A colleague of mine recently told me that having a strong estate plan is like insuring your family. I thought that was a great analogy. Most of us spend thousands of dollars a year on insurance: car insurance, house insurance, health insurance, and lif
Putting the Pieces in Place
I have always enjoyed puzzles. I remember working on one when I was about 11 or 12. It was a black cat against a black background. The only colors were in the cat’s eyes and whiskers. That puzzle took a while to complete. Have you ever worked on a puzz
Back to School: Are You Prepared?
I was reminiscing the other day about my son’s first day of kindergarten. He was so excited for school to start that the moment he woke up he got dressed. I on the other hand was a weepy mess in the car after dropping him off. It’s a few years later an
Hawaii article
Aloha! I'm writing this on a plane as I fly to Hawaii for vacation-without my son. This is the first time my husband and I will be away from him for more than a weekend. I must admit, I have panicked more than a few times in the last few days. I now under
How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?
Advance DirectivesAdvance Health Care DirectivesAsset DistributionAsset ProtectionBeneficiariesDocumentsEstate AdministrationEstate PlanningFuneral PlanningMedicare Advanced PlanningPower of AttorneySpecial Needs PlanningWill ChallengesWills
Becky Cholewka: I always like assigning homework to my clients. It's fun for me, because it's something that somebody else has to do instead of me. One of the things of homework that I always assign is to make sure that my clients pick an important d
How Often Should You Review Your Estate Plan?
Advance DirectivesAdvance Health Care DirectivesAsset DistributionAsset ProtectionBeneficiariesDocumentsEstate AdministrationEstate PlanningFuneral PlanningMedicare Advanced PlanningPower of AttorneySpecial Needs PlanningWill ChallengesWills
Becky Cholewka: I always like assigning homework to my clients. It's fun for me, because it's something that somebody else has to do instead of me. One of the things of homework that I always assign is to make sure that my clients pick an important d
Arizona Power of Attorney FAQ
When it comes to estate planning, financial and medical powers of attorney ensure your wishes are honored. However, questions abound. What is the difference between durable and general powers of attorney? What can you include? How do you choose an agent?
Tips On Choosing Your Powers of Attorney
Becky Cholewka: One of the things we ask people to think about, before they come in and meet with us, is give some thought to who you want to choose to act for you in certain situations. For example, who do you want to make medical decisions for yo
Recognizing the Importance of Living Wills
A living will is a type of advance directive delineating your preferences for end-of-life care in the event you become incapable of making your wishes known. Age does not dictate these crises; they can happen at any time. For anyone over the age o
6 Ways a Lawyer Can Help with Finance
Business PlanningDurable Power of AttorneyEstate AdministrationEstate PlanningEstate TaxesFinancesLife InsurancePower of AttorneyWills
Working with your attorney to create a Durable Financial Power of Attorney (POA) ensures that, in the event you become incapacitated due to illness or injury, your financial affairs continue to be handled properly. With this document, you as
Attorneys Get Paid per Word! And Other Untruths…
Why is my trust so long? As an estate planning attorney who provides comprehensive, solution-oriented planning documents to clients, I get this question almost every week. I have to chuckle, knowing that in the olden days attorneys did get paid per wor
Is your Estate Plan a Trojan Horse?
On January 31st of 2014, the Chinese celebrated the Year of the Horse. Which got me thinking about famous horses: Black Beauty, Secretariat, Trigger, Sea Biscuit, Silver, the Budweiser Clydesdales, Man O’ War, Pokey, and even the Trojan Horse. That fam
Prevention is the Best Medicine – Why You Should Consider a Corporate Trustee
Revocable living trusts are a powerful and commonly used estate planning tool. Whenever a trust is created, there is also an accompanying position created called the trustee. The trustee is a person or entity appointed within the trust document that is
Springing Powers (Not Spring Flowers)
Powers of Attorney (POA) are state specific documents. That means each state has its own rules on what each document must say and how it must be executed. Because of this, a POA from Arizona may not work in Ohio and vice versa. In Arizona, there are th
Congratulations! You graduated. Welcome to Adulthood
When I graduated from college my sister gave me the Dr. Seuss book "Oh the Places You'll Go." It is my 4-year-old son's favorite book. There are some real gems in that book. A realization that life is not as easy as it may seem, and is not always fair, so