How to Get Your Aging Parents to Talk about and Do Their Estate Planning

As a Gen X kid with Baby Boomer parents, I have found that our generations have very different ideas when it comes to talking about death and money. Boomers often seem averse to discussing these matters, for many reasons. Sometimes they think it’s crass for their kids to be asking them about what they’re “getting.” Sometimes they feel shame about discussing money and death. Sometimes they were just raised to believe that discussion about money and death (like religion and politics) is impolite. Whatever the reasons your aging parents might have for being tough to crack when it comes to these discussions, I have some tips on how to get them to talk and do their estate planning.

Back to School: Emergency Contacts

It’s Back-to-School time, which means that you have to fill out those “emergency contact” forms again. It’s important that you fill them out properly, naming emergency contacts who have the legal authority to care for your kids and who know what the plan is and who they should contact if something happens to you, the parent. I thought I’d put together some tips for parents who are filling out these forms.

The 3 Legal Documents Your College Kid Needs

When your adult (18+) child is going off to college, there are three important legal documents that are important for her/him/them to execute before leaving. (Actually, anyone over age 18 needs these documents.) These documents will allow parents to help their child in the even their child has an emergency or iso other wise incapacitated and unable to manage financial and health decisions. It happens more frequently than you would think. College kids experience mental health issues, get in accidents, and get serious illnesses like meningitis. Having the correct documentation to be able to get information and act on it in vital.

Revocable Living Trust, Living Will, Will - What's the difference?

Many people get the terminology mixed up when discussing estate planning, so I thought I’d break down some of the commonly confused terms: revocable living trusts, living wills, and wills. Each of these is a distinctly different thing with its own purpose.

How to name guardians for your kids

A huge percentage of parents who haven’t done their estate planning yet are stuck on who to name as guardians for their kids. Here in Portland, Oregon, so many people have moved here from other places, and so they might not have any family in town, and they might have moved here to get away from a family or cultural dynamic that they don’t want their kids to be a part of. This makes choosing guardians difficult.

How to protect your assets from divorces and creditors: Lessons from 'Big Little Lies'

I have been watching an HBO show called Big Little Lies, which is a fantastic show, but also has some lessons on estate planning. [Spoilers!] In a recent situation this season, a character named Renata (on the left in the photo above) learns that her husband is in trouble for insider trading, and that because of the way they own their assets as a married couple in the state they live in (California), everything they have is at risk and they must declare bankruptcy and sell off everything that the bankruptcy trustee tells them to sell—their home, Renata’s wedding ring, everything. To make matters worse, Renata finds out at the bankruptcy hearing that her husband has been procuring sexual favors from the nanny and promising her additional compensation for her services. This is all a huge blow to Renata, who came from a poor background, worked for everything she built, and is now having everything taken away due to her husband’s actions.

What to do if you get a substantial increase in income or net worth.

From time to time, I get a call from an old or prospective client who wants to know what to do now that they have run into a lot of money, either through receiving higher income or through receiving a large lump sum due to inheritance, lawsuit win, or other event. There are several key areas to keep in mind, but the overall rule is to call your estate planning lawyer and accountant right away.

Why do I need a Revocable Living Trust?

Everyone who has any assets (like a home or a retirement account or a business) has probably heard about Revocable Livings Trusts and wondered whether they need to set one up. At my office in Portland, Oregon, the main estate planning tool that I use to help my clients is a Revocable Living Trust. There are many reasons why so many of my clients choose to plan their estates with a Revocable Living Trust, rather than with a Will-based plan. Here are some of those reasons.

Eeps, Chris Cornell missed a planning opportunity and it's hurting his daughter!

Another day, another celebrity estate plan gone wrong (maybe). Chris Cornell, the musician known for being the frontman of Soundgarden and Audioslave, died over two years ago, but his estate is back in the news because his daughter filed a claim to receive funds from the estate.

5 Lessons for Parents to Learn from Aretha Franklin's Estate

As we all know, the Queen of Soul, Aretha Franklin, died last August, and appeared to have died without an estate plan in place to determine the distribution of her $25 million estate. Her estate was back in the news recently because her son filed to take over as executor after three handwritten wills were found. Of course, we all wonder why rich people so frequently die without a proper estate plan in place, but there are lessons here for regular people like you and me, as well. Here are a few that popped up for me just reading the recent news.

The #1 Thing You Are Putting Off: Estate Planning [Do the Damn Thing podcast, with guest Candice Aiston]

Candice was interviewed on the Do the Damn Thing podcast to talk about the #1 thing that the podcast listeners reported that they were putting off: Estate Planning.

On the episode, Candice talks about the 3 documents that everyone over 18 should have in place, the additional documents that all parents should have in place, whether you should DIY your estate plan, why people put off estate planning, how to get started on estate planning, and so much more.

Roots + Wings Legal Podcast, Episode 1: Interview with Anne Tegtmeier

Introducing the Roots + Wings Legal Podcast, hosted by Aiston Law LLC and Portland, Oregon Attorney Candice Aiston. In our inaugural episode, we talk with Anne Tegtmeier, owner of Fan Fare: Theme Catering, about what life looks like when a parent develops dementia and is seduced by scammers. It happened to Anne while she was starting her company and raising her young daughter Lily, as a single parent.

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