well as he was part of the networking group. He inquired about Living Trusts with me time and time again for his family, but never followed up. He kept telling me that he could not afford my fee, which I felt odd as he also confided thet he owned multiple properties. Maybe he will take the DIY approach and will never tell me.  Though in my heart of hearts, I know that this is not likely. But as we swam with the kids, all I kept thinking they have life jackets, floaties and sunscreen, but do you really have in place the very things that will truly protect them if something happens to Mom and Dad?

Maybe the next purchase you buy for your kids shouldn't be a bike helmet, more sunscreen, but instead spend the money in an investment that will protect your family in case something happens to you. 

Besides if you work with a reputable attorney, the fee for estate planning will be modest in comparison to the alternative.

What If Something Happens To You? Do You Have Identification?

One of things about being an estate planning attorney is that I am always hearing stories.

You know, the ones where clients recount how something happened to my Mom, my friend, my Uncle when they were out walking, home alone or at the mall... So it makes me think about what if something happens to me in a similar situation? What would happen?

First, I realize that while I walk my dogs often when I am home, I often have no identification on me other than a cell phone in my pocket. Are the cell phone address book entries labeled so that the Mark in your address book is your husband or the Susan is your wife? Or that the Brittany's and Josh's are your children to an outsider peering into your cell phone?

Second, would it waste precious time for the paramedics or good Samaritan to try to fiddle with my cell phone to find my identity or emergency contact person?

I guess good estate planning attorneys are naturally worrywarts. We have to be. We worry about our clients and consequently we worry about ourselves as well.

So, when I came across this advertisement in the latest issue of Cooking Light magazine for RoadID (TM), I instantly knew I had to order one for myself and immediate family members. Check it out here. Sounds like a great way to keep an identification on your person whether it be your wrist, ankle or shoe.

I am not endorsing this product nor am I affiliated with the company in any form. It is just a good idea for a small peace of mind.

Starting Thanksgiving Traditions.

Here is a very nice post from Leanna Hamill, Esq., an Estate Planning and Elder Law Attorney in Massachusettes about sharing traditions this Thanksgiving.

Leanna asked a her friend Ann Quilan from Healthy Aging Matters to write a guest post.

Read Ann's post here on Leanna's blog.

I Help People [Insert Catchy "Estate Planning" Phrase Here.]

I love practicing law in the areas of estate planning and trust administration.  One aspect of practicing law is also marketing my myself, my practice areas and my firm to attract and retain clients.

One thing I am learning as a marketer (remember, I have to attract and retain clients) is developing an audio logo or an elevator speech. (Here's another neat explanation of an elevator speech.)

What do you think would make a good elevator speech for an estate planning attorney? I have my own ideas. I'd love to hear yours. Post a comment...

Turkey Talk

Don't you think that estate planning, financial planning and other sorts of financial preparation like saving for college, retirement or purchasing life insurance would be less taboo in general  if people discussed these matters with their family routinely? 

I mean everyone already knows that Brit is divorcing Kevin. Shouldn't everyone know that you've got a great college savings account opened up for your child? You don't have to share specifics, but just general sentiments.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Imagine sitting at the family table at Thanksgiving and announcing that you figured out your gross estate is $1.6 million if you died today and that you are starting to think about tax planning as part of your estate planning. What would everyone think? In reality, who cares as these issues are so important that talking about them is really the best thing.

Talk about planning for the future, talk about what would happen if Mom or Dad died, talk about saving money for college in a 529 plan. Just talk. When you talk, you share ideas, compassion and a sense of motivation that taking care of your estate planning and financial affairs is truly an important thing to do.

Don't you think that estate planning, financial planning and other sorts of financial preparation like saving for college, retirement or purchasing life insurance would be less taboo in general  if people discussed these matters with their family routinely? 

I mean everyone already knows that Brit is divorcing Kevin. Shouldn't everyone know that you've got a great college savings account opened up for your child? You don't have to share specifics, but just general sentiments.

Thanksgiving is just around the corner.

Imagine sitting at the family table at Thanksgiving and announcing that you figured out your gross estate is $1.6 million if you died today and that you are starting to think about tax planning as part of your estate planning. What would everyone think? In reality, who cares as these issues are so important that talking about them is really the best thing.

Talk about planning for the future, talk about what would happen if Mom or Dad died, talk about saving money for college in a 529 plan. Just talk. When you talk, you share ideas, compassion and a sense of motivation that taking care of your estate planning and financial affairs is truly an important thing to do.

Commonalities in End of Life Situations.

I met with two gentlemen over the past week who were both recently diagnosed with end stage cancer. They were from completely different walks of life. One very wealthy and the other struggling to make ends meet.

They also needed legal services in different areas. One had a probate matter to be handled and another needed to complete his estate plan for his family.

They were both in a rush to resolve their legal matters before they succumb to their recent cancer diagnosis.

While I like being able to help clients in need and assist in resolving their legal issues on an emergency basis, it was hard to see them face the realities that their lives are ending sooner than later.

The other sad part was that, while the clients appreciated my assistance, they were very angry to be facing the end of their lives in a very frustrating way.  I can empathize. I watched my mother get frustrated too as she battled lung cancer for a few short weeks before succumbing.

Umbrella Insurance Policies.

With the news about Jeffrey K. Skilling's sentencing regarding Enron, it brought up an interesting discussion between me and Delia Fernandez. Delia posts often under Financial Advisories by Delia on this blog.  She's terrific, by the way.

We started talking about umbrella liability insurance policies and whether I knew that those policies paid for the legal defense of OJ Simpson and President Clinton. I've posted about umbrella insurance policies before. Read them here and here. I hate to use this word, but "clearly" these policies are a bargain.
 
Here are two links for interesting reading about umbrella liability insurance policies:  Businessweek and Court TV.

As Delia says, "what a hoot of a topic!"

It Is Not What You Earn, But What You Spend.

The phrase that is the title of this post was spoken recently. It was spoken in the context of  budgeting and spending your money on things you think you cannot afford:

"It is not what you earn, but what you spend."

This came in context when a friend of mine was inquiring about hiring a personal trainer for one month to jump start her new fitness regime.  She wanted to start a regular exercise program to avoid normal aches and pains. She felt that her left knee was hurting her because she was not using the equipment at the gym properly.

So, the trainer, after quoting his fee of $100 for 4 sessions and drafting a plan to continue her working out on her own, my friend said what most people say: I can't afford it right now, but I will get back to you.

His reply was that it is not what you earn, but what you spend. Meaning if she truly wanted to afford the 4 personal training sessions because it was important to her health then she ought not to spend so much in other areas. Ix-nay Starbucks?

This is truly an interesting concept as it can apply to estate planning as well. Sure, attorney fees are not easily affordable, but is estate planning one of things that should be accomplished by most individuals and families to prepare for the inevitable in life? I think so.

A Trust For My Daughter.

I have a toddler. [My life is hard. Getting in and out of Trader Joe's with my sanity is a major struggle.] But, of course, being a parent is a wonderful joy. It is also a time when a formerly carefree individual starts to worry. I worry often about everything related to raising a child and being a parent.

I also worry quite a bit about me dying too soon. It's a good worry for me -- keeps me on my toes with my diet, regular exercise and keeping my "being too busy to have time for my family" barometer in check. 

My family track record isn't so good so it adds fuel to my worries about me dying too soon. My mother was 46 when she died. My father was 54 when he died. Both suddenly died from untimely yet generic health related causes (one cancer and the other heart attack). So I worry with a good reason.

I finally decided to do something about it. I am in the process of obtaining a second term life insurance policy* on my life so that if I do die untimely, my child(ren) will have a small pot of money set aside for higher education and life expenses. I am also creating a separate revocable trust to hold this policy and naming a successor trustee outside of my immediate family to manage this trust if needed.

It was hard for me to create this trust. I wasn't sure who to nominate as successor trustee. I named a trusted friend first and a corporate fiduciary second. I also wasn't sure how to distribute the proceeds. I decided to make distributions before age 19 discretionary and distributions after age 19 mandatory. I also decided to distribute one half of the corpus (what's in the trust in terms of assets) at age 25 and the remainder at age 29.

Despite my internal struggles and a reminder of how my clients struggle as they go through this same process, I feel much better having this in place.

Sure, being a trust fund baby is a good thing. But it is also a large price to pay for losing a parent too soon. God forbid, it never happens.

Knock on wood with both knuckles.
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*Yes, this policy was agreed to by my spouse. It will be confirmed as separate property asset and not part of my community property estate with my spouse having no right to make a surviving spouse election against the policy. Besides we have reciprocal policies for our community property revocable trust.