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Honoring Service Through Strategic Planning: Estate Planning for Veterans By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi November 6, 2026 American Flag - San Diego, CA As November 11 approaches, our nation pauses to observe Veterans Day —a dedicated time to honor and express gratitude to all American military veterans, living and deceased, who have served in the United States Armed Forces. Originally established as Armistice Day to mark the end of World War I, Veterans Day was officially renamed in 1954 to recognize veterans of all wars and peacetime service. It serves as an important reminder of the sacrifices made by service members and their families to protect our country. When we think of a veteran, we often picture active-duty soldiers or combat action, but the legal definition and reality are much broader. A veteran is anyone who served in the active military, naval, space, or air service and was discharged or released under conditions other than dishonorable. Beyond standard active-duty branches...

Ghosts in the Machine: How AI Deepfakes Are Creeping Into Probate By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 30, 2026 It’s Halloween Eve, a time for ghost stories, urban legends, and uninvited spirits. But as an estate planning and probate attorney, some of the scariest "ghosts" I see today recently are not haunts in an attic—they are digital apparitions generated by Artificial Intelligence.  With generative AI, voice cloning, and deepfake video technology advancing at a breakneck pace, technology can now recreate a person’s voice, face, and mannerisms using just a few seconds of public audio or social media footage.   While AI has opened fascinating new doors, it has also introduced a genuinely spooky new frontier in probate court: digital impersonation, fraudulent evidence, and estate scams. Here is how modern AI is impacting estate administration—and how you can protect your legacy from technological trickery. 1. The "Ghost Voice" Scam Targeting Executors:  Probate adm...

The Seasonal Pruning Checklist: 8 Ways to Tidy Your Estate Plan Today By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 23, 2026 Wise fall gardening is all about balance: leaving vital cover for local wildlife and pollinators while clearing away what no longer serves the garden. The same holds true for your home legal files. Not every piece of paper needs to be shredded, but keeping outdated documents mixed in with current ones can cause real complications down the road. The Fall Equinox is a perfect time to review your legal documents—preserving what protects you and quietly retiring the rest.  Here are 8 places to focus your energies: 1 - Orphaned Retirement Accounts: Consolidate small 401(k)s or IRAs left behind from previous employers into a single rollover IRA so they are not forgotten or left subject to unclaimed property laws. 2 - Unused Bank & Savings Accounts: Close dormant checking or savings accounts scattered across multiple banks, and bring your day-to-day liquidity into one ...

National Dictionary Day: 5 Probate Words Every Future Executor Needs to Know By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 16, 2026 Today is National Dictionary Day ! Let's celebrate Noah Webster—the man who published the first American English dictionary in 1828 - in today's post. Webster believed that clear language was essential for a functioning society.  As an estate planning and probate attorney, I concur. Probate and estate planning are notorious for using antique legal jargon that leaves grieving family members scratching their heads. When you are named as an executor (or Personal Representative), opening court documents can feel like reading a foreign language. Here is a practical dictionary guide to 5 tricky legal words every future executor—and estate planner—needs to know. 1. Intestate /in-ˈtes-ˌtāt/ (adjective) The Legalese: Dying without a valid Last Will and Testament. Plain English: Leaving no roadmap behind. When someone dies "intestate," they don't lose t...

Don’t Let Outdated Beneficiary Forms Give Your Estate a Halloween Jump Scare By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 9, 2026 October brings pumpkin spice, crisp autumn air, and National Financial Planning Week. It’s the time of year when financial advisors across the country encourage us to review our investments, double-check our retirement goals, and make sure our hard-earned money is growing. Building wealth is an essential part of financial planning. But as a probate attorney, I see the other side of financial planning—what happens when those investments finally need to be transferred to the next generation.  And if there’s one thing that can deliver an absolute jump scare to your loved ones from beyond the grave, it’s an outdated beneficiary designation form. The Haunted Ghost of Beneficiary Forms Past When you open a 401(k), IRA, brokerage account, or life insurance policy, your financial planner almost always has you fill out a beneficiary designation form. These forms name Pay...

Workin’ 9 to 5: Why Estate Administration Shouldn’t Be a Family Business By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi October 2, 2026 When Dolly Parton sang "9 to 5, what a way to make a livin' / Barely gettin' by, it's all takin' and no givin'...", she captured the universal grind of the workplace. But as recent headlines out of Nashville show, when estate administration turns into an unpaid, high-stakes job for family members, that "all takin' and no givin'" feeling can quickly ruin family relationships. Following Parton’s passing, a legal battle erupted between her corporate estate entity (She's Alive, LLC) and a family member who had long served as a key employee and operational manager. What followed was a wave of court filings, temporary restraining orders, and administrative friction that brought key estate work to a crawl. While few families manage a multi-million-dollar music catalog, this dispute highlights a critical lesson for every estat...