We’ve launched several new tools at the firm over the past few months and I wanted to make sure to get the word out to blog readers, starting with the Kids Protection Planning Guide.

This FREE guide reveals the Nine Insider Secrets to Guarantee Your Kids’ Future Is Never Left in the Hands of a Judge Who Doesn’t Know Who You Are or What’s Important to YOU!

Many of the parents I advise are shocked to discover that in nine out of ten cases, children are not REALLY protected if something happens to their parents—EVEN IF the parents have a will or have previously planned their estate with a lawyer.

That’s why I’ve put together an urgent and important Kids Protection Planning Guide that every parent with minor children must read!

In this FREE Kids Protection Planning Guide, I reveal:

• The 9 simple steps you can take immediately to ensure the safety and care of your children… and why the police might have to take your kids out of your house if you were in a serious accident while you were out, if you don’t plan the right way.

• A 3-step process for choosing the right person to raise your kids… and the 6 common mistakes parents make when choosing guardians for their children.

• How you can make sure everything you leave your kids stays in your family forever… and isn’t lost to divorce, lawsuits, or estate taxes, ever!

• Why these 9 simple steps aren’t something you can just ‘set and forget’ without updating… and the rock bottom, bare minimum review you need to do to ensure the safety and security of your kids.

• How failing to plan could cost your family hundreds of thousands of dollars unnecessarily. (Hint: Did you know that estate taxes and probate taxes can be totally voluntary?)

To get your FREE Kids Protection Planning Guide rushed to you by first class mail, fill out form below!

(Hurry! Guides available while supplies last.)

The Truth About Estate Planning

Presented January 26, 2010 and February 23, 2010 from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

Hope Community Church

821 Buck Jones Road

Raleigh, NC 27606

(Click here for map)

Reservations Required

(Limited Seating!)

Go to: www.TAEPworkshop.com or call 919.443.3035 to reserve your seat.

Join attorney Jackie Bedard at a FREE workshop to learn:

• How to transfer your financial wealth and “life wisdom” to future generations?

• What to consider before meeting and selecting an estate planning attorney?

• Why most living trusts do not work and how to assure your trust meets your goals?

• How to leave assets to your loved ones protected against divorces and creditors?

• How legal fees are determined and strategies to reduce your overall costs by 50%?

• Probate—what is it, why does everyone want to avoid it?

• What is the real cost of Probate?

• Why are many Powers of Attorney not accepted by financial institutions?

• What is Trust Funding and why is it essential to the success of my living trust?

• Why should I have professional counseling on how to fund my living trust?

• The Estate Planning Process—who do you meet with and how to prepare?

• What is the impact of changing estate tax laws?

• Counseling vs. Word Processing—what are you really paying for?

• How to make life easier on your loved ones in troubling times?

• Do your children know what to do at the right time?

• How to store legal documents so they are accessible when needed?

• How often should I update my estate plan?

• What is the real cost of an outdated estate plan?

Go to: www.TAEPworkshop.com or call 919.443.3035 to reserve your seat.

In light of the turmoil in the banking industry over the past year, we’ve received questions about how much FDIC insurance coverage is available for accounts held in the name of a living trust.

In late 2008, the FDIC coverage was increased to $250,000 per depositor unless you own your account in the name of your living trust. Accounts held in the name of a living trust receive an additional coverage of $250,000 per beneficiary of the trust. Thus, if husband and wife, Bill and Mary, own a bank account in the name of Bill’s living trust which lists both Mary and their two children as beneficiaries upon Bill’s death, then Bill’s trust would be entitled to $750,000 of FDIC coverage (i.e., 3 beneficiaries times $250,000). This extension of coverage is capped, not to exceed $1,125,000. One should also note that the beneficiary must be qualified as an ‘eligible beneficiary.’  To be eligible, a beneficiary must be a person, charity or another non-profit organization (as recognized by the Internal Revenue Service).

The increase in FDIC insurance coverage has been extended through December 31, 2013. Unless further legislation takes place, on January 1, 2014 the amount of FDIC insurance coverage will return to the original amount of $100,000.

Guest post:  It’s my pleasure to share this guest post from Danielle B. Mayoras, co-author of Trials and Heirs and Andrew Mayoras, co-author of Trials and Heirs and author of The Probate Lawyer Blog.

Danielle B. Mayoras

Across the country in December, families will be coming together for the holidays.  Sometimes the holidays are one of the few times of year that family members see each other. They eat, share stories, and laugh together. Of course, there may be a few family squabbles, but hopefully no mash-potato flinging. Or will there be? Overall, the holidays are rare opportunities for family members to have face-to-face conversations. One critical conversation is talking about estate planning — what happens legally when a loved one passes away.

As confirmed by the Washington Post this week, the stories in Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights! are great conversation starters. Of course you could buy the book, but here are some free tips you can use right away.

What questions will these tips help you answer?

What will happen once mom and dad pass away?

Have they done their will or trust?  Is it updated?  Where is it?

What professionals do they work with?

Where are the documents located?

The celebrity stories in “Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!” can help you translate the estate planning talk into a fun and entertaining discussion. Really! Here are some easy-to-use tips and conversation starters taken from the stories in the book.

Tip #1 — Bring the celebrities home for the holidays.

If your family member (mom, dad, sister, aunt, grandma) is reluctant to talk about wills and trusts, begin by sharing some stories about celebrity estate planning.  Start with a story about Ray Charles.  He sat his entire family down (which included 12 kids from 9 different mothers!) and discussed what he planned for his estate after his passing.  Encourage your loved ones to talk to each other like Ray Charles.  Turn the uncomfortable topic of wills and trusts into something entertaining!

Tip # 2 — Find out if your loved ones have done their estate planning.

So now you’ve begun the conversation with your family by describing what Ray Charles did, the next question is:  did your loved ones prepare a will or trust yet?  Find out!  Whether we’re 20 or 92 years old, no one is promised tomorrow.  Share the case of Sonny Bono.  He was 62 years old when he unexpectedly passed away in a skiing accident.  Sonny did not have a will or a trust!  His widow endured lots of complications because of Sonny’s lack of planning.  So if your loved ones haven’t done their estate planning, encourage them to make sure to do so.

Tip #3 — Confirm that they have finished what they started.

Maybe you’ve gotten through the first two hurdles, and your family members say, “don’t worry…we’ve taken care of everything”.  Are they sure that they dotted their “i”s and crossed their “t”s?  Share the stories of Heath Ledger who failed to update his will after his daughter was born, and Michael Jackson who caused his family unnecessary trips to the courthouse because he did not properly “fund” his trust. If your loved ones have a will or trust, has it been updated in the recently?  Have they transferred their assets into their trust?  It’s not enough to just “do” the documents, they need to be done the right way and updated with new laws and life changes.

Tip #4 — Verify that the attorney is a specialist.

“Yes,” your loved ones respond, “we just saw our attorney and updated everything.”  Okay… now we’re getting somewhere, but that doesn’t end the conversation.  Does their attorney specialize in estate planning?  If not, going to the attorney to update the documents may not be enough.  Does the attorney use “one size fits all” forms, or customize the documents to your loved one’s needs?  Share the tips on how to make sure that you have a good attorney from “Trial & Heirs” to give your family peace of mind.  Also, make sure that you have the name of the attorney and other professionals in the event that your loved ones unexpectedly pass away.

Tip #5 — Establish the location of the documents.

You’ve almost conquered the list!  You’ve gotten through the first four tips, but where in the world are the documents located?  Your loved ones have done their documents, updated them, and worked with a specialist, but that doesn’t do the family any good if you cannot find them!  Share the story of Florence Griffith Joyner aka Flo-Jo.  Her original estate planning documents were never located and as a result it cost her family a lot of time, money, grief and uncertainty.  Make sure that your loved ones tell you where those critical documents are located and that the trustee or executor can access them.  There’s no point in hiding the will or trust so well that no one can find them or worse, putting them in a safe deposit box that no one can get into!

Alright, the holidays are around the corner and now you’re armed with some tips on the conversation that you really need to have with your family this holiday season.  Remember “Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!” has these stories to start the conversation and so many more!  For more information, sign up for a free preview of the book here.

Written by:  Danielle B. Mayoras, co-author of “Trial & Heirs:  Famous Fortune Fights!” and co-founder and shareholder of The Center for Elder Law, dedicated her legal career to teaching professionals, businesses and the general public about elder law, special needs planning , and general estate planning.  Danielle is a renowned attorney and Credentialed Professional Gerontologist, educating through speaking engagements, print, and broadcast media across the United States.

As the holidays approach, I’d like to encourage everyone to take a few minutes to discuss your family’s philanthropic goals.  The holidays are a great time to start a new family tradition and to discuss the values important to each member of your family while sharing stories of how your parents, grandparents and other family members came together to help others in need.  By combining efforts, families can create opportunities for family giving that go beyond mere financial donations.  To help your family begin the process of creating a family giving plan, we’ve posted a downloadable Charitable Gift Multiplier Guide on our website.  Simply go to: www.CharitableGiftGuide.com and download the free Guide and we’ll help your family walk through the process of multiplying your impact with truly inspired giving.

Before hiring a wills & trusts lawyer to guide you, your family or your business, ask these questions to ensure that you don’t end up paying a whole lot of money for services that are not what you need, expect or want. Hiring an attorney does not have to be a fearful experience. Instead, it can be the most empowered decision you ever make for yourself.

1.  What will happen during an initial meeting with your office and how much will it cost?

When you begin to consider getting your legal and financial affairs in order, the first thing to do is call the offices of lawyers who you will meet with to handle your planning.

This is a great opportunity for a first level screening to find the right lawyer for you, your family and your business. Pay attention to how the phones are answered by the office team. You want to find a lawyer who has a live person answering the phones who can answer quick questions for you when you are a client.

When you do talk with someone on the phone, be sure to ask what will happen at the initial meeting and whether there will be a charge for the meeting.

Look for an educational initial meeting. Ideally, the purpose of the first meeting with your lawyer is not just to get to know him or her, but to provide you with specific guidance and information that will benefit you, your family and your business.

You want to leave this meeting with a clear action plan for what your next steps are to ensure your financial and legal affairs and business are set up the best possible way for your family.

Now, it may be that you have to pay for this guidance so don’t be afraid to do that because it can be a hugely valuable education. The key is, you want to know what the cost is going to be upfront so there are no surprises.

Don’t expect to get valuable information that will help your family during a free initial consultation. When a lawyer routinely gives away their time for a free initial consultation it’s not to give you an education, it’s so you can meet the lawyer and decide whether you want to work with him or her. Don’t expect free legal guidance.

2.  Are all of your fees flat fees? What is included in the flat fee? What is NOT included in the flat fee.

You want to be sure that you avoid a nasty surprise down the road. Some attorneys will indicate that they use flat fees, but then may tack on additional charges such a photocopying, telephone, courier, postage, recording fees and other expenses.  While it may be reasonable in some instances to add on such fees, you want to make sure that you set the proper expectations up front so you don’t end up with a surprise bill in the mail.

3.  Does my planning fee include a regular review of my legal documents? What if I want to make changes later? What about on-going work after completion of my initial plan?

Far too often today, families put in place legal documents and think “great, that’s done”, now I don’t have to think about that anymore. Then, the end of their life comes or a crisis pops up and their family finds out that the documents are out of date and the assets aren’t owned properly anyway. Then, the plan fails. Or, business owners set up an entity to shield their personal assets from their business, but then fail to operate the business properly and keep their entity in compliance. Then, the business plan fails.

I blame these failures on lawyers who don’t set the right expectations for their clients.

The truth of the matter is, with estate planning, you can’t set it and forget it. Your wills and trusts and your business documents are living documents that need to be reviewed and updated throughout your personal or business life. And you want to find a lawyer who will keep everything up to date for you, review your documents regularly, and offer a program to provide you with continuing guidance on an ongoing basis without hourly fees.

Look for a lawyer who has a membership program or ongoing service program so you can reach out to your lawyer on an ongoing basis for legal, financial and business consultation without worrying about being nickled and dimed. Oh, and be sure your lawyer isn’t going to charge you for photocopies and faxes!

4.  Do you make sure my assets are titled in the right way and my business stays in compliance?

You can have the best business structure and the best legal plan set up for your family, but if your assets are not titled and structured properly and if your business does not stay in compliance, it’s all a false sense of security because when push comes to shove and a crisis happens, those legal documents won’t work.

Make absolutely sure that the lawyer you are working with is not only going to put legal documents in place for you, but is also going to finish the job by ensuring your assets are structured properly and your business stays in full compliance.

5.  Can you help me make smart choices about things like buying insurance, saving for college, and retirement planning?

Your personal lawyer can and should help you make decisions not only about things like legal documents, but also about things like buying insurance, saving for college, planning for retirement and all the other challenging decisions that will come up along the way of your life and your business. Your business lawyer should be keeping you informed about things like hiring and firing, trademarking and copyrighting, and growing your business.

This doesn’t mean your lawyer needs to be licensed to sell insurance or financial products or practice employment law or intellectual property, just that they have a big enough breadth of experience and knowledge and access to the appropriate resources that they can be a trusted advisor to you on these issues helping you avoid expensive mistakes.

6.  Do you have a process for helping me capture and pass on my intangible wealth, such as my intellectual, spiritual and human assets or who I am and what’s important to me or do you primarily focus on financial assets?

There’s a movement happening in the world in which we are finally beginning to realize that our wealth is far greater than the sum total of the dollars in our bank, brokerage and retirement accounts. In fact, many of us are becoming aware that our intangible assets are much more valuable.

When you are working with a personal lawyer, be sure to find a lawyer who will help you to capture, document and pass on not just your financial assets, but ALL of your assets, including the most often overlooked intangible assets, like who you are and what’s important to you.

Your lawyer should have in place an actual process so that when your planning is complete, you have created either written or recorded messages to your loved ones that pass on your values, stories, insights and experience.

7.  How are you able to be responsive to my needs on an ongoing basis?

One of the biggest complaints people have about working with a lawyer is that lawyers are notorious for not being responsive. In fact, I’ve heard of situations in which clients have gone weeks without getting a call back from their lawyer.

This generally happens when a lawyer does not have enough administrative support in his or her office. Far too many lawyers believe they can take care of everything in and around their office themselves, from paperwork to client meetings to calendaring to returning phone calls to connecting with their clients other advisors, the list goes on and on. Truth is, a lawyer who is a true solo practitioner without administrative support or in a firm without adequate support will become overwhelmed and non-responsive to your needs.

You can and should ask your lawyer how he or she will respond to your ongoing needs, how quickly calls are returned in the office, if there is someone on hand to answer quick questions and if you should expect to get right through to your lawyer when you call the office.

A great way to test this is to call your prospective lawyer’s office and ask for him or her. If you get put right through or even worse sent to a voicemail, think twice about hiring this lawyer because it means they do not have effective systems in place for managing and responding to calls or answering your quick questions. Instead, what you want is for the person answering the phone or another team member to offer to help you and if he or she cannot then to schedule a call for you to talk with your lawyer at a future date and time when he or she will be ready to focus on your matter.

Your lawyer cannot be effective and efficient if he or she is taking every call that comes through to him or her – all calls should be pre-scheduled when you are both ready and your lawyer can focus on your specific needs.

8.  How will you proactively communicate with me on an ongoing basis?

Unfortunately, most lawyers do a horrible job of proactively communicating with their clients on an ongoing basis. The general thinking in the legal industry is that legal work is transactional in nature and clients will call when something changes. But, this is faulty thinking and in my opinion just pure laziness on the part of lawyers.

You want to look for a lawyer who will proactively communicate with you at least quarterly by mail via an informative, easy to read newsletter and monthly by email. I prefer to hear from the professionals I work with monthly by mail and weekly by email, but progress can only happen so fast.

If you are considering hiring a lawyer who does not proactively communicate with his or her clients, think again. This lawyer might be stuck in an old, outdated mindset that won’t serve your needs in the best possible way.

Don’t be afraid to ask these questions for you hire a lawyer to work with your family on your personal and business legal planning. You need to be satisfied by the answers you receive to these questions, as they often sneak up on families after-the-fact, and can be a major drain on your family’s cashflow.

Welcome to the first episode in our series, Soap Operas About Planning. I thought I’d try out something a little different to show how taking the time to prepare today can be a huge gift to your family and loved ones. Through a series of stories, I will compare and contrast the lives of families that have not adequately planned and those that have. Although thinking about one’s own demise is a scary and uncomfortable prospect, I hope you’ll find the stories (and my attempt at fiction!) interesting and educational. This post is also part of the blog carnival being hosted by Triangle TRACKS, a website full of resources and ideas for parents in the Triangle area. Finally, be sure to see our raffle details at the bottom.

Rain splatters heavily on the windshield as Casey turns the wipers to high. “I hope this storm clears out by day break,” he thinks to himself, glancing in the rearview mirror at his two boys, Mark and David, sleeping in their car seats. Casey’s wife, Melanie, is in the passenger seat, flipping through a magazine. Casey turns his attention back to the road, only to see headlights coming at them. He tries to swerve to avoid collision, but it is too late. The cars collide head on…

Meanwhile, back in Pine Valley, Melanie and Casey’s neighbor, Courtney, is getting ready for a girls night out with her best friend, Amy. Courtney’s husband, Andrew, is out of the country on business, so Rachel has come over to babysit Ava, their 3-year-old daughter. Rachel has been babysitting Ava for over a year, and Ava just adores her to pieces. Running late, Courtney scribbles her cell phone number on a piece of paper, handing it to Rachel before rushing out the door.

Shortly after Courtney leaves the house, Amy calls to say that she is stuck working late on a project deadline and won’t be able to make it. Courtney considers heading home, but decides to take advantage of having a sitter by heading to the gym for a quick workout. Before closing the locker, Courtney calls home to check in with Rachel, but there is no answer. Courtney doesn’t think much of it though, remembering that Ava was begging Rachel to take her outside to play on the swing set when Courtney left the house. “I’m sure she’s fine,” Courtney says to herself as she turns off her phone and tosses it back in her purse. She shuts the locker and heads to the workout area. While jogging on the treadmill, Courtney collapses. The people exercising around her rush over to her aid, but she is unconscious and all forms of identification are in an anonymous locker. The gym calls the paramedics, but she has died before they even arrive.

Melanie and Casey moved to Pine Valley after Casey accepted a job as vice president of Pine Valley Bank. Accepting the job required the family to relocate to Pine Valley from Washington, but it was a great opportunity for advancement, and the couple wanted to escape to the suburbs so their boys could have a yard to play in.  Once they were settled into their new home, Casey still had a bit of time off before his first day at the bank, so they decided to take a short family road trip to the beach. Melanie and Casey loaded up the car, strapped the boys in their car seats and hit the open road. Unfortunately, they never reach their destination. On the way to the beach, a drunk driver swerves into their lane and strikes them head on.  Melanie dies instantaneously, while Casey and the boys are rushed to the hospital. Unfortunately, Casey is pronounced dead on arrival.

The police try calling Melanie and Casey’s home back in Pine Valley, but, of course, no one is there. Having no idea who the next of kin is, the police have no choice but to call child protective services to take care of the boys until family can be located. The boys are in a complete state of fright, surrounded by bright lights and strangers.  They are crying and calling out for their mommy and daddy. The boys are placed in the care of strangers under temporary foster care by child protective services.  After a couple  days, family is located.  But Melanie and Casey haven’t executed wills or named guardians for the boys. Without any direction from Melanie and Casey, it is up to the courts to decide who will be appointed guardian for the boys.

Several family members appear at the hearing, each claiming that they would be the best guardians. Before long, a family feud erupts and hideous accusations are thrown back and forth. The case drags out, and nine lawyers, a thousand pages of court documents, tens of thousands of dollars in legal bills, and many, many tears later, the court finally decides that the boys will be best off living with their aunt. But by now, the family rift is so deep that she will not allow the boys to visit with their grandparents.  The boys’ money will be managed by a professional financial guardian who charges $125/hour. And during the court battle, a lawyer was appointed on behalf of the boys to the tune of nearly $25,000, with more – amount yet unknown – to come as they mature. Whatever’s left will be distributed to the kids in a lump sum when they turn 18.

Is that what Melanie and Casey would have wanted? We’ll never know what they would have wanted, but we can be sure they would have done everything they could have to avoid the pain their children and extended family have been through. If only they had known how easy it would have been! It doesn’t have to be this way.

Courtney and Andrew were thorough. When Ava was born, they prepared a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan, providing specific instructions to babysitters, day-care providers, teachers, and school administrators, with specific instructions detailing whom to call in the event of emergency.  Knowing that most of their family lived out of state, Courtney and Andrew appointed their close friends and neighbors, Bob and Barbara Kleinfeld, as short-term guardians of Ava, and they had provided the Kleinfelds with legal documentation giving them the authority to care for Ava in the event of an emergency.

When Courtney doesn’t arrive home, Rachel begins to worry, so she tries calling Courtney’s cell phone.  After a couple more hours and several unsuccessful attempts to reach Courtney, Rachel opens the emergency binder and finds instructions to call the Kleinfelds. Within minutes, Barbara is at the house, legal documents in hand. Together, Rachel and Barbara call the police. The police arrive and are relieved to find that Barbara has documented legal authority to care for the children. Barbara locates Andrew’s travel information and informs him of the situation. Weather prevents Andrew from getting a flight for almost forty-eight hours. In the meantime, although she asks for her mother, Ava is comforted and cared for by Barbara. Eventually, Andrew makes it home, and he and Ava begin the process of grieving together.

Careful planning doesn’t guarantee your family will never face tragedy.  But it can help your family be prepared for tragedy, so that if it does strike, your kids won’t fall victims of a great big legal mess when they’re at their most vulnerable.

Postcap & Raffle

If you found this episode engaging, I hope you’ll return for future episodes. The story of Melanie and Casey is loosely based on real life events that occurred in California. I also highly recommend reading Alexis Martin Neely’s book, Wear Clean Underwear. See the bottom of my prior post to find out how to get a copy of Wear Clean Underwear for Kindle for $.99. You can also read the first chapter online for free here.

And, if you want to WIN YOUR OWN COPY of Wear Clean Underwear, visit our website and sign up for our weekly email newsletter in the upper left corner by midnight, Saturday, September 5^th to be entered into our drawing for a free copy. (If you’re already an email newsletter subscriber, simply reply directly to last week or this week’s ezine with the subject line “I want to win WCU”, and we’ll enter you in the drawing). We’ll be giving away copies to 5 lucky winners. Important: After entering your email address on our website, you will be emailed a confirmation link. You must confirm your subscription to be eligible for the drawing. North Carolina residents only, please.

The following article, written by national legal expert, Alexis Martin Neely, originated from Chris Brogan’s Dad-O-Matic blog.  Alexis was featured in an interview on Good Morning America this morning, where shared some important information that all parents need to hear:

***Featured on Good Morning America***

Here’s the segment on 5 Legal Documents Everyone Should Have

with Chris Cuomo & Alexis Neely

Becoming a dad is the ultimate step into adulthood.  It simply doesn’t get more real than that, does it?  That little face looking up at you makes you realize that life isn’t just about you anymore.  Suddenly, you are responsible for the well-being and care of a little person who is totally reliant on you.  And in some ways, this new “mini-you” that has come into the world makes you feel immortal.

On the flip side though is the lurking thought “what will happen to mini-me if something happens?”  If you are like most people (69%), you push away the thought because it’s too scary to contemplate your child being raised by anyone besides you.

But, here’s the thing … if you aren’t willing to take the time and invest the energy in setting things up for your little one (and her mom) the right way, you will leave your family with a world of hurt if something happens to you.

The good news is that setting things up the right way and doing the right thing by your family doesn’t have to be as painful as you think it will be.  If you are in the know about what you need and how to get it taken care of, getting your personal affairs in order can even be downright enlightening.

Let’s start with the bare minimum of what every dad needs to have in place to make life as easy for his kids and their mom if anything happens.

Document Set #1: Kids Protection Plan
Regardless of the size of your bank account, if you’ve got a child at home who depends on you, you need to have a comprehensive Kids Protection Plan® (KPP) in place to ensure her well-being and care in case you can’t be there.

A KPP begins with naming legal guardians to raise your children if anything happens to you and their mother.  But, that’s just the beginning. A comprehensive KPP will also name local friends or family as guardians for the immediate/short-term care of your children so that the authorities never have to take your children out of your home and into the care of strangers.  With a KPP in place, you’ll carry an ID card in your wallet listing the names and addresses of your immediate/short-term guardians as well as provide written instructions to all of the people who care for your children, such as babysitters and schools.  Finally, a KPP will confidentially exclude anyone you know you would never want to serve as guardian of your children to ensure there are no court-room battles over your child’s care and will also provide detailed instructions about things like health care, education, discipline and your values, so your children are raised the way you want, no matter what.

To get started with your Kids Protection Plan® by naming long-term guardians (which EVERY parent must do), go here and be guided through a process of first choosing the right people to raise your kids if you can’t and then easily document your choices … legally.

Document Set #2: Financial Durable Power of Attorney

A financial durable power of attorney is something every adult needs, even if you don’t have little kids at home.  This document is what will let your family access your bank accounts, pay your bills, and make financial and legal decisions for you if you are hospitalized or otherwise incapacitated.

This story should bring home the importance of having a durable power of attorney in place:

My law firm was contacted by a young woman after her father was hurt at his janitorial job, hospitalized and unable to communicate.  This man thought he didn’t need estate planning because his income was very low and he had less than $10,000 in the bank.

Unfortunately though, his failure to plan left his family in a lurch. They needed the little bit of money he had in the bank, but couldn’t access it without going to Court because the account was in his name and he didn’t have a durable power of attorney naming anyone to act for him legally.

The cost of going to Court was going to cost their family more than the money that was in the bank!

Don’t leave your family in this kind of a painful situation unable to access the limited resources you have because you didn’t do what you need to do.  Be sure you have a financial durable power of attorney in place and make sure it’s comprehensive and will work when your family needs it.

Document Set #3:  Health Care Directive (Living Will)

A Health Care Directive (also known as a Living Will or Health Care Power of Attorney) is another document set that every adult needs, even if you don’t have little ones at home counting on you.

These set of documents do two important things:

1. Appoint the person you want to make health care decisions for you, if you cannot make them for yourself; and
2. Tell your appointed decision-maker how you want those decisions to be made.

Each state has its own rules for how these documents should be prepared.  In some cases, your instructions can be all in one document and in others they need to be two separate documents.  The most important thing is that you get something down in writing.

And, once again, make sure you’ve got something that will really work when your family needs it.  I recommend giving broad discretion to someone you trust to make decisions about all of your health care decisions, including not only life-saving medical care, such as respiration, but continued nutrition and hydration in case you are incapacitated.  If you recall the Terry Schiavo case from several years ago, in which her husband and her parents fought over whether she should be kept alive or not and the case was brought all the way to the Florida Supreme Court, the issue was not whether to continue to keep her lungs pumping, but whether to continue to provide nutrition and hydration – be sure your medical directive addresses these issues.

Document Set #4:  Will:

When it comes to estate planning, most people think of having a Will.  Unfortunately, having a Will often provides a false sense of security to people who think “I have a Will, therefore, I’ve taken care of everything.”  That’s a myth. In fact, your Will is the least important of the 5 legal documents every dad must know about.

A Will sets forth what you want to happen to your assets at the time of your death.  But, here’s the thing, where there’s a Will and your assets are owned in your name, the Will merely acts as instructions to the Court as to what to do with your assets. That means your family is stuck dealing with the Court after you are gone.  Nobody wants that, trust me.

The Court process for handling your assets after your death is called probate.  It’s typically expensive, time-consuming, and always totally public, which means anyone in town can find out how much you’ve left behind, who it went to and when they get it.  That puts your loved ones on the radar of every con artist in the neighborhood.

A Will alone is really only appropriate for dad’s who have no (or very limited) assets titled in their name.  If you have assets, such as a home, bank accounts, life insurance, and retirement accounts, you need to have a Living Trust to keep everything out of court, totally private and make it super easy for your loved ones.
You may have heard that if you only have life insurance and retirement accounts that you could simply name beneficiaries on those assets and avoid probate.  That’s true, but not going to work if you have minor children because they are too young to be the beneficiaries of your assets and would end up in Court with a guardian appointed to handle them.  Not what you want.

Document Set #5:  Trust

If you have financial assets or real estate, you want to have a Living Trust.  A Living Trust is the single best way to make things as easy as possible for the people you love, bar none.

But, and it’s a big BUT, most people who have a Living Trust in place have one that won’t work when their family needs it.
It’s the same for each of these documents I’ve talked about; they are only going to work the way they were designed to work if the law stays the same and your life stays the same.

As your life changes, the documents need to change.
As the law changes, the documents need to change.

And, for your Living Trust, it won’t work unless all of your assets are titled in the name of it, not just once, but every time you acquire an asset in the future.

I’ve met with loads of people who thought they had everything taken care of because they had prepared these 5 documents or had them prepared by a lawyer, but because they had not been kept up to date or their assets were not owned properly, the documents didn’t work!

In fact, that happened in my own family when my father in law died.  He had spent thousands of dollars to work with a lawyer who put in place a set of documents for him and then didn’t keep them up to date and didn’t make sure his assets were owned properly on an ongoing basis.  What that meant is at the end of his life, we were stuck dealing with the one thing he thought he was protecting us against – the probate court and a fight with his ex-wife.

Even Michael Jackson, who no doubt spent hundreds of thousands of dollars with his lawyers, had a trust-based estate plan that he was probably told would keep his family out of court.  As we now know, it must have failed because his family has been dragged into court already multiple times since his death with everything open to the public.

So, yes, these 5 documents are absolutely vital because they will make life as easy as possible for your family, keep your loved ones out of court and get them easy access to your assets in the midst of a crisis, but only if they are kept up to date and your assets are owned properly.

Most people do not have the time, knowledge and discipline to do this for themselves the right way.  If you do, great.  But, who is going to guide your family to make the right decisions and carry things out the right way after you are gone?

Because when all is said and done, that’s really what this about, isn’t?

There’s nothing more important to you than your family.  They are why you do everything you do, right?  So, for them, find a lawyer who will guide you right during your lifetime and be there for your loved ones when you can’t be.  It’s far easier for you to take care of things now, while you are living and able than it will be for them to take care of things after you are gone.  Legal planning is not about the money; it’s about making life as easy as possible for the people you love … no matter what.

Alexis Martin Neely is America’s Personal Family Lawyer, author of the bestselling book “Wear Clean Underwear! A Fast, Fun, Friendly – and Essential – Guide to Legal Planning for Busy Parents” and the nation’s leading legal expert guiding you to smart financial and legal decisions for your family. Subscribe to Alexis’ free online magazine, Family Wealth Secrets, and have wealth advice delivered right to your inbox each week.

Special Update!

In honor of the Dad-o-Matic article and her appearance on Good Morning America, Alexis has convinced her publisher to give her vital book on legal planning for parents (Wear Clean Underwear, Morgan James Publishing 2008) away on Kindle for just .99.  Get your copy today right here.

If you’ve tried to visit this blog in the past couple of months, you may have noticed that things have been on hiatus.  That was because I have been working on an exciting project–several months ago, I began to work on business plans for my own law firm and I am pleased to announce the opening of Carolina Family Estate Planning in Cary, NC.

As part of this new adventure, this Spring I applied and interviewed to join the Personal Family Lawyer network and am pleased to announce that I was accepted to the network in May.  The Personal Family Lawyer designation is awarded to estate planning lawyers who have demonstrated an unwavering commitment to  being a trusted advisor who will help you to make the very best personal, financial, legal and business decisions throughout your lifetime and will be there to guide your family and loved ones when you can’t be.

I’m thrilled to be included in this elite group of lawyers. I love helping people, being their trusted advisor, and helping them make the best decisions for their family for a lifetime. It has been my ambition to be this type of lawyer and not just prepare form documents, but to develop a true personal relationship with my clients. I’m very fortunate and honored.

In creating Carolina Family Estate Planning, I knew that I wanted to provide something more for my clients than the traditional estate planning experience. Joining the Personal Family Lawyer network was a natural fit because it is aligned with many of my ideals: using flat fee billing to eliminate surprises and create a more conducive atmosphere for asking questions and creating a lifetime relationship, client-oriented service, using a team approach to ensure all clients receive attentive and caring service and helping clients pass on more than just material wealth, but also their values, ideals, and stories.

So get ready for a totally different legal experience.  Estate planning shouldn’t be just a single transaction.  Your family’s needs will grow and change with time.  As such, the estate plan should be the beginning of a lifetime relationship with a trusted legal advisor.   At Carolina Family Estate Planning we will work with you to create an estate plan that works for you and your family and will continue to work during your lifetime and after.

We have a lot more information and details on the firm website at www.CarolinaFEP.com I hope you take a few minutes to check us out and while you’re there, be sure to sign up for our weekly ezine for additional articles and tips relating to personal, financial, legal and business planning for you and your family.

Carolina Family Estate Planning will not only meet your expectations, we will exceed them. We have unique systems to provide you and your family exceptional service.  We want to be your lawyer for life!  Contact our Client Intake Specialist at (919) 443-3035 and schedule your Family Wealth Planning Session today!

Thanks to Portland, Oregon, estate planning attorney and fellow Personal Family Lawyer Candice Aiston for the following post which appeared in her Oregon Estate Planning Blog this week:

Stacey L. Bradford has put out “The Wall Street Journal Financial Guide for Parents.” In it, she talks about how many parents should be setting up trusts. The only thing I would add is that when you seek out an attorney to do this, you should make sure that you are working with one who is going to keep up with you throughout your lifetime, so that you can be sure that your trust is always going to work for you. Ask the attorney whether they offer a free plan review (at least every 3 years) and whether they have a membership program for ongoing legal needs. We see many trusts fail because of little issues that could have been prevented with better client service and communication. (Actually, here is a good article about choosing an estate planning attorney.)

You can read the WSJ article here.

And here is the video interview of the author: