Monday, the 30th of October, ushers in National Checklist Day. Yes, it is a real thing according to the internet. It's origins are tied to the aviation industry, specifically pilots and flight attendants created safety checklists to make the new era of aviation safer. Defined, a checklist is a list of requirements, things to be done, points to be considered and or a reminder.
Within the area of estate planning and probate, here are 7 items to include on your annual checklist to ensure your plan is up-to-date and accessible:
Copies of your power of attorney for health care are on file with your primary care doctor, any specialist you use, and your hospital of record as well as with the agent(s) you named to speak for you if you are too sick;
Copies of your power of attorney for finances are with the agent(s) you have named to handle your financial matters if you are alive but too sick to manage your own affairs;
You have a complete list of assets that have named beneficiaries;
A copy of the deed to your home or other real estate that you own;
Names and contact information of professionals who assist you in your life -- CPA, veterinarian, insurance agent, financial planner, attorney; and
List of organizations that should be contacted in the event of your death -- religious organization, professional associations, civic clubs, neighborhood groups.
This list mentions 7 items to include on your checklist. It is by no means a full and complete list, but enough to prime the pump. Remember that a blog is not legal advice, it is meant to spark thought and discussion. Please consult an attorney licensed in your home state for counsel specific to your situation. Thank you for reading, be well, and click FOLLOW above to enter your email and receive updates on future posts.
Buyer Beware - Spotting Trouble in the Land of Trusts
By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi
October 20, 2023
After a decade of public speaking on the ins and outs of estate planning and probate, mainly as a guest presenter for a financial education nonprofit or a local library, my words flowed freely during my talks. After covering the basics of powers of attorneys, wills, and probate, I would briefly comment on the roles of trusts in estate planning.
"A trust is a tool that functions like a basket, it holds your assets. A trust can be created during your lifetime, known as a Living Revocable Trust. Or a trust can be formed at your death, called a Testamentary Trust. One feature of a Living Revocable Trust is that the assets inside avoid probate at your death, and transfer directly to the people and or organizations you designate in the paperwork. For a Living Revocable Trust to work you have to transfer your assets from your name to the name of the trust. For example, if my spouse and I decided to create a Living Revocable Trust we would have to change the deed to our home in order for the trust to work properly. It would go from "Charles J. Gervasi and Melinda Gustafson Gervasi, marital property with the right of survivorship" to "The Charles J. Gervasi and Melinda Gustafson Gervasi Living Revocable Trust of [date it was created]".
Then I'd insert a bit of levity:
"For those of you over a certain age you will receive fliers in the mail inviting you for a free fish dinner at a local restaurant as apart of a speaking series on the wonders of trusts."
Audience members would nod and laugh knowingly. Many were approaching or at retirement and knew these fliers well. Their arrival correlated with the solicitations to join AARP.
"Be careful, many of these organizations are LLCs that open-up shop in your area, sell a bunch of overpriced trusts, and then close the doors leave town without ever helping you fund the trust. They are trust mills, and border on fraud."
I'd take a sip of my hot tea to calm my vocal cords and launch into the dangers of trust mills and fraud, providing listeners with a few simple tools to assess whether or not the "free dinner" was worth it, and when the expense of a Living Revocable Trust might make sense of them. The seminar would wrap up, with me commenting that I would stick around for a few minutes to take questions from those who did not want to ask in front of a large crowd. I would add that I would need to head out by 9pm in order to tuck in my two young children at home.
Time has a habit of moving forward. Those two kids of mine are now both teenagers, and this past week my husband received such a flier in our mailbox. A subtle reminder that in some database we are now deemed eligible for the "free fish dinner" seminar. Needless to say, we will not be sending in a RSVP.
Badlands, South Dakota, Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023
If you receive such a mailer, beware and remember, there is no such thing as a free lunch. Keep in mind:
Probate in Wisconsin is not as expensive as other states. Our statutory fee is 0.2 percent while other states are 6 or 8 percent. A quick back-of-the-envelope calculation will show you how much a house, car, bank accounts (assets without a named beneficiary) would cost going through probate. You can then compare that fee with the fee of creating the Living Revocable Trust being sold (the fee on a $350,000 home going through probate is $700);
Living Revocable Trusts do not hold certain assets well, such as retirement accounts. This means you cannot use the trust to hold that asset and have to make other plans;
Individuals selling these instruments may not be attorneys licensed in Wisconsin, meaning they are limited in their ability to help you create, fund and maintain a trust. A simple test is to ask the attorney for their Wisconsin Bar Association Number -- we know them by heart and should be able to recite it quickly;
Gather information, but take time to process, reflect and comparison shop. Never feel pressured to sign up for an appointment the night of the dinner;
Read the fine-print. Our flier says "Financial Professionals, Accountants, and Attorneys will be charged a $5,000 educational fee". So, if I were to attend, they'd charge me $5,000 -- hmmm, seems like they want to discourage me from attending, I wonder why?
Thank you for reading. Remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and discussion, it is not legal advice. I encourage you to seek counsel from an attorney licensed in your home state for help with your unique goals and needs. And if you are curious about those pre-pandemic talks I used to give here is a sample from one done via Zoom as the pandemic shifted how we gathered.
Friday the 13th, is a day associated with all things bad luck. From the Biblical account of 13 people attending the Last Super to the 1980s pop culture hit movie with Jason in a ski mask, this is a day known for darkness. So it seems appropriate for today's post to mix two areas of doom and gloom: death and tech, more specifically, tech that is not easy to operate.
Marriage to an electronics engineer has amped up my luddite tendencies, leaving me with less than adequate skills to operate our tech devices. Over the years when a cell phone needed an update or it was time to install a new printer or adjust our Smart thermostat, I commonly let my spouse take the lead. He is more more efficient, capable, and considers these tasks fun. His professional hours are spent designing circuit boards, so the decision was a no brainer. However, with my entrance to a new decade (I recently celebrated my 50th birthday), I realized that I should know how to do some of these things as well. Just in case. Maybe my phone will need to be replaced while he is traveling for business, or maybe.....my well-trained estate planning and probate brain quickly spins scenarios in which I will need to sort these issues out on my own.
Which leads me to this list, 13 tech devices that may need some explaining about how to operate and or maintain. Such a list may be useful to your life partner and or personal representative (known as an Executor in most states) should your time come:
Cell phone
Personal computer
Home security system (including cameras)
Heating, ventilation and air conditioning
Energy efficient power sources, such as solar panels
Outdoor garden equipment
Assorted home automation - lights or sound systems
Smart locks to your home and or vehicle(s)
Automated pet feeding devices
Internet access and wiring
Smart lawn mowers and snow blowers
Your vehicle(s)
Voice activated controls for home appliances (giving Alexa commands to dim the lights)
Willa - author's cat, pictured in 2008. RIP.
Death will come for all of us, take the moment to leave some easy to access instructions for the loved ones you leave behind. Then go out and enjoy Fall Fun at a corn maze, apple orchard, or Oktoberfest. Remember that a blog is meant to spark thought and reflection. It is not legal advice. Please consult an attorney in your home state for advice specific to your unique situation. Thanks for reading, be well, and click Follow above to receive updates on future posts.
You only turn 50 once, so I decided to embrace the transition to a new decade rather than shun or ignore the event. Turning 50 is far better than the alternative, something I am reminded daily as an estate planning and probate attorney. After a celebratory weekend, complete with a bonfire with friends and quality time with my family on the University of Wisconsin - Madison campus, I spent a Monday giving myself the gift of decluttering. More specifically, I pulled EVERYTHING out of my closet and dresser, and put back about one-third of the items. The remainder I packed up and dropped off at my favorite local thrift store - The Dane County Humane Society Thrift Store. It is easy for me to release my hold on a item I sort of enjoy knowing it will be generate much needed cash for animals in need. The impact of open space was exhilarating, and I wanted more. Which leads me to this post -- recipes.
My year of 50 will be populated with decluttering events, saying good-bye to things that may have brought me joy or some fun, but no longer need to be with me during this chapter of my life. My attention is now focused on my kitchen, starting with recipes.
Recently I made a Mini-Chocolate-Bran Muffin recipe that I have had for over 15 years. It was just okay, no one really loved the muffins. So I opted to put the paper recipe into recycling, not back in my recipe binder. I have resolved to work through the pile of faded, stained, and disorganized recipes to see what needs to be tossed, and what I will keep. The keepers will then be entered into a Goolge Docs form I have created. Why Google Docs? Simple, it is:
Free
Easy to share with my children
I can copy and paste specific recipes into an email or text to share with friends (or readers)
The application is already on my phone for easy access at home or on the road
Edits and notes are easy to make
It won't fade, stain, or fall between the cracks
Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2023
Doing all of this in one day or weekend is simply too much, and would result me throwing my hands up in frustration. Taking a year to work through recipes, many of which are seasonal or holiday based, makes this a far more manageable task. Keep reading and track my progress. And if you have a tip to share on decluttering the kitchen, post a comment!
Be well, thanks for reading, and click Follow in the upper right-hand corner to receive future posts.
