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Stay In Your Own Lane: When non-lawyers give flawed legal advice January 30, 2020 By: Melinda Gustafson Gervasi With a deep, long sigh my frustration and annoyance was revealed to the client sitting across my conference table.  It's hard to hide it anymore.  After 15 years of counseling clients on the ins and outs of estate planning and probate, I wonder what my work day would be like if I did not have to spend so much time unwinding flawed legal advice dispensed by non-lawyers.  It's the financial planners, bankers, and in some cases tax experts that fuel my trademark sigh.  Don't get me wrong, I value the advice these experts provide on mortgages, index funds, and tax deductions. I just cannot tolerate it when they veer out of their lane, going full speed ahead with brazen authority, dispensing directives on what my clients can, and cannot due, within legal documents.  I stay in my lane, eyes on wills, powers of attorneys, trusts, domiciliary letters and...

It's 2020!  A new year.  A new decade!  A new !?!?!?  Along with signing up for gym memberships, getting an estate plan seems to be one of the top new years resolutions.  Each January we open a fresh new calendar and plan for growth and adventures.  We resolve to be more organized, to be healthier, to be on top of things.  If you are one of the many Americans making the resolution to get your estate in order, here are a few things to consider. Estate Planning boils down to control.  Who will do what, what will go where?  If you do not make the decision and put into a legal format someone else will, often dictated by state statute.  If you need a source of motivation to roll up your sleeves and take action, focus on "control"; Hire a professional.  We live in a DIY society, and that is a wonderful thing -- if you have the time, patience and skill set to complete the project appropriately.  My husband and I recently updat...