What in the world is going on in the entrance foyer?, I thought to myself last Friday night as I heard the front door slam open.
Andrew and I were getting ready for another quiet empty-nester evening at home and the cats were settled in beside me for a watch party of “Homeland,” our latest evening binge-watching show.
Then, before I could process what my eyes were seeing, there stood my sweet daughter, Jill, surprising me by coming home a week earlier than expected from the University of Alabama.
We became a full house again last night when my son arrived home from his extended college spring break too.
Despite that my grocery and power bills have suddenly doubled overnight with the kids home, I'm glad to have my brood home again and under one roof after the extensive college campus closures. Frankly, it's a relief to have them home with the current uncertain health situation.
If there's one thing I've learned in my line of work is that the only thing in your life that you can count on is that it will constantly change on you. And likely when you least expect it.
Which is why a solid Estate Plan should not only be flexible enough to accommodate reasonably foreseeable changes in your life (i.e. the birth of future children or grandchildren) but should also be re-evaluated by you every 3-5 years barring any major life events in the meantime.
The grave health threats of the Coronavirus to the older population and those with compromised immune systems or pre-existing health concerns is a wake-up call for many to ensure their Estate Planning affairs are in order and up to date.
I am not an alarmist by any means nor do I approve of scare tactics to get one to plan their affairs but by golly, if this current health crisis doesn’t light a fire under the general population to get their Estate Plan in place, then I don’t know what will.
Sadly, according to a 2017 survey by Caring.com, only 42% of Americans have a Will. This tells me that probably only half of that number of folks actually have a comprehensive Estate Plan that addresses ALL aspects of their assets and their finances to protect their families, children, and other loved ones.
After all, despite the common myth, a Will does not necessarily control the disposition of all of your assets when you die.
Estate Planning makes the financial aspects of your death as easy as possible for your family to handle and ensures that all, or at least most, of your assets go to your family, loved, charities, or whomever you choose, without being squandered on unnecessary taxes, government expenses, legal fees, and unscrupulous creditors.
Some of you reading this may decide that it’s time to move forward with your own planning, or revisit your existing plan which may be woefully out of date, but you’re concerned about visiting our office.
No problem. Our attorneys offer web-based and phone consultations giving us the ability to “meet” in the privacy (and safety) of your own home or business.
We’re also hoping to soon offer the digital signing of Wills from the privacy of your own home too. We’ll keep you posted when we launch that service to clients.
Click here or below to schedule your new or review Estate Planning consultation online. When we call to confirm your appointment, you can let us know if you’d like to meet in our office, over the web, or by phone.
If you do come into our office, rest assured that we are sanitizing the office everyday and have plenty of hand sanitizer on hand. Plus, although I love to hug my clients, we are now offering smiles and “elbow bumps" by way of greeting.
My mom says that I should offer this "free gift with purchase" to each estate planning client. [My family deals with stressful situations we can't control with humor.]
I'm gonna do her one better and instead extend our appointment availability this month to include early morning, evening and weekend appointments and also discount the reservation fee by $50 for all new Estate Planning consultations.
Click the button below to see our online booking calendar or call the office to schedule your appointment today: 850-439-1191.
Note: We have staff on vacation this week so if we miss your call, please leave us a detailed message if you get our voicemail and we'll return your call as soon as possible.
Kristen "Making Your Estate Planning Easy" Marks
