Navigator

Write It Down: Elevating Your Estate Plan By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi January 31, 2023 The month of January coincides with a fresh start for many people.  Whether it be joining a new gym to going "dry" by not drinking any alcohol for the month to finally getting your estate plan drafted (or updated), many of us resolve to improve our condition at the start of a new calendar year.  For those of you focused on creating or improving your estate plan, I suggest the following quote as a guiding light: “Paper is to write things down that we need to remember. Our brains are used to think.”  ― Albert Einstein Specifically, when managing your powers of attorney consider making a list of each person or entity that you provided a copy of the form to.  For example, my power of attorney for health care is on file with: my hospital, my primary care doctor's office, my spouse, and each of my alternate agents.  Rather than remember this list, I have a notation in my estate pla...

Tidying Up -- Subtle Tips for Improving Your Estate Plan By Melinda Gustafson Gervasi January 17, 2023 Mid-January in my home means it is time to take the Christmas tree down (we use an artificial tree because I am severely allergic to real Christmas trees).  As the twinkle lights come down and the furniture is restored back to its normal position in the living room, I use this time to tend to my estate plan in three subtle ways: I print out a hard copy of my holiday card mailing list with the thinking that "if I care enough about this person to mail a holiday card, I want the address easily accessible should the person need to learn of my illness or passing".  The print out is kept with my estate planning binder.  It's never more than a year out of date;  I purge holiday décor that is broken, went unused, or no longer brings us joy.  My 17 years as an estate planning and probate attorney make me aware that one day I will either move or die.  One way or ano...