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March 21, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

As you likely already know, but may not have given much thought about, the most important inheritance you provide is so much more than the money you’ll leave behind, but also includes your values, insights, stories, and experience. And, while those things are being passed on happenstance on the daily, we know that intentionally creating a Family Wealth Legacy requires more than happenstance. That’s why as a Personal Family Lawyer®, part of our unique planning process is to capture your legacy in recorded form through something we call a Family Wealth Legacy Interview.

What we’ve discovered is that we can learn so much more than expected — about ourselves and our loved ones – when we ask the right questions.

So, this year, we invite you to ask your mother, father, and/or another loved one the 32 important questions below that can teach you valuable lessons about love, life, and what matters most. And, don’t just ask them, record their answers to create your own Family Wealth Legacy. Or, contact us to schedule time for a comprehensive Family Wealth Planning Session this month, and we’ll create a Family Wealth Legacy as part of your estate plan.

Use these questions as a springboard and an engaging activity during the holidays and discover what you didn’t know about your loved ones:

What comes to mind when you think about growing up in your hometown?
What did you love to do as a kid, before high school?
What did you love to do in high school?
What do you remember most about your teenage years?
What do you remember most about your mom (grandma)?
What was most important to her?
What do you remember most about your dad (grandpa)?
What was most important to him?
If Grandma and Grandpa had a message to pass along to the grandchildren, what would it be?
How did you meet your spouse? How did you know (s)he was the one?
How did you choose your career? What was your favorite part about it?
What made you successful?
What did you believe about yourself that helped you become successful and deal with hard times?
What times in your life truly “tested your mettle,” and what did you learn about yourself by dealing (or not dealing) with them?
What three events most shaped your life?
What do you remember about when I was born?
Were you ever scared to be a parent?
What three words would you say represented your approach to parenting and why?
When you think about [sibling] how would you describe him/her?
What message do you have for [sibling] that you want him/her to always keep in mind?[Do the last two questions above for each sibling in your family]
When you think about [spouse], how would you describe her/him?
What message do you have for [spouse] that you want her/him to always keep in mind?
What three words would you say best describe who you tried to be in life? How would you like to be remembered?
What do you think your children and grandchildren should focus on professionally?
What have you learned about people in life?
What do you think the world needs more of right now?
What do you believe people want the most in life?
What were the three best decisions you ever made?
What are you most proud of?
What were five of the most memorable moments of your life?
What message would you like to share with your family?
What are you most thankful for?

These questions can reveal a wealth of valuable life lessons – family treasures to discuss and share with generations to come. But having this conversation is just a start. To preserve and protect your family assets and other things of value, you should create a comprehensive estate plan that will safeguard what you value most. And, we include a recorded Family Wealth Legacy Interview, which becomes a priceless family legacy piece for your loved ones, with every estate plan we create. Because we’ve discovered that estate planning is really a misnomer; when done right, it’s Life and Legacy Planning — planning for a life you love and a legacy worth leaving.

As your Personal Family Lawyer®, we can guide you to create a comprehensive estate plan — which we prefer to call and see as a Life and Legacy Plan because it’s about so much more than just your “estate” — that protects and preserves your most valuable assets. Before the session, we’ll send you a Family Wealth Inventory and Assessment to complete that will get you thinking about what you own, what matters most to you, and what you want to leave behind. Contact us today to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session.

Proper estate planning can keep your family out of conflict, out of court, and out of the public eye. If you’re ready to create a comprehensive estate plan, contact us to schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session. Even if you already have a plan in place, we will review it and help you bring it up to date to avoid heartache for your family. Schedule online today.

March 20, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

Although you likely won’t need to have an entirely new estate plan prepared for you, upon relocating to another state, you should definitely have your existing plan reviewed by an estate planning lawyer who is familiar with your new home state’s laws. Each state has its own laws governing estate planning, and those laws can differ significantly from one location to another.

Given this, you’ll want to make sure your planning documents all comply with the new state’s laws, and the terms of those documents still work as intended. Here, we’ll discuss how differing state laws can affect common planning documents and the steps you might want to take to ensure your documents are properly updated.

Last Will and Testament

The good news is, most states will accept a will that was executed properly under another state’s laws. However, there could be differences in the new state’s laws that make certain provisions in your will invalid. Here are a few of the things you should pay the most attention to in your will when moving:

Your executor: Consider whether or not the executor or administrator you’ve chosen will be able to serve in that role in your new location. Every state will allow an out-of-state executor to serve, but some states have special requirements that those executors must meet, such as requiring them to post a bond before serving. Other states require non-resident executors to appoint an agent who lives within the state to accept legal documents on behalf of the estate.

Marital property: If you are married, give special consideration to how your new state treats marital property. While a common-law state might treat the property you own in your name alone as yours, community-property states treat all of your property as owned jointly with your spouse. If your new state treats marital property differently, you might need to draft a new will to ensure your wishes are honored.

Interested witnesses: Another important role under your will to consider when moving to a new state is an interested witness. An interested witness is someone who was a witness to your will who also receives a gift from your will. Some states allow interested witnesses to receive the gift, while other states do not allow such gifts. And still other states allow such gifts provided the witness is a family member.

Revocable Living Trust

A valid revocable living trust from one state should continue to be valid in your new state. However, you need to make certain that you transfer any new assets or property you acquire, such as your new home, to your trust, so that those assets can avoid the need to go through probate before being distributed to your heirs upon your death.

Power of Attorney

A valid power of attorney document, such as a durable power of attorney, medical power of attorney, or financial power of attorney, created in one state may be valid in your new state. However, you shouldn’t just assume it will be accepted, and you should check with a lawyer like us to make certain your document will work 100% as intended.

What’s more, in some cases, banks, financial institutions, and healthcare facilities in your new state may not accept a power of attorney document if it’s unfamiliar to them, which is another reason to have these documents reviewed by a professional. Finally, simply as a practical matter, it may be a good idea to have your power of attorney agent live in the same state you do, so keep that in mind as well.

Advance Directive/ Living Will

When it comes to advance directives, such as a living will and medical power of attorney, you’ll find that most states will accept documents that were created in other states, but this isn’t guaranteed. Some states, for example, don’t even have any laws governing these matters, so healthcare professionals may be hesitant to accept out-of-state documents.

Furthermore, the provisions, forms, and language used in advance directives can vary widely between states. For example, some states combine a medical power of attorney with a living will, so that you get to name the person in charge of making your medical decisions in the event of your incapacity and spell out your specific wishes for care all in one document. Yet, in other states the documents are separate. For these reasons, you should enlist the help of a lawyer to make sure your advance directives will be honored in your new locale.

While you are reviewing your directives for your new state, you should also review them to ensure they are clear on your wishes regarding how you should be given nutrition and hydration if hospitalized. Many directives aren’t specific enough in this area, and this is exactly what led to the lengthy battle over Terry Schiavo’s life. In addition, check to see if you want to add or change any provisions to account for the current realities of COVID-19.

Beneficiary Designations

If you have accounts with beneficiary designations, such as 401(k)s, life insurance policies, and payable-on-death bank accounts, these should be valid no matter which state you live in. That said, you should still review these documents when you move to ensure that your address and other personal information is updated.

Keep Your Plan Current

As with other major life events, such as births, deaths, and divorce, moving to a new state is the ideal time to have your plan reviewed by a professional. With us, as your Personal Family Lawyer®, we’ll not only support you in creating the planning documents that are best suited for your situation and asset profile, but we also have systems and processes in place to ensure your documents stay totally updated throughout your lifetime.

Additionally, for parents of minor children, we can also help you create the legal documents for naming both short and long-term guardians, who would care for your kids in the event of your death of incapacity. This is so important; we’ve developed a comprehensive system called the Kids Protection Plan® that guides you step-by-step through the process of creating the legal documents naming these guardians.

March 19, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

Maybe you, like many of us, have been raised to think that the safest way to live in the working world is to have a good career and a steady paycheck. This financial crisis is challenging that framework for many people. Even if you had a steady job, and even if you still have one, by now you’ve learned how easy it is for that security to disappear overnight.

A recession can reveal all of our negative thoughts and internal monologues about money. A sad, yet common, attitude is for us to see money as a scarce resource, and income as something that’s outside of our control. Thinking or talking about money can trigger feelings of guilt and shame in many people.

It doesn’t have to be that way. The truth is, money is a tool that you can access and multiply, independent of anyone else’s permission. And even if you do have anxieties that keep you from seeing how money can be a positive part of your life, that can change.

Other people may react to this period of uncertainty with the same, old-fashioned advice: live within your means and keep 3–6 months’ worth of income in an emergency fund. If you have a secure job that pays you well, and that you enjoy, this is great advice. But, if that’s not what is true for you, you may be looking at this time as a great opportunity to make a shift and create your own financial security.

Consider this: what if you weren’t relying on a check from your boss (or the unemployment office, as the case may be)?

What if a shift in mindset could change your relationship with money, and set you on track to secure you against economic highs and lows in a way you never even dreamed possible? Or, maybe you have been dreaming about it, but don’t know how or where to start to move it all forward.

A financial crisis doesn’t have to be a crisis for you or your family. In fact, this could be the perfect time to access the wealth of resources currently available to fund your next level of growth. It’s a time to invest in yourself, and to learn to use your gifts, skills, and talents to serve others in a big way. That way, you won’t have to depend on anyone else, including your job, corporations, or the government, to sustain you.

Whether or not you have a day job, see this moment as a wake-up call. It’s time for you to take stock of your greatest resource—yourself. What can you do that other people can’t? What can you give that other people need? Start exploring the resources within you, and you’ll realize that you’ve found your way of contributing value to the world.

Everyone has something to offer, and that offering goes far beyond just the products or services you give your potential clients. If you use your talents to become a higher earner, you can establish yourself as a leader in your community, and affect change in areas that you care about. You can contribute to the growth of your local economy by employing people, and be part of what helps pull the larger economy out of the rut that it may be in.

Even in the lowest of times, even in recessions, there have been many, many people who were able to forge their own paths and grow their wealth through entrepreneurship. You can be one of them.

Things have been tough for our lives and livelihoods, it’s true, but we shouldn’t let this moment go by without considering what we can learn from it. I hope that you are learning about how to be prepared for an emergency when it comes to your savings, investments, and income, but not necessarily in the way we’ve been taught in the past.

As we go into this brave new world, the most important thing you can have is a high-value skill that is needed and wanted, no matter what. The next step is to create the systems and structures to offer that skill in a way that you can rely upon, no matter the ups and downs of the economy. This is a lesson that will benefit you, and that you can encourage in your family and friends, and serve as an example for your children—raising a new generation of economic and community leaders.

We are in a time when your best investment is in your resourcefulness, and your creativity, and your community. Bring these together, and your family can rely on you and what you’ve created, and you can trust that your children will be great, no matter what.

If you need help figuring out your next step, please call us, and we can help.

March 17, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

Planning for natural disasters is more than just stocking up on canned food and water. In a natural disaster, food and water will keep you alive, but how will you rebuild your life if your home and community are devastated? Learn how families can plan for natural disasters with some simple tips that will help you get back on your feet should disaster strike.

Make sure you have enough insurance. Basic homeowner’s insurance typically won’t cover damage caused by natural disasters like floods or earthquakes. You might need to purchase additional insurance to cover these types of events. If you’d like an objective review of the types and amounts of insurance you have, contact us, we can help.

Keep a thorough inventory of what you own. Having up to date information on your personal belongings—especially valuables—will make getting them replaced using your insurance claim easier. Pictures of your belongings stored in the cloud is one great way to handle this in advance of any natural disasters.

Create a financial plan. Natural disasters can be financially disastrous as well. You may not be able to return to work and could face the expense of repairing—or rebuilding—your home.

Plan well to ensure you can meet your expenses and make a financial recovery. Account for your insurance deductibles, which can be 10-20% of the total damages and have six month’s salary in savings to cover any gaps in your ability to earn an income.

Protect important information by making digital and hard copies. Put a copy in a fireproof/waterproof safe and give copies to friends or family that reside outside of your area for safekeeping.

It’s also a good idea to work with us. We have unique tools that can safeguard your information to make recovering from a natural disaster easier even when you’ve lost everything.

Follow standard safety recommendations. Keep enough non-perishable food and water for your family for 3-5 days. Consider investing in a generator. Build a first-aid kit, and learn CPR as a family.

Keep a comprehensive emergency kit with contact information, survival tools, and a change of clothes for your family members. Designate a meeting place all family members can get to in case your home is wiped out. And talk with your family about what to do in different scenarios.

Families who have someone watching out for them can recover more quickly from natural disasters. Working with us can ensure you have someone waiting to assist you when you face tragedy. We can help you with the legal, financial, and insurance issues you face after a natural disaster and help you properly account for losses on your tax return. Schedule online today.

March 16, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

In my previous article I talked about what to take into consideration when you’re planning for your pet’s care, in the event of your incapacity or your death. This week, I’m going to give you the steps to take in creating a pet trust to provide for your companion animal, or animals, if you cannot be there.

A will is not enough

You might think that merely including a letter laying out the specifics of your pet’s care with your will is sufficient to provide care for your companion animals. However, you need to remember that the directions in your will won’t take effect until the estate is administered.

In the meantime, what happens to your pet? If there’s no provision for their immediate care, you may as well have just made an informal agreement, which is not enforceable.

Trusts lead to peace of mind

When you have money in a trust for your animals, it gives their future caretaker the ability to fund their needs in exactly the way you want them to. A trust is a legal arrangement that dictates how your pet, or pets, will be cared for if you pass away before they do.

Currently, all 50 states plus the District of Columbia have pet trust laws, and most of them state that they can be created for the care of animals alive during your lifetime. (Some also allow you to make a trust for animals in gestation, like if your dog has a litter of puppies on the way). Many states specify that the trust will be enforced throughout the lifetime of the pet, though some may just have a set number of years.

Name a trustee

While you should have a caregiver (or two!) listed, you should also hire a trustee to be responsible for administering pet-care funds. Giving the money to the beneficiary in a lump sum is not the best way to make sure your pet has what it needs throughout its life, even if their caretaker is well-intentioned. And remember—you’ll want to provide money to pay the trustee for the work they’ll be doing to manage the trust.

Specifically identify your pet in the trust

You don’t want somebody running a scam to get the trust money that is meant for your pet. You can use detailed descriptions, photos, microchip numbers, and even DNA samples to make sure your pet, or pets, are easily identifiable by the trustee.

Provide REALLY detailed information about your pet’s care

Previously I recommended you make a complete plan for your pet’s care, and I want to emphasize that it’s important to go through every eventuality. That means more than just day to day care. You also should try to set money aside for major vet bills, end-of-life care, and cremation or burial. You should also have a plan for what to do with any remaining trust money when your pet passes.

Think creatively about funding

If you’re worried you don’t have that much cash on hand to put into the trust, remember that you probably have other assets to draw from, too. That could include life insurance policies, annuity contracts, savings accounts, or money gained from the sale of physical assets.

Drawing a blank on possible pet care issues? Unsure what assets can help fund your pet trust? We can help you figure out the answer to any questions you may have about building a trust for your pet.

March 15, 2022 by Cava Faulkner

Working for yourself comes with many benefits. But it can also throw you into unfamiliar territory, financially and emotionally. Taking that leap into entrepreneurship doesn’t just require a business plan and funding, it takes emotional intelligence – the capability to recognize and work productively with your own emotions and those of others.

In fact, this is the hallmark of a great leader, though leadership isn’t always described in such terms. But if you consider any of the great leaders you know, you may notice that as a common denominator. You just feel better after being with them, and having them be with you.

In contrast, think of anyone you know who you identify as not a great leader. They may come across as reactive, hard to read, distant or cold, and you leave meetings with them feeling uncertain or fearful.

What you are feeling is the difference between someone who has well-integrated emotional intelligence, and someone who does not.

Investing in increasing your own emotional intelligence can help you take risks, promote your ideas and see them adopted, and be able to go with your gut even when you have doubts.

A lack of emotional intelligence can be costly, causing you to make financial and legal mistakes such as taking advice from the wrong people, not trusting your instincts, or holding back on key communications to partners, vendors and team members.

Building emotional intelligence can help you visualize—and then reach success you want. But it won’t likely be developed overnight and you may need a trusted advisor to show you where you have the opportunity to learn in this area.

We can be the Trusted Advisor who helps you to hone your emotional intelligence, learn to trust your instincts and lead from the inside out. As part of our work together, over time, we can be the advisor you turn to for a backstop on emotional decisions, to help you identify and move through fear, and to look out for your business’s future, so you have the emotional space to expand.

We offer a complete spectrum of legal services for businesses and can help you make the wisest choices on how to deal with your business throughout life and in the event of your death. We also offer a LIFT Start-Up Session™ or a LIFT Audit for an ongoing business, which includes a review of all the legal, financial, and tax systems you need for your business. Call us today to schedule. Or, schedule online.

How to Pass Down Your Family Wealth Legacy During The Holidays