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"Thank you, again. I feel like I not only accomplished what I set out to do....get a will and trust in place for the kids, but much, much more. This was an extremely positive, and quickly executed, activity."
Dan H. -
"Martha is a life-saver. She put in a lot of time investigating the latest laws and was able to interpret things we did not understand and had never heard of. She gave us options."
Jean C. -
"We came to Martha with some complicated issues after a death in the family. She put in a lot of research finding the right solution for our situation. Now, we have a great plan in place for our own legal matters so that no one has to go through what we did."
Barbara G. -
"Working with Martha really took the stress out of my planning. It was quickly clear that she understood the complexities of my situation as a divorced mother better than I did. She was also exceedingly thorough in her research into those irregularities of my circumstances that she had not encountered before. I strongly feel her investment in the security of my family and am convinced that, should something happen to me, Martha would make sure that my wishes were carried out to the utmost of her ability."
Patricia A. -
"I have always known that getting things in order for my children in the case that I would leave this world earlier than I expect was something that I was supposed to do. I allowed my fear of not knowing what to do to keep me from even looking into it. With complications of divorce it became more urgent to take a look. Martha guided me through the process of putting into place exactly what I needed. The whole experience was completely painless. And then immediately afterward, I was surprised with the overwhelming feeling of relief. It was if I was carrying a burden of much more concern and worry than I had realized. I feel comfort in knowing that I have thought through how to help take care of my children if I can’t physically be here to do so. Martha is smart, thoughtful, and professional as you would expect from an attorney. But she is also a mother, a friend, and a beautiful caring woman who I trust completely to be there to help my family in what would be a very hard time. Thanks Martha!"
K.A. -
Working with Martha helped us to quickly identify the gaps in our backup plan for our kids in the event that something happened to us. The family protection plan is a must have for any parent to have in place. The living trust that Martha helped us create, gave us that added level of reassurance that our kids will be taken care of - and was very affordable!
Storey and Beau B. -
Martha is very knowledgable. She helped us answer questions we never would have thought to ask. She is also very warm. We felt cared for in all our interactions with her.
CV
We All Have Intellectual Property!
Remember the days when IP—Intellectual Property—was the exclusive domain of patent attorneys, computer science majors, successful authors, and professional photographers and artists? Well, times have changed, because whether you know it or not, you’re very likely a player in the IP space…today’s world of ones and zeros (i.e. binary code, if you’re not up on the lingo).
This IS Relevant to Planning Your Estate
Before you conclude that we’re about to embark on some platitude about how technology is leaving us all in the dust (we’re not going to do that), take a moment to think about your current digital footprint. In what ways are you out there on the internet?
- Facebook?
- YouTube?
- Email accounts? Cloud storage (Flickr, iCloud, Amazon Cloud, Google Docs)?
- PayPal? Online bank accounts? Online recurring subscriptions?
- Websites, domain names, blogs?
Unless your head’s been buried in the sand for the last ten years, it’s likely that you have at least some of the above-named assets.
Increased Online Storage
One of the most important functions of any estate plan is an instructional letter that advises your loved ones on where they can find critically important documents—Last Wills, Trust Agreements, Power of Attorney, Health Care Proxies, and financial instruments.
Increasingly, these sorts of documents are being stored online. Make things easy on your loved ones. Even if your critically important estate planning documents aren’t stored online, your loved ones will still need to access your digital life once you’ve exited the real world.
The first step in making life easy on your loved ones is to list your digital assets. Be careful . . . some assets might belong to your business (if you have one), so take care in discriminating who owns what (e.g. internet domain names). It can be a lot to sort through, but you’re the best person for the job. Nobody knows what you have better than you.
Understand the Fine Print
The terms of service for online providers differ markedly. Take the time to understand what you’re getting into when you sign up for a service. For example, when a person dies, his or her Facebook page is “memorialized.” That means it can’t be accessed or altered by anyone. Make sure you’re okay with that, and remember that whatever you write will be on the web . . . potentially forever.
Be Clear on Your Wishes
Clearly communicate to your attorney or to someone that you intimately trust (i) what you have, and (ii) what you want to have done with it. If you’ve stored passwords to email accounts that you want someone to be able to access, make sure you leave a clear record. Otherwise, your loved ones might be locked out of your accounts (e.g. Facebook, as described above).
You just don’t want to leave your digital footprint to chance. Take the time to decide how you want your digital legacy handled, and then put a system in place to make sure it happens according to plan.
It’s A New Ballgame
Dealing with the issue of digital assets, not to mention hard assets like real estate, stocks, bonds, bank accounts, precious metals, business interests, etc., can be really stressful if you don’t know what you’re doing. Luckily, we’re here to support you, and we’re old pros at dealing with these issues. Digital legacies might be a new ballgame, but they adhere to the tried and true rules of estate planning, so we can help you handle these issues without a hiccup.
Give us a call today to schedule a free Family Wealth Planning Session™. We normally charge $750 for these sessions, but until our calendar fills up for the month, we’re going to give them away!
For Active, On-The-Go Parents
Spring has sprung in Colorado, finally! And there's no better time to take stock of your financial, legal, and medical matters as you step out into the world in a big way. This weekend, you probably went for that first long ride, hike, or climb of the season. Did it occur to you to make sure you've got your affairs in order just in case that dualie's side mirror clips you in the back of the head?
Today, on my first long training ride (I've been running a lot so I'm getting a late start), a large pick-up was almost entirely in my lane coming the other direction around a corner. He was being a nice guy in making room for a cyclist in his lane, but his mirror came within a foot of my noggin.
But the day was so magnificent, I wasn't going to let that stop me from living a full and adventurous life. I had a lovely ride, all by myself this morning and I wanted to make sure my fellow parents know what they can and should do to protect themselves and their loved ones while they're going outside to live out loud!
Watch this video. Then call me to schedule a Family Wealth Planning Session to find out how to protect yourself and your loved ones, physically, financially, emotionally and how to pass on to your children the greatest gift of all--YOU! Call 303-747-3909 and ask for your session (valued at $550) and let us know you're an active parent. We'll waive the session fee for the first ten families that meet with us before June 22nd!
RIDE ON!
