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Who do you call for advice on aging?
Where do you turn when an aging parent is diagnosed with dementia or suddenly has a stroke? What do you do when your family hits a situation where mom, dad, grandma or grandpa can’t stay at home anymore? What if a loved one is struggling with health issues that you...
9 Ways to Create a Mess After You Die
We often get calls from people who are facing a mess because a loved one died and failed to properly plan. If you're lucky, or if you plan ahead effectively, your family won't need to go through the headache of probate or trust administration. While this is all rather...
Help for Caregivers, Our Thankless Heroes
Caring for an aging loved one is an incredibly difficult job that is often thankless. Virtually everyone will need some help as they age, and most of us will resist that help as long as possible. Combine this with the love and concern that most children feel towards...
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The Funny Birthday Hat: 5 Reasons Why Family Traditions Are Important
If you are friends with me on Facebook, you've probably seen the birthday hat. I wore it for my birthday a couple weeks ago. It's really tall and colorful -- kind of like something The Cat in the Hat would wear, only this hat has Mickey Mouse on it. Like many...
Do You Like to Gamble? Advice for Those Who Haven’t Planned Yet
Michelle and I don't gamble very often. But when we do, watch out! A few years go, the kids went to the grandparents' and we spent the weekend in St. Louis. We were staying near Laclede's Landing at a new hotel near the Lumiere Place Casino. The evening after we...
The Greatest Threat to Estate Planning
Our garage almost filled up with water bottles a few years back. You know the big blue ones you put on top of a water cooler? I kept forgetting to put the empty ones out for pick up, but they kept giving us new water. Pretty soon we had at least 15 water bottles...
What’s Your Next Step in Planning?
Bailey has noticed that I talk to other cars a lot when I'm driving. When someone's being slow I might say, "Come on out there, buddy, pull right out there." Or "come on, you can do it," when they hesitate just a little too long before pulling out so I can go. As with...
Estate Planning is Like… Working a Puzzle
Bailey and I bought some puzzles at our neighborhood garage sale a while back. We started work on a 100-piece jigsaw puzzle of Mickey Mouse and Goofy, but something was wrong. Pieces were missing -- a lot of pieces! In fact, we counted and there were only 57 of the...
Think You’re Not Eligible for VA Benefits? Think Again…
Many people are surprised that they qualify for aging Veterans services without having to have a service-related disability. The Veteran's Pension and Survivor's Pension Programs offer benefits that can be used by a Veteran or their surviving spouse to help with costs...
Power Of Attorney FAQ’s
Elisa (who handles all of our communications like newsletters, mail outs and web content) was on the playground the other day talking to some moms after school. They know what she does, so through the course of the conversation powers of attorney came up. (We've...
What kind of attorney are you?
"There are 2 other attorneys here at the career fair. Do you know what the difference is between me and them? They're wearing suits!" A few months ago I went to Grant Middle School's Career Fair. I talked to 5 different groups of students about how I am the "other"...
Have You Ever Paid Off a Child’s Credit Card?
If you've ever had to bail your child out financially, then keep reading. I have a list that I call the "Dirty Dozen Mistakes of Estate Planning" and #7 on the list is: Thinking your child will start being good with money later if he or she is terrible with money...
Can your estate plan pass the Down Low test?
What a Child's Game Can Teach us About Planning... In our house, the "Down Low, Too Slow" game is very popular. It goes like this: Give me five (hand slap) Way up high (another hand slap) Down low (pull hand away before it can get slapped) Too slow!! It always gets a...