Month: October 2012

The Value of Family Stories in Your Estate Plan

October 27, 2012 /

Most families think of “wealth” as a dollar amount or financial standing.  Yet, the true “wealth” that all of us has is our values, insights, stories and experiences – this is what I call Whole Family Wealth.   Making sure that this “intangible” wealth is part of your estate plan is critical.  Yet, very, very few families take the step to include this true “wealth” in their plan – and, sadly, very, very few attorneys ever think about it.

But it’s beyond important, which is why we include a Priceless Conversation in our planning with each of our client families.  It’s recorded conversation on any number of topics, meant to capture a little bit of who they are and what’s important to them.  I’m very passionate about each client family doing a Priceless Conversation.  And yes, sometimes maybe even a little pushy.  But with good reason – because I’ve made the mistake of missing one and you can read about it in this previous post.  That was the hardest post I’ve written, from an emotional standpoint.

And I was beyond touched to recently read this post by one of my wonderful client families.  I’m not going to reproduce any of it here because it is well worth your time to read it yourself.  Let’s just say that they truly realize the gift they are giving their children through capturing their Whole Family Wealth through Priceless Conversations and, moreso, through their blog.  And don’t forget to read the comments at the bottom of post.  They are powerful and share personal stories of how important this “intangible” wealth is.

Ready to have an estate plan for your Whole Family Wealth not just financial assets?  Call us at 616-827-7596 to schedule a Peace of Mind Planning Session today!

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and charitable planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for “stuff” – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate, charitable, and asset protection planning for all generations (“young” and “experienced”), the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses, and pet planning.  He enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients centered on their family’s values, insights, stories and experiences.

Even The Rich and Famous Struggle with Naming Guardians for Their Children

October 20, 2012 /

As many of my blog readers know, I’m beyond passionate about spreading the word on the importance of parents nominating guardians for their minor children.  It’s why I regularly speak at schools, daycare, preschools, MOMS groups, and MOPS groups in the Grand Rapids, Mi area.  It’s also why we make sure every family with minor children has a comprehensive Children Protection Plan in place.

As a caring parent, naming guardians for your children will be the most important decision you ever make . . . and for many, it’s the most difficult decision too.  Take, for instance, Adam Yauch – founder of Beastie Boys.  As you can see from this Forbes.com article, Yauch really struggled with naming guardians for his children.  I won’t say his decision – you’ll have to read the article for that.

Wealthy or not wealthy, famous or not famous, many parents struggle with this decision.  Unfortunately, the vast majority of parents come to the worst possible solution – they don’t name guardians at all.  Not naming anyone is not a solution – it can cause an extreme amount of hurt and anguish, and ultimately will mean that a court determine who cares for your children.  Is that what you would want?  Trust me, you can do it.  Although I’ve met with many parents who didn’t agree on who should be guardian of their children or in what order, we have always come to a solution agreeable to both parents.

It reminds me of this blog post I wrote back in 2009.  It’s worth the read – trust me.

Don’t let your children be cared for by a court-appointed guardian if something happens to you.  Give us a call at 616-827-7597 and have the added peace of mind of having a caring plan in place for your family!

Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and charitable planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for “stuff” – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate, charitable, and asset protection planning for all generations (“young” and “experienced”), the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses, and pet planning.  He enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients centered on their family’s values, insights, stories and experiences.

Where Should I Keep My Estate Plan Documents?

October 7, 2012 /

Congratulations!  You took the very important step of putting an estate plan in place for you family.  Now, where should you keep your estate planning documents?  That’s the most common question I’m asked, and it’s a good one.  And, like most questions, there isn’t necessarily one, correct answer.  There are several good options and you should choose the one that works best for your family.

At Lichterman Law, we provide our clients with a very nice, sturdy estate planning portfolio binder which contains all their original estate planning documents, copies of a few of the more often used documents, and a cd containing pdf scanned copies of all of their estate planning documents.  We recommend that our clients keep their original wills, guardian nominations, and cd in a home safe.  We also make sure that they use the Introduction tab of their estate planning portfolio binder as a place to write where those important originals are located.  No matter where you keep your estate plan documents, it’s critically important to let someone (or multiple people) know where it is, especially those people who you’ve nominated to carry out your plan (personal representatives, trustees, agents under powers of attorney, guardians for minor children, etc.).

So that’s what we recommend for our clients.  But, I realize not everyone reading this is one of our clients, so here are a few alternatives (some ok and some not):

  • Keep everything in a safe.  Although this is not a “bad” idea, I think it’s overkill and makes notifying others of the location and how to access the safe extra important, because time is of the essence when some of the estate planning documents are needed.
  • Safe deposit box at a bank or credit union.  Personally, I’m not a fan of safe deposit boxes because I’ve heard very few good stories about them.  That said, many families still place vital documents and other items in a safe deposit box.  Again, the key (pun intended) is making sure those people you’ve named for important roles in your plan know where the box is and how to access it (where the key is).
  • Somewhere “safe” in your home.  Some families don’t have an actual safe and will keep their planning documents in a “safe” place in their home.  This is ok, just make sure that “safe” place is well protected from fire and water.
  • An original will can be filed for a nominal fee with the probate court in the county you live in.  This is only an option for wills, and even then I don’t recommend it.  Why?  Because your life will change, what you have will change, what you want to have happen will change, and the laws will change, so if you truly care about your family, your estate plan will need to change too.  Sometimes there can be numerous changes over a person’s lifetime, and the court having the document is just one more thing to remember each of those time (retrieve and destroy the old will when the new one is signed).
Michael Lichterman is an estate planning and charitable planning attorney who helps families and business owners create a lasting legacy by planning for their Whole Family Wealth™.  This goes beyond merely planning for “stuff” – it’s about who your are and what’s important to you.  He focuses on estate, charitable, and asset protection planning for all generations (“young” and “experienced”), the “sandwich generation” (caring for parents and children), doctors/physicians, nurses, lawyers, dentists, professionals with minor children, family owned businesses, and pet planning.  He enjoys creating life long relationships with his clients centered on their family’s values, insights, stories and experiences.