You want the best health care? Take charge of your medical records. The best way to get better health care? Take charge! Your doctor won’t be offended. You’ll be helping your health care providers do their best work. You probably already know this, but your medical records are really yours. You’re entitled to copies of…
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Getting better health care. As we age, we deal more and more with the health care industry. More doctor visits and tests. More hospitalizations. More medications. And more questions, confusion and stress. How can we get the best health care results? Jon and I have been thinking about this a lot and learning what we…
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Mom’s generosity + no planning = bad result Mom has been helping her kids all their lives. She isn’t wealthy by any means, but she has enjoyed being generous with them. And one of the kids really has needed help. Her daughter has a drinking problem and has not had a real job in years.…
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A family wedding In our estate planning Jon and I don’t limit our attention to physical objects and money. Those assets are certainly part of the legacy our clients want to pass on and protect for their loved ones. But more and more we’ve also been helping our clients identify and pass along the other…
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Russian literature and estate planning. I just finished a novel called The Last Station. It deals with the last year of the life of Leo Tolstoy, the Russian novelist. It’s one of those works of “historical fiction” that contain a lot of actual history. I really enjoyed it. Tolstoy was a wealthy member of the Russian gentry. He owned…
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The story of one farmer’s estate planning. Here’s a story I heard earlier this week. A Montana farmer died leaving a son and daughter. His living trust directed that the trustee distribute his trust estate, including his farm, to his son. He left investments equal to 10% of his estate in “TOD” (transfer on death)…
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Yes, it can happen. I just couldn’t believe it. I came into the office on Thursday, and there was a note that my afternoon meeting had been canceled. We were to finalize planning to transfer a farm from one generation to the next. But the big, strapping, energetic 48 year-old son who was to take…
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Sharing Estate Planning with the Family. Dad was an elderly retired farmer with four daughters. The youngest had had a number of financial scrapes, and Dad had bailed her out. So, when he sat down with me to do his estate planning, he directed that her share be reduced to even things up between the…
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Estate planning is not long-term care planning. Every lawyer says they do “estate planning.” That usually means powers of attorney and simple wills (without tax planning). There’s much more to estate planning than that. But there is also a serious concern that many people think estate planning addresses when it doesn’t. Castastrophic long-term care expenses.…
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This is why we do what we do. Yesterday Tanya, my legal assistant, said: “This is why we do what we do.” She held out a paper in her hand. An obituary. A couple – he 55 and she 53 – killed in a car wreck this week. Six kids and two grandkids. That’s not…
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