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by Steve Pender, video biographer & personal historian, Family Legacy Video, Inc. Imagine finally seeing your father run in the Olympics – the 1912 Olympics, that is. Creating video biographies is always fulfilling for me. But occasionally I can provide a special service that really gives me the warm fuzzies. Here’s an example: Just before Christmas of 2004 I completed a Family Legacy Video for a wonderful couple, Mary-Lou and Dick, in Tucson, Arizona. It turns out that Mary-Lou’s dad was a college track star in the 1910s, held the record for the mile for a number of years and placed fourth in the 1500m run in the 1912 Olympic Games in Stockholm, Sweden. After I finished the video, Dick asked me if I thought film footage of the race might exist. I told him I’d check around. I contacted a few film archives with no success, then managed to find my way to the Web site of the International Olympic Committee. I submitted a query through the site, and then went on to other things. After about a month, I received an e-mail from an archivist at the IOC. Believe it or not there was a film clip, thirty seconds long, of the race I was looking for! Long story short, the IOC sent me the clip. The quality of the film was surprisingly good and gave views of the starting line, the mid point of the race and the finish. I added a title screen and created two versions of the clip, one running at normal speed and one in slow motion, adding a freeze frame of Mary-Lou’s father crossing the finish line. Then I put it all on DVD. After watching the footage, Mary-Lou wrote me, saying, “You can’t imagine what a thrill it was to see Dad running. That was an amazing thing you did for us but it meant the most to me. Thank you again and again.” I feel great knowing I helped make a very special and unique addition to a family’s archive.

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An Olympic Family History Moment

By Katana Abbott No matter what our life circumstances may be, every one of us longs for something better, something more. We think, though, that we are different than those that already have what we desire. We think we have to work hard and long to achieve even the smallest amount of success. The truth is, we can have it without years of blood, sweat and tears, if we understand five basic principals or “secrets” to creating our Perfect Life. The secrets are: Identify what’s not working in your life. The things that are not working in your personal life are showing up in your financial life. The things that are not working in your financial life are showing up in your personal life. Consider what’s happening for you: * Financially – are you in debt? Do you have cash reserves? Are you saving 10 percent?Personally – are you growing? Do you wake up excited to start the day? * Career – are you passionate about your job or career? Why? * Health – are you taking care of yourself? * Relationships – do you have great relationships? Visualize your Perfect Life Close your eye and visualize your perfect life three years from now. What are you doing? What are you wearing? Where are you living? How does it feel? What has to happen in the next three years for you to be feel that way every day? Make a Decision to Change and Prepare for Resistance…FEAR Resistance comes out in statements such as: “I’m too busy, I’ll do it later, This is boring, it’s not my thing, I meant to, but I forgot..” and other excuses. Recognize that these are excuses, and you are in resistance – craving the comfort of the familiar. Your challenge is to accept temporary discomfort for the opportunity to change and grow. Your family and friends may not support you, but when you embrace your fear and walk through the door of uncertainty, you’ll come face-to-face with your personal power – and have control over your own life. Create a Game Plan Create a list of clearly defined goals. You may not think this important, but a Harvard Study showed that 30 years after graduation, the 3 percent of students who had written goals were more successful than the other 97 percent combined, and were also healthier and happier. Make separate lists for personal goals, family/friends goals, financial goals and career goals. This is an important step in the holistic approach to financial freedom and being “in your power.” Write your goals in the present tense, print them out, review them daily. We get what we focus on, so focus on what you want – not what you don’t want. Find Support/Get Help/Hold yourself Accountable Educate yourself. Read books on personal growth, financial planning, whatever areas you feel you need to explore. Register for classes and seminars. Hire a financial planner or a coach. Join or create a support group, such as those at WebMD or Smart Women’s Coaching. Your Perfect Life will not come about overnight. It is a process, one that comes about from understanding the power of our thoughts and focused action. Put these five “secrets” into practice in your life, and you will achieve your Perfect Life!

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Five Secrets for Creating your Perfect Life – Personally and Financially

by Steve Pender, video biographer & personal historian, Family Legacy Video, Inc. We’ve seen the scene in movies countless times. Bereaved relatives gather in a lawyer’s office. An attorney picks up a sheet of paper and begins to read, “I (insert name here) being of sound mind, do hereby bequeath my estate to…” And so on and so forth. A last will and testament, the document that details how a person disposes of his or her physical property after death, is a pretty common concept. But there’s another kind of will gaining popularity, one that focuses on spiritual and moral values as opposed to physical assets. And this will is often passed along before the will’s writer passes on. It’s called an ethical will. Ethical wills have actually been around for three thousand years, but they’ve gained newfound popularity since 9/11. They can take the form of personal letters written to a child, grandchild, niece or nephew, an audio recording or a video. Ethical wills can incorporate anything a person believes is meaningful enough to pass on. The Web site www.ethicalwill.com lists some common themes: Important personal values and beliefs Important spiritual values Hopes and blessings for future generations Life’s lessons Expressions of love Forgiving others and asking for forgiveness   Why create an ethical will? According to www.ethicalwill.com, some reasons are: We all want to be remembered, and we all will leave something behind If we don’t tell our stories, no one else will and they will be lost forever It helps you identify what you value most and what you stand for By articulating what we value now, we can take steps to insure the continuation of those values for future generations You learn a lot about yourself in the process of writing an ethical will It helps us come to terms with our mortality by creating something of meaning that will live on after we are gone It provides a sense of completion in our lives Video can be a powerful medium for passing along your values to a loved one. The conviction in your words and the passion in your eyes will leave a profound impression on the person for whom you create your video ethical will, as well as the generations that follow. You don’t have to do anything fancy from a video standpoint. To ensure a good quality video, either hire a professional or do-it-yoursef employing some of the basic organization, lighting and sound techniques described in the Family Legacy Video™ Producer’s Guide . An ethical will can be a wonderful gift and a long lasting legacy, made all the more powerful by the use of video.

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Ethical Wills on Video

What is a Will and How Does a Will Work? It is more critical than ever with our unpredictable economy that families do the proper estate planning. Otherwise, all of the assets that they worked so long and hard to build and preserve, could be wasted on probate court, taxes, attorneys, long term care costs, and too many other costs to mention. This article will examine how families can preserve the assets that they want to pass on to their loved ones in spite of the threatening economy. Many people assume that once they execute a will, all of their affairs are in order for when they pass away. It is a myth that a will provides for our future and the security of our loved ones. Nothing can be further from the truth. A will does not provide protection from a lifetime disability. A will only becomes effective when we die and it is given life by the probate court. A WILL IS A GUARANTEE TO PROBATE. The only good thing about probate court is that you can avoid it. However, a lot of people do not realize the following: every will has to go through probate court if an individual dies with assets in his or her individual name without a co-owner, owned by a trust, or have beneficiary designation; a will is a public document and therefore, anyone can go to the courthouse and look up what someone owned when they passed away and to whom they left their money to; probate court can be a time consuming process; unhappy family members (i.e. individuals that have been disinherited or that have received less money than other beneficiaries) can contest the will; and probate court can be expensive. Notwithstanding the same, if you have a will and pass away, the Personal Representative of your will must take your will to the appropriate probate court and file it along with all of the accompanying probate paperwork. Sometimes a Personal Representative will have to post a bond. In the event that an “interested party” wants to contest any portion of the will, a hearing will be set. In order to open an estate in probate court, there is a filing fee. In order to close the estate in probate court, an inventory fee must be paid which is calculated on the value of the assets. Under Michigan law, an estate in probate court can be closed as soon as four months after publication, once the period for creditor objections has expired, but the average probate estate in Michigan takes approximately 1 year from start to finish. Revocable Living Trust: What You Need to Know If you think that a revocable living trust is only for millionaires, you couldn’t be more wrong. Whether you earn $25,000.00 or $1,000,000.00 per year, whether your assets are large or small, a revocable living trust will save you money and increase the value of your estate. A revocable living trust can offer benefits to just about everyone. Do you want to avoid probate court? Minimize estate taxes? Do you need to boost the protected spousal resource allowance for Medicaid? Do you need protection for a disabled child, adult, or relative? Do you want to prevent your beneficiaries from paying substantial capital gains taxes for appreciated property such as real estate and stocks? Do you want to prevent a “will contest”? Do you want to keep your estate private after you pass away? If your answer to any or all of these questions is “yes”, a revocable living trust may be for you. A revocable living trust is a trust that you control. You are the trustee, the manager of your living trust, just as you are the manager of your assets now, nothing changes. The “revocable” aspect of a living trust means that you are in control. It means once you create it, you can always change it. You can revoke it or amend all or part of it. The “living” aspect means that it is created and funded while you are alive and provides for you during your lifetime. If drafted properly, a living trust, in the event of a lifetime disability, can help you avoid the need for a “living probate” (conservatorship) over your assets. This means that you only change title to your property to your name as trustee. This does not mean that all your assets must be sold and invested in a bank or company. You change only the title. It is that simple. Remember the agony created at death from an estate that goes through probate court is caused when your name is taken off the title and property is transferred to your heirs. It is costly, time consuming and a matter of public record. In a living trust, title does not change at death, just the name of the trustee changes. There is no delay, minimal cost, no publicity, no probate and if possible, estate taxes are minimized. A living trust has been praised by our nation’s leading financial planners, and reported in publications such as The Wall Street Journal, Money Magazine, Business Week and many other publications. A revocable living trust offers the following benefits: • Your assets will not be subject to probate, either during your lifetime, in the event that you become disabled, or once you pass away. • Your wishes and plans are private. Remember, if you do not have a trust, your assets will most likely be probated upon your death. Probate documents are public records that can be accessed by anyone. • A revocable living trust is easy to create, change, administer and maintain. You maintain complete control of your assets. • You can eliminate costly legal and court fees with a living trust. And you don’t have to be rich to enjoy its benefits. • You maintain complete control of your assets, are able to buy and sell assets as before, and will file the same tax returns. • Upon your death, your assets can be quickly distributed, if the trust so instructs. Alternatively, your assets can be held in the trust and administered pursuant to your wishes. • In the event of your disability, the successor trustee will administer the trust for your benefit without needing a conservatorship from the probate court. • By including special needs provisions you can protect children and adults with a disability from losing their governmental benefits such as Medicaid and SSI while still providing for their special needs. • A revocable living trust is difficult to contest and can contain a provision that should a beneficiary contest the provisions of the trust, he or she will be disinherited. • A married couple establishing separate revocable living trusts with estate tax provisions can be used to minimize estate taxes. • A revocable living trust provides the caregiver spouse the opportunity to protect and preserve assets in the event that they predecease their disabled spouse. • The distribution of a living trust is limited to one’s imagination. You can include provisions: that match a beneficiary’s income, provide for retirement, test for drugs, provide for a down payment to purchase a home or for an accredited education. A revocable living trust offers many benefits that a will and joint ownership of assets do not. Oftentimes, a revocable living trust is the best type of estate planning. Pitfalls of Joint Ownership You may have heard of the terms “joint tenants with right of survivorship,” “tenants in common,” or “tenants by the entireties.” All of these are forms of what is known as “joint tenancy.” Joint tenancy means that more than one person owns the property. Many people own property together with someone else, such as a spouse or child, often believing that upon the death of one, the other will take immediate ownership of the property without the probate court. Joint ownership is generally not the best method of passing your property to your heirs and often results in many pitfalls. However, effective estate planning, including a living trust, can overcome the pitfalls and avoid the intervention of the courts. If you add a person to the title of your assets, you will become partners with their life problems. If a child or other joint owner has creditor problems, such as a divorce or a lawsuit, the child’s creditors can legally come after the parents’ money and assets when the child is a joint owner. Also,
if a child refuses to allow the parents to sell an asset, which requires the signature of all owners, such as real estate or stocks, the parent would be unable to access the equity in those assets. In addition, if a child becomes disabled, the parents may not be able to sell their assets unless they obtain a conservatorship over their child, allowing the parent to legally handle the child’s financial affairs and to sign legal documents on behalf of the child. Finally, children will, most likely, be required to pay capital gains taxes upon the parents’ death in addition to any estate taxes that may be due. Joint ownership may avoid probate court, but ultimately, more taxes may be paid! Many people think, “How simple. I will just put my child’s name on this property and my beneficiaries will avoid all of the hassles of probate court upon my death. That way, I do not need to worry about a will.” Sometimes, it is advisable to title some or all of one’s property jointly with another. Frequently, however, it can cause an unexpected disaster. The manner in which you hold title to property needs to be carefully considered and designed as a part of your overall estate planning goals. There are a variety of risks or pitfalls that can arise through joint property ownership. Also, there is also a common belief that by adding a child’s name to a parent’s assets that it can be protected from Medicaid and the nursing home, which in most cases is untrue. Using a will or trust avoids the problems described above and for most families is more advantageous than the joint ownership of assets. Medical and End of Life Decisions (Durable power of attorney for Health care) How many of us plan for a lifetime disability? Leaving your planning to chance and unforeseen circumstances will only breed disaster. If you are unable to make your own medical decisions who will do so for you? Chances are that we will all suffer a debilitating illness such as Alzheimer’s or dementia or physical illness, before we die. Many of us have heard the term “living will” as the name of a document used to address our life support wishes. In Michigan, however, under our state statutory laws, we must use something called a “patient advocate” as living wills are not valid in Michigan. A patient advocate is a document in which you appoint an individual to make your end-of-life decisions, in the event that you become unable to make these decisions yourself and a living will is a general statement of your end of life wishes. Did you know that if you do become incapacitated you will become subject to a LIVING PROBATE? A probate proceeding for your health care and personal decisions is called a guardianship. It is a common misunderstanding to believe that your spouse, child or relative can act for you during a disability. The truth is, if you cannot make your own decisions or sign your name, a court will. “ Guardianship is a drastic remedy, a cannon used to swat a fly .” Frankly, a Guardianship is not necessary. In fact, the probate court process is optional. It is your choice. Everyone over the age of 18 can avoid a guardianship by creating a comprehensive patient advocate, more commonly known as a durable power of attorney for health care. The word “durable” means that it is different from an ordinary power of attorney in that it is not affected by incapacity. Once you grant a durable power of attorney, as long as you are competent you can revoke it. The only time a durable power of attorney terminates is upon death, voluntary revocation or by Court order. Simply put, a durable power of attorney is a legal document that allows you to delegate your personal health care responsibilities to an agent. A proper patient advocate should cover all possible situations. Specifically your patient advocate should address end of life, everyday medical and mental health decisions. You also want to make sure that your patient advocate contains upto-date provisions. Michigan and the Congress has passed several new laws, such as the Do-Not-Resuscitate, Hospice Care, and HIPAA (medical privacy) laws, which may not be reflected in Patient advocates that were prepared prior to 2002. As elder law attorneys, we draft medical durable powers of attorneys to address end of life and mental health decisions when one is unable to participate in their decisions (is incapacitated). However, in light of federal privacy acts such as HIPAA and the need to be involved in one’s care before a crisis we address day to day medical decisions to be effective immediately. We cannot stress the importance of this oversight by most attorneys! Estate Planning is more important than ever with our unstable economy. Families who do the proper planning will be able to preserve more money in a time where every dollar counts more than ever. Please contact Danielle Mayoras for additional information or questions at dmayoras@brmmlaw.com or 1-877-PLAN-758. You can also visit: www.TheCenterForElderLaw.com , www.TheCenterForSpecialNeedsPlanning.com , www.TheCenterforProbateLitigation.com and subscribe to our bi-monthly e-letter, The Insight: News, Stories, and Thoughts on Elder, Special Needs, and Probate Law. Reprinted from Alzheimer’s Disease & Related Dementias: a Guidebook for Care, Comfort, Legal and Financial Security. Posted in Aging Parents

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How Proper Estate Planning Can Preserve and Protect Assets for Families