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Save a tree, save money -- stop the mailings!  Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2013 When a client decides to make a bequest to a non-profit in his or her will, a smile is guaranteed to emerge on my face.  What a lovely way to plant the seeds of a legacy, and you don't have to be millionaire to make a difference (the theme of my upcoming book).  Such a smile made an appearance on my face earlier this year when a client, facing a terminal diagnosis, took his belief in stewardship and named a list of nearly 40 non-profits he had supported during his lifetime. Stewardship was his motivation; carefully overseeing the distribution of his final estate.  Sadly, my smile has faded.  Not only did this kind man loose his battle, passing away quite quickly.  Many of the non-profits he listed have poured a jaw dropping amount of literature into my office.  Some have been via email, but most have been hard copies. Yes, contacting the attorney who informed th...

The purchase of a first home triggers many things: a sharper focus on property taxes in your area; selecting color schemes for dinning rooms; and in my case, finding a gentle way to say "thank you, but no thanks" to a mother wishing to transfer all the family "heirlooms" occupying her home to mine. Yes, the toss to the next generation.  A discussion of this crops up in my seminars, but focuses on issues related to step-up in basis and or capital gains tax when those items are later sold by the next generation.  Of great important when stock in Coca-Cola, the family farm, or a Monet is changing hands.  The finances surrounding great-grandmas salt and pepper collection are non-existent.  But still, handling the desire of one generation to pass along items to the next can be a tricky situation. My parents were keepers.  Born into families with little resources, stuff was hard to come by.  As such, they have a strong emotional attachment to rolling pins, va...

Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2013 -- Door Co., Wisconsin  It's that time of year.  Daylight last a little longer, snow begins to melt, spring bulbs search for blue sky, and people seek warmer locales to spend 5 to 7 days relaxing.  Spring breakers travel checklists most likely include: set up pet sitter, cancel newspaper, get spending money, pack swimsuit, etc..  And then there are lawyers who travel, especially estate planning lawyers.  Before we head out the door, there are a few things that come to mind: A copy of the power of attorney for health care -- the document that gives another person authority to make medical decisions if I am not able to.  My documents were drafted here in Wisconsin, and should be recognized in any state where I am traveling.  Just as they'd recognize my marriage license, they should recognize this legal form.  Without one on hand, it becomes a scavenger hunt if I am sick or hurt.  It is on my "pack lis...

When you are the parent of young children, you protect your sleep like a mama bear her cub -- fiercely.  Yet this past week I routinely found myself reading far too late into the night.  Why?  In my hands was a memoir by Ashok Rajamani .  With the title The Day My Brain Exploded I should have known that he would grab my attention from the start, and he did. Quite the storyteller, the book is not a chronological account of an AVM (brain bleed) and the resulting consequences.  Instead it is the memoir of a young man, who at age 25 comes ever so close to death.  Chapters jump from after the AVM, to the day it occurred, to his youth in Illinois, back to present time, back to his birth in New Jersey.  It may appear chaotic, but the story unfolds like a flower blooming.  Powerful, hardcore honesty, and humor all make this a book I would recommend to anyone. Life has a way of happening.  The unexpected arrives.  Course changes direction...

Monday morning had arrived.  A cup or two of coffee already enjoyed, my first meeting of the day arrived.  It was a third meeting for the clients, meaning it was the day they would sign their completed estate plan.  Immediately upon meeting this couple, I knew they were lovely people.  My guess was confirmed when the she of the couple brought out fresh baked blondies (think brownies, but with chocolate chip cookie batter).   Here, these are for you!  That made me smile, but here is what caught my attention and made me choke on what was my third cup of coffee. Papers signed, witnessed, explained, and tucked away.  She was putting things in her bag and said to her husband, " tomorrow we meet with the financial guy about that annuity ."  Then she turned to me and said, " what do you think of those?  He is creating a joint one for us ."  The word "joint" is what caused me to spit and sputter. Image by M. Gustafson Gervasi, 2012 Ori...

Thanks for checking out my blog.  I am shifting my blog pieces to longer, more substantive posts.  And will be posting once or twice a week.  Find smaller news clippings, events, book recommendations, cartoons, and healthy living ideas on the Gustafson Law Office Facebook page.  Just plug the name (Gustafson Law Office) into the search engine, hit "like", and you'll get information in your newsfeed.

A highly unusual scenario transpired in my office this week.  After signing the last form, a personal representative walked out of my door, arm in arm, with her sister.  In town from the west coast, the two were laughing and off to shop for jeans at Hilldale mall.  The death of a parent brought them together, not at odds.  A rare sight indeed! Sadly I see the death of a parent, especially the mother, rip sibling relationships apart.  People toss the F-word around.  I get calls about "my sister isn't being far and won't tell me anything".  There are a set of brothers who will no longer speak because of an chest of drawers that could not be divided into two shares.  Even when the kids were relatively close prior to the death, one child acting as PR establishes a hierarchy.  Suddenly one sibling says "yes" or "no", bam -- he or she is in charge.  And with that comes many things.  Unresolved tensions from childhood, insecurities, a fe...