Category: Wisdoms

  • Nurturing Your Financial Freedom

    As we all get older, our needs in life change. That can happen in both large and small ways. But one thing we all need to consider is the journey of long-term financial planning. While that can seem like a huge task, by breaking it down into manageable steps, we can all work towards financial…

  • Grief & Bereavement — Part VIII

    In Sherry Turkle’s book, Reclaiming Conversation: The Power of Talk In A Digital Age, she writes about the process of the virtuous circle of communication by discussing the poet, Henry David Thoreau’s moving to Waldon Pond to live more deliberately. Thoreau furnished his cabin with three chairs. One chair to represent solitude, where he could…

  • Estate Planning 101

    The first step in the estate planning process is learning. What do you need to learn? I suggest this as your starting point: You need to discover how to stay in control of your stuff while you are able to be in control, as well as how to be sure that that your wishes will…

  • Tips for Entering Retirement Solo

    Approximately 23 million Americans ages 65 and older are single, divorced or widowed, according to the most recent data available from the U.S. Census Bureau. That means there are many people in this country who are planning their retirement on their own, without the help of a spouse or partner.

  • Grief & Bereavement — Part VII

    Estate planning attorneys help their  clients make sound, intentional decisions relating to their estate plans when they manage to help clients minimize guilt, conflict and anxiety. At the same time, survivors should be allowed experience the natural process of grief.

  • The Great Certainties: Death & Taxes

    They say that the only certainties in life are death and taxes. When your life comes to an end, your loved ones can be left facing both certainties at the same time. The good news is that to some extent, we can postpone both, and we can avoid (notice I did not say evade) taxes…

  • Pay Off Debt or Invest: A Balancing Act

    If you find yourself with extra cash — either a lump sum or excess dollars from your monthly paycheck — you may be wondering what to do with it. If you have debt — such as a mortgage or student loans — the prudent option may be to pay off your balances. Yet it might…

  • Grief & Bereavement — Part VI

    While the attorney is an expert in the estate planning process, the client is the expert about their own life, grief and choices. The attorney, as counselor, helps clients find solutions and make choices as they compassionately facilitate the estate planning process. Holistic planning involves more than probate avoidance and tax minimization. It is person-centered,…

  • Financial Freedom in Your Golden Years

    Aging is a process that’s changing. We’re now living longer and more active lives. And as we approach our later years, many of us have strong feelings about where and how we want to spend this period of our lives.

  • Don’t Do It Yourself: DIY Estate Plans

    You can devise your estate plan without lawyers or accountants. All you need is a credit card, a computer, a printer and access to the internet. Armed with those four things, you can create one or more documents that may — or may not — accomplish what you expect.

  • Grief & Bereavement — Part V

    Clients who start the estate planning process do so with the knowledge that they will die one day. This death awareness comes with some degree of death anxiety, as  well as anticipatory grief.