More and more families own property, assets, and businesses together. Using an entity to govern operations provides stability by allowing continued operation upon the death of an owner. When the governing agreement and estate planning documents of a deceased owner conflict, unintended, potentially litigious, results occur. Read on to learn more.
Estate Planning
Why Everyone 18 And Over Should Have An Advance Health Care Directive
In California, an Advance Health Care Directive (AHCD) protects your health care rights. You make your health care, end of life, organ donation, and even memorial/burial/cremation/spiritual decisions now so if something happens to you, your wishes will be followed by the person (agent) you choose.
DIY: You Can Do It Yourself, Right Now!
You have the right to speak for yourself and make decisions about your own health care. But if something happens to you and you cannot speak for yourself, no one has the right to speak for you (or to your doctors or medical team!). That’s why it is so important for everyone over the age of 18 to have a completed AHCD.
While estate planning attorneys like me can advise you and help you with your AHCD, you can complete one right now as long as you are not incapacitated.
To make it legally binding, you would then either (1) have it notarized; or (2) have it witnessed by two people. The two witnesses cannot be your agent and they cannot be part of your health care team. Also, one of the witnesses must not be related to you and cannot inherit anything from your estate.
Choose Your Agent
Your first decision in completing your AHCD is to choose your Agent, or the person who will make your health care decisions for you.
This is an important decision that should not be taken lightly. You must choose someone who will follow your wishes, but also be able to make judgement calls based on your values. They may face opposition from your medical team and peer pressure from other loved ones, so you need someone who will fight for you. They will also be dealing with a myriad of emotions, so make sure your person can make difficult decisions under the most trying of circumstance.
We always suggest that you name one person and two alternates in case there is an emergency and the first person you named is not reachable.
Make Your Decisions For Health Care
Next, you’ll make decisions about end-of-life health care. If doctors say your condition is irreversible, incurable, and you are unlikely to regain consciousness, you can choose to not prolong life (also known as the ‘pull the plug’ choice) or prolong life as long as possible.
You can decide if you want treatment to alleviate pain and discomfort, even if it will hasten your death, as well as write out your own specific instructions.
Donate Organs, Tissues, And Parts – Or Don’t!
This is a personal choice with no right or wrong answer. But it is important that you make your wishes known and do your research on what will happen if you make certain types of donations.
For example, if you donate your body to education, your family will likely receive only your ashes after a specific period of time. These arrangements must be made with the specific institutions as they each have their own criteria and policies, so please contact them directly.
Designate Your Primary Physician
If you have a trusted primary care physician, you can designate that doctor to act in that role for you.
Have The Difficult Conversations…Now!
It’s not easy to think about our own mortality and even more challenging to talk about incapacity and death with our loved ones, but having these conversations is the most important part of advance care planning.
Your agent will never be able to truly step into your shoes and make difficult decisions for you if you don’t express your wishes and share what’s most important to you in regard to your acceptable quality of life. It’s just as important to have these conversations with the rest of your loved ones, so that if the time comes that someone must act as your agent, others don’t challenge your intended wishes.
Planning should not only safeguard your wishes but help bring those who love you closer together in such difficult times.
There’s No Time Like The Present
We don’t know what the future holds, so please don’t procrastinate. You can complete California’s Statutory Advance Health Care Directive right now. Its easy-to-follow instructions will help you get this done. We’ve provided the link below, as well as a link to our Advance Health Care Directive Toolkit. There you can find links to other free versions of the AHCD, as well as not-for-profits who offer help with them.
We’ve also provided a link to The Conversation Project’s Conversation Starter Guide. We’re proud to partner with this not-for-profit whose goal is to help people share their wishes for care through the end of life.
California’s Statutory Advance Health Care Directive
Paralysis by Analysis: Procrastinating Until It’s Too Late
Do you worry about what will happen to you and your family if you become incapacitated or when you pass away? Do you feel a weight on your shoulders, knowing you should probably have some kind of plan? Or do these thoughts keep you up at night — I don’t know what to do, how to do it, or even where to start?
We understand these concerns, and we can help you stop worrying once and for all.
Meet Vee – A Model of the Successful Modern Woman
Victoria Boxer, better known as Vee to her family and friends, is organization personified. She lives and dies by the calendar and to-do list on her phone. It’s the only way she can possibly juggle her career, her and her husband Kevin’s social life, plus the school and extra-curricular activities of her 9-, 13-, and 16-year-old kids, and do it with a genuine smile.
But lately, it’s been harder and harder for her to conjure up happy feelings.
That Constant ‘Snoozed’ Item On Her To-Do List
No matter what she’s accomplished, whether it’s another successful marketing campaign at work, an uproarious yet competitive couples game night at home or making time to see 9-year-old Olivia’s soccer game, 13-year-old Bart’s band concert, and 16-year-old Erin’s Juliet in the school play, one item remains indelibly printed on her list: estate plan.
And every time she postponed its due date, the weight on her shoulders got heavier.
Vee would fall asleep the minute her head hit the pillow. Kevin was so jealous, but her quick sleep hid her real struggles from him. An hour after falling asleep she was up, tossing and turning. Her mind ran wild – what if Kevin and I die tomorrow? Who will take care of our kids? How do I make sure my brother is their guardian – he’s great with them but is horrible with money – maybe Kevin’s sister should handle the money part?
If I’m in a car accident and unconscious, who knows what to do? I wonder if I’ll be aware of what’s going on around me. I don’t want to live on machines and can hear Kevin and my brother and my kids all fighting over what to do, meanwhile I’m trapped in here… hopefully I won’t know… I’m going to stop thinking about it, it will never happen.
Can Kevin take care of the family on his own? He doesn’t know how to pay the mortgage, taxes, water… I have to sit him down and show him the websites and give him our passwords… and what if something terrible happens to Kevin? Will we have enough money? Did Erin say she has a boyfriend? Oh no, what if I die and Kevin remarries? If his new wife has kids of her own, will ours still inherit my assets?
Looking For Help
Vee’s always been independent, and she’s put plenty of time into crossing ‘estate plan’ off her list. She’s googled it, but every time she goes down that rabbit hole, she emerges more confused than when she started. This attorney’s site says one thing, another says something else, and none of them she called are willing to give her even 10 minutes to see if they can help, let alone give her some idea of what it will cost.
She’s looked into doing it herself online. There are plenty of sites, but how will she know if what she ends up with will actually work? If she waits until something happens to her, it will be too late.
So she searches the net, she reads, she makes calls, but when she’s done, she just postpones her due date knowing that annoying ‘estate plan’ is still on her list.
When To-Do Isn’t Done, It Impacts Everyone
Kevin knows something’s wrong. Vee no longer comes home excited about a new project at work. They haven’t had a date night or seen their friends in months. They are still going to all of their kids’ events, but Vee’s not cheering them on or mouthing their lines along with them. She’s there, but barely there, half awake, mustering up a smile when she has to.
Late one night, on one of his return walks from the bathroom (which are occurring more and more, much to his dismay), he sees Vee is awake. He finally asks if something is bothering her.
She tells him that she’s worried. She worried about the kids, concerned that anything can happen at any time, and they aren’t prepared. She doesn’t want her family to have to go through the nightmare their friends Rob and Trina went through when Trina’s mom passed. She tells him she’s tried to find answers, but she can’t get any help. She’s in a panic and Kevin hugs her and stops her anxious outburst. He tells her they are fine, they are healthy, the kids are healthy, and that they have plenty of time to deal with all of that. He kisses her, smiles, and tells her to try to get some sleep.
Eventually, Procrastination Catches Up With Everyone
Victoria and Kevin’s story doesn’t end in a Shakespearian tragedy, but it isn’t a happy ending, either. Turns out, they never made time to ‘deal with all of that.’ When incapacity and death came, the Boxers were not prepared. The once supremely organized family was spun into a chaotic, expensive storm that left the grieving, stunned survivors all alone, faced with picking up the scattered pieces of a well-intentioned plan that never was.
We Can Help You Stop Worrying
I don’t want to make light of procrastination because it can be part of a never-ending, destructive cycle of anxiety and self-doubt that can crush one’s mental health. (It can also be a symptom of a mental illness that should be addressed by a psychiatrist.) Also known as paralysis by analysis, it can cause intelligent, successful people to avoid doing things in their best interest. With our comprehensive, compassionate, education-first approach to estate planning, we can help you break through your barriers and stop worrying about the ‘what ifs.’
What the $%^# is Estate Planning?
Estate Planning is an outdated phrase for what we do. It used to be something rich people did to avoid paying taxes and create generational wealth.
Our modern vision of estate planning is a comprehensive, holistic approach to protecting your rights, regardless of how much or how little you have. Essentially, estate planning is a legal process that helps you plan for the future and protect the things you care about most. In this blog, we’ll discuss why having a plan in place allows you to:
- Protect your rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
- Take control of life’s important decisions
- Protect your loved ones
- Create a legacy
Protect your rights to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness
You have the right to make your own decisions about what will happen to you (your health care and end-of-life choices), your estate (your stuff), and how you’ll provide for your loved ones. But you need to exercise these rights or they can be taken from you by the government and courts.
Take control of life’s important decisions
We help you learn what your rights are so you can make informed decisions as we guide and advise you through the process of securing your rights in legally binding documents.
Protect your loved ones
You can protect your loved ones and provide for them by making your own decisions about:
- WHO will inherit (and who won’t)
- WHAT they will inherit (your home? money? retirement accounts? sentimental memorabilia and family heirlooms?)
- HOW they will inherit (in an inheritance protection trust?)
- WHEN they will inherit (will you make sure they’ve had enough life experience to understand the value of a hard-earned dollar?)
Create a legacy
When most people are incapacitated or die, they leave their emotional, grieving loved ones scrambling, panicked, and in complete chaos. You can be the champion for future generations and inspire others to follow in your footsteps.
By taking charge and making the difficult decisions now, you give your family one final gift when the inevitable happens. Leave them with a comprehensive, considerate, compassionate plan so they can focus on the important stuff like saying goodbye to you and coming together as a unified, loving family.
You can decide how you will be remembered for generations. Will you be your family’s superhero while you still can?
Give us a call today or contact us through our website. We’ll help you make informed decisions about what happens to you (your health care and end-of-life choices), your estate (your stuff), and how you will be remembered.
How to Plan For Your Family – The Furry, Winged, or Scaled Ones
When planning for our own future, our pets are often overlooked. A Pet Trust ensures your pet is cared for after you’re gone.
Did you know that nearly 1 million pets are euthanized each year in the U.S. because they’ve been abandoned? Over half of these cases are due to the death or disability of their human companions. What’s worse is that those pets could have been protected with just a little planning. Think about it: what will happen to your pet if you become disabled? What if you’re no longer able to speak for yourself? How can you make sure that your beloved animal doesn’t end up in a shelter somewhere? Or worse, alone on the streets? Because sadly, it happens all the time.
When friends and family of a deceased pet owner are not willing to care for an orphaned pet, an unfortunate common practice is to drive the pet far away from home and dump it. This once-cherished family member is now forced to fend for itself in a world in which it is not equipped to do so. There are few happy endings to this situation.
Our Introduction to the Horrific Practice of Pet Dumping
Leann and I first learned of this heartbreaking practice when we rescued our cat, Charlie. If we’ve spoken on the phone, you’ve likely heard him since he’s now deaf and doesn’t know how loud he is! If you’ve met with me on Zoom, he’s surely pounced on the desk mid-call. He will often paw at me for attention, or playfully (debatable) attack my arm during meetings. We aren’t sure if we saved him or he saved us — probably a little of both. But I share his story with you so you can make sure nothing like this ever happens to your own fur babies.
Meet The Tramp
In the fall of 2010, Leann was performing in a play in The Valley. The small theater didn’t have much space, so when she was not on stage, she and the other actors would congregate on an old couch in the alley behind the theater. One rainy night, Leann and her friend Royana were approached by a soaked, emaciated, sickly looking cat they had seen a few nights in a row. They didn’t have much in the way of food, but Roy offered the little guy a Dorito, and he ate it as if his life depended on it (which it might just have).
One of the actors offered to take the cat, but had to go back to his home country to deal with Visa issues. He asked if anyone else would take him until he returned. Leann’s big heart couldn’t say no, and we corralled this frightened feline into our SUV.
We got him home, dried him off, and went to the store to get him food. He was happy to eat, but we noticed that he wasn’t able to walk in a straight line. Something was definitely wrong. We quickly took him to our local VCA Animal Hospital.
The vets were able to stabilize him with antibiotics and electrolytes but then came to us with a surprise. Charlie (since we found him in an alley behind a theater and he is black and white we thought “The Tramp” and named him Charlie Chaplin) was microchipped. Meaning, someone had him chipped with a device to identify him should he ever get lost. That meant someone cared for him and was probably looking for him! Or so we thought.
The Search is On
The VCA explained the protocol for a chipped animal. They had to try to contact the owners — first by phone, and if they couldn’t reach the owners by phone, they would need to send a letter by mail, allowing the owners two weeks to respond.
They called the owner but didn’t get a response. Next, they mailed a letter to the owner’s address. It came back undeliverable but with a forwarding address. The forwarding address was over 45 miles away from where we found him. The vet said it was looking more like an example of what he called Pet Dumping; he had seen it countless times. However, they had to follow protocol and sent a letter to the new address, allowing another two weeks for a response.
All the while, we had to leave Charlie in their facility. We visited him at least once a day, as did Royana. We will always remember the moment he first started playing with our shoelaces – he was warming up to us! Leann and I were becoming pretty attached to the little guy, and we started secretly hoping he wouldn’t be claimed. (He just joined me on my desk between me and my keyboard. I am now typing with my right elbow pointing to the sky so he can lay beside me.)
The Tramp Becomes Sir Charles
The new two-week period passed, and after an entire month in pet jail, Sir Charles was finally considered officially abandoned and we were allowed to adopt him. We were elated. Thirteen years later and he is still the feisty, finicky feline he’s always been. The vet estimates him to be about 18 years old now, but he hasn’t slowed down and still wakes me up 3+ times per night. (He’s earned the nickname Chuckzilla for that wonderfulness.)
How Pet Planning Changes Everything
The vet believed Charlie was most certainly a victim of Pet Dumping. The owner had likely passed away and the family drove 45 miles to ensure the cat couldn’t find his way home. We were horrified that this was something people did, and that there was actually a term for it.
When I meet with clients who have pets that have not considered any sort of planning for what will happen when they aren’t around, I tell them this story in the hope that they will at least make some arrangements for someone to care for and protect this vulnerable member of their family.
When it comes to planning for your pet, there are many options and one must consider not only what will happen to your pet when you pass, but also in the event you become disabled or incapacitated.
There are informal options, such as 1) speaking with your loved ones and determining who would be willing to take or adopt your pet; or 2) writing a Letter of Final Wishes to your family where you tell them all about your companion and how you hope they will care for him or her. A copy of this letter is included with your planning documents so it will be easy to find.
There are also formal methods of planning for your pet. In a comprehensive, Trust-based plan, you can include Pet Provisions that provide money from your estate to a named caretaker, or you can create a full-blown Pet Trust where you name a Trustee to manage the care of your pet with funds you set aside. And because a Pet Trust is fully enforceable by the courts, you can rest easy knowing that your pet’s well-being will always be safe.
Prevent your pet from becoming another abandonment statistic. Give us a call today or contact us through our website – together, we can make sure your pet has a happy, healthy life.
