LIVE WELL and BE REMEMBERED as the HERO you already are.

When a client passes. As an Estate Planner, you plan for a client to pass away.  You do your best to help them “leave a legacy of peace and not a legacy of chaos”.  You help them create “The Plan”. Even though the topic of death is discussed every day in my office, it still has an impact on me when I get the call or email that: “Mr. Jones died Friday.  I just wanted you to know.” Their passage leaves a mark.  As an attorney, hopefully, I spent enough time with the client to make sure their wishes were accurately reflected. As a person, I may remember a laugh that we shared as we discussed their wishes.  I may remember what a delight (or tyrant) they were in our discussions. As a person of faith, was their salvation secure?  While the business of Estate Planning anticipates the passage of a client, I don’t know that as a person, you are ever fully prepared. 

This is a true story, from a lady who was in my office witnessing a client signing her Will.   It is also an example of the unlicensed practice of law.   I am both an attorney and an insurance agent. I have two (2) licenses. One (1) was hard to get. One (1) wasn’t. Guess which one (1) fits each category.   There is a lot of argument in the insurance and financial world about helping clients draft their Wills, Trusts and Powers of Attorney while getting paid to do so. Why?  Money .   Tennessee defines the practice of law as: As used in this chapter, unless the context otherwise requires: (1) “Law business” means the  advising or counseling for valuable consideration  of any person as to any secular law,  the drawing or the procuring of or assisting in the drawing for valuable consideration of any paper,   document or instrument affecting or relating to secular rights, the doing of any act for valuable consideration in a r...

Recently a question was asked regarding expungement (expunction) of criminal records.  This reminded me of a scenario I've seen a few times that might be helpful to someone here. I have seen expungement (expunction) leave a “shadow” on a person's record. Here's the scenarios I've seen:  The “conviction” was expunged, but the arrest record with the police department wasn’t included in the destruction of the file. The arrest warrant was missed whenever the court expunged the conviction.  Since the entire court file gets destroyed, the arresting agency, which keeps its own records, has no order to show that the arrest should be removed from the record.  That scenario created a real issue for the individual since the file was destroyed with the court but not the arrest with the police department.  I’ve also seen one (1) conviction get expunged, but a companion conviction not be expunged. In that instance the companion sentence referred to the now expunged case....

I am an insurance nerd. I admit it.  My previous career was as a Property and Casualty Insurance Adjuster.  I reviewed a lot of policies and case law.  Tennessee law is quite clear when it comes to interpreting contractual insurance policy language.  Tennessee law will enforce it.   Very few policies have wording that's truly hard to understand.  So, the words on the page are pretty easy to figure out. In this recent case , the homeowner had moved out of the house and allowed someone else to move in.  IT HAPPENS ALL THE TIME.  The problem is that you have to make sure the insurer is aware and then something bad happens, like a fire.   The same goes for unoccupied residences, which often comes up in Probate cases.  Ignore the policy wording at your own peril!

In Estate Planning for older individuals, a key is whether or not they have the necessary capacity to enter into the documents they are signing. In Tennessee, and I'm sure many other states, the person does not have to have perfect health and mental recollection for that.  Here's a recent case where the court reiterates the standard.  It states ...all that is necessary is “that the contracting party reasonably knew and understood the nature, extent, character, and effect of the transaction ." That's it.  It's not superhuman.  It's not even the standard of the "reasonably prudent man".  It simply whether or not they reasonably know and understood the transaction, at the time of the signing.   In this case, the issue is over a Power of Attorney, which led to a skilled facility admission, then a death, and then a lawsuit.  Isn't it amazing how a domino effect can wind up in litigation?  It was all from one apparently "simple" document. May...

I know I'm a bit of an insurance nerd, but Long Term Care (LTC) insurance coverage simply fascinates me.  For many people, it's the bridge, in their final years, between health insurance (often Medicare) and life insurance. There are many fascinating variations of LTC, but the ones that interests me the most are those that are participating in the LTC Partnership program (Qualified State Long Term Care Partnership Program). What's that mean?  That means that the policy has met certain criteria, so that when the policyholder passes away AND Medicaid (in my case, Tenncare) has a recovery interest in their estate, then the estate gets credit, due to the LTC policy, to offset any recovery efforts by Medicaid. (This means there's a better chance of the kids getting granny's old house.) What does this benefit the policyholder? They have more control over where they spend their final years, as opposed to having Medicaid dictate where they reside. And, their estate gets a...

  In my Estate Planning, the topic of "planning for Medicaid" often comes up. I don't know why we, in the U.S., have gotten so oriented toward thinking we'll need "Medicaid" when we are one of the richest countries in the world.   I believe that planning for Medicaid is akin to planning for FAILURE. Why do I believe this?   As a teen, I worked in Nursing Homes and Assisted Living Centers. The staff always knew which beds were "Medicaid Beds". Those beds were always limited. Did they receive essentially the same care? Sure, but it was still known that the spot was "Medicaid".   Medicaid has limited options. Medicaid is subject to change at lawmakers' whims. Medicaid is designed for the truly poor. Why would triggering Medicaid be your goal?  Have you ever been in a Medicaid predominant  (only) facility and liked it?  Would you want to live that way?   I prefer to see people have more options as they age. I prefer to see people take mor...

Rick Denley recently wrote Reinventing Yourself .   That's what I've been doing since March!  My guidance has been under the tutoring of guys like Darrel Amy , Larry Levine and Mike Garrison .  I appreciate each one of them.  Recently Rick was interviewed by Darrell and Larry on the Selling From the Heart podcast. I really resonated with the discussion.  I highly recommend you check it out . For me, COVID has been all about reinventing myself.  This has come from better utilizing what I already have and equipping myself with modern tools to thrive in modern times. One of the greatest lines of the most recent podcast was: You're smarter than you think. You're braver than you believe.   And much more courageous than you ever thought. Rick Denley That's fantastic! I encourage you to get the book .  I encourage you to check out the podcasts: Selling from the Heart and Revenue Growth Engine . If you have not already started the process, star...

Divorce is ALWAYS hard.  I don't enjoy divorce law.  However, I enjoy helping people find peace .  One of my favorite scriptures on this is I Corinthians 7:15 TPT: But if the unbelieving spouse wants a divorce, then let it be so. In this situation the believing spouse is not bound to the marriage , for God has called us to live in peace. Too often the religious mindset would try to keep the marriage Paul is referencing together.  That's not what he is saying.  His emphasis is not on staying together simply to stay together.  He says " live in peace ."  His emphasis is peace . Too often people beat themselves up over having to let a spouse go, when it's necessary.  If the spouse has moved out, is hooked on porn, alcohol or drugs, guess what, they, typically want something other than the marriage.  Even a person's spending compulsions can be an addiction and an issue. Do you try to salvage the marriage? Absolutely .  Unfortunately, the ev...

  COVID has heightened my awareness to the changes in society and law.  As a result of COVID, many hearings are now video.  Some hearings are now being skipped all together and being conducted solely on the filings. Should this change have come sooner?  Yes.  But, it is what it is. What does this mean for the average lawyer?  They have to adapt and change as well.  Hearings that used to take half (1/2) a day now take half (1/2) an hour.  For many, this has destroyed the billable hour.   It has also destroyed a business model that was designed around inefficient courts.  For others, they have had to recognize that many of their clients are now "cash strapped" and can't afford what they used to.  For others, it means business locations shutting down to better "weather the storm". What do we do?  Here's some ideas: Figure out the power and cost effectiveness of Social Media, then leverage it. Figure out that we are all in Sal...