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In today’s electronic age of smartphones, tablets and laptops, it is a challenge for many working professionals to detach from their jobs during non-working hours. If you are one of those who are tempted to check your work email when you are not at work, you should be aware of the research findings of YoungAh Park, Assistant Professor of psychology at Kansas State University. YoungAh Park found that detaching from your work mentally, physically and electronically is the key to recovering from job stress and managing your work-family boundaries. Staying connected to your job through checking work emails or text messages outside your normal working hours can be advantageous to your job. However, it can also lead to work-related stress that can spill over into your home and family life causing added stress between you, your spouse and your family.
For instance, if you receive an unpleasant email or text from a boss, co-worker, client or other business associate and you read the message after work hours, this could affect how you feel and behave toward your spouse or family and disrupt your home life. According to Park, “if one spouse is experiencing work stress, it can affect the other spouse. If both are stressed from work and neither is able to use the home as a place to recharge for the next day, the stress can build up at home rather than decrease.” When individuals are under stress their mental and physical resources are exhausted. Park says: “…they are less likely to self-regulate hostile behaviors and provide sufficient support for their spouse… If working couples don’t recuperate from their job stress while at home, they would be likely to fall into a spiral of lost resources.”
Data shows that people who are able to detach from their work have less burnout and are more energized with positive emotions, and they are more satisfied with their lives. Park recommends setting up strong technological boundaries and rules for restricting your work activities to during working hours and separating work from your home life. Granted, there are times when you may need to be involved in a work-related activity outside normal working hours. Let your co-workers, boss or employees know what your boundaries are and what they should expect so they can set their own boundaries. This helps everyone work harmoniously.
If you or your employees are not getting enough time to unwind from the stress of work-related activities, your company actually loses money. Research shows that everyone must be given the opportunity to be refreshed, rested and de-stressed from work activities so they are at their best to perform. By being able to detach from your work, both you and your business benefit. Job performance will improve, and your business will reap positive benefits because you will be performing at your peak.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Careful estate planning may help avoid later conflicts and challenges among the beneficiaries and heirs of a person after their death. It is not always easy for a person to discuss these matters with adult children. While communicating with one’s children ahead of time and expressing wishes about distribution of assets may be the ideal way for an individual to handle the situation, realistically families don’t always follow this practice. Far too often after a parent passes away, the children end up challenging the parent’s decisions.
An experienced and knowledgeable estate planning and trust attorney can help an individual prepare for a discussion of their intentions with their children first before the trust agreement is drafted. A trust challenge can be a long and costly process delaying the distribution of assets to the beneficiaries and legal costs can ultimately reduce the value of the estate. Thus, it is a smart planning strategy for the individual to try and resolve any anticipated disputes prior to the creation of the trust. The chances of a beneficiary or heir challenging the trust after the decedent’s death can be reduced when all parties to the trust are aware of the parent’s intentions.
Of course, there may still be situations that arise after a parent’s death where family members may not agree on all financial decisions made by the trustee. A typical example of this is when the deceased parent’s house is the major asset of the estate, and it needs to be sold in order to distribute the sale proceeds to the children. Typically, the house is appraised and sold at market value depending on real estate market conditions. One or more beneficiaries may be unsatisfied with the proposed sales price or terms. However, choosing a trustee that has the beneficiary’s best interests at heart and has the mutual respect and trust of the beneficiaries will make a big difference in how the conflict gets resolved.
While many people prefer to appoint a surviving spouse or child as the trustee to administer the trust, the size of the estate and type of assets may require the selection of co-trustees, a neutral third party or a professional financial planner or trust manager to act as the trustee. Since every person’s financial situation is unique, the attorney will be able to guide the individual in choosing the best suited person or entity to act as trustee.
From a financial and practical sense, the best way for a parent to avoid major conflicts between their beneficiaries after their death is for the elderly parent to consult with an experienced estate and trust attorney who can help them sit down with their children and discuss their estate planning choices. This way everyone is aware of what to expect later and any concerns or disagreements can be addressed upfront. Even though it may be difficult or unpleasant for both parent and children to have such a conversation, everyone benefits in the end by avoiding conflicts, challenges and delays later when it comes time for the trustee to administer the trust and distribute the assets.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
The Wall Street Journal reported on a move from Jacoby & Meyers to break into the “Do It Yourself” (DIY) marketplace. As we all know, the DIY industry is all around us.
This is an interesting move for Jacoby & Meyers, which bills itself as “America’s most familiar law firm.” The leading firm is about to become even more familiar to people across the country, as its venture into the DIY industry was made possible by a partnership with USLegal Forms, Inc. (which boasts the SEO-friendly domain name legalforms.com). The USLegal Forms, Inc. database currently offers access to 85,000 legal forms to make the drafting process easier and more efficient.
As Jacoby & Meyers enters the field as a competitor to LegalZoom.com, Inc., they seem to be positioning themselves as DIY combined with expert attorney services, if wanted. While LegalZoom.com currently houses one of the largest online legal forms databases, making it an easy-to-use platform for non-lawyers to bypass hefty attorney fees to draft wills, real estate leases and other common forms, it offers only secondary services for those who need legal opinions. LegalZoom.com’s attorney database is available for only a monthly fee, and though it connects users to company-vetted lawyers, it does not provide an in-house legal team to help walk people through the intricacies of the law. Jacoby & Meyers may attempt to fill this gap through its partnership with LegalForms.com.
In an era where the legal industry is constantly shifting toward a digital landscape, it is no wonder that a law firm would try to capitalize on such a big business. LegalZoom.com has shown there is a DIY marketplace. Another company created the industry years ago. Nolo Press began publishing DIY books back in 1971. The LegalZoom.com, and now Jacoby & Meyers iteration is no surprise. This is a true demonstration of innovation in legal services, an industry that is currently in the midst of a major overhaul.
As human beings, we learn to adapt to our surroundings. While there may be some people who assert that the legal field is in crisis, I prefer a more positive view of the future. We are learning to adapt to a changing landscape, and just as a large firm such as Jacoby & Meyers can grow into the digital age by entering the legal forms industry, every lawyer has the opportunity to adapt his or her practice to reap the benefits of technological innovation. In addition, the real opportunity is providing solutions that technology can never replace!
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
We recently were reminded of the impact each of your firms have on your clients and community. Last week we attended our annual law firm holiday open house. It is a wonderful reminder of many things. Much of what we have focused on comes to life when we walk into the Armstrong, Fisch & Tutoli Law Firm and are greeted by our staff and clients. Although we are not there day to day, the faces of everyone confirmed that our “why” is alive and well. The most memorable are the client comments; the appreciation we heard, the generations of families served, and the specific stories clients told of how our firm had helped them and their families. It’s always a moving and humbling experience to be reminded of the impact we intended and how it lines up with what others feel has been delivered.
As the Academy wraps almost two decades of serving law firms who serve clients just like ours, it’s the perfect time to reflect on what matters most.
First, it’s about relationships. For both of us, it’s with great pride that we look back on the relationships we have established with members, their families and staff over the past two decades. Our association with the extraordinarily talented firms we’ve had the privilege of serving is beyond what we ever thought possible.
Second, helping you help others. The number of clients across 44 states who’ve had the good fortune of working with an Academy member is staggering. Improving your relationships with your clients is the foundation of the services the Academy offers. The responsibility of providing legal education, comprehensive documents, one on one coaching, state of the art technology and a host of other tools so you can have the credibility you deserve in your community is daunting. We thank you for the trust, confidence and opportunity you have given us.
Finally, there’s a financial impact we see for our Members. As we wrap up the year and begin our review of the first 25 or so sets of financials that have already started to come in, it’s clear that the Academy’s tools and strategies has had a positive impact on the financial security of so many members and their staff. We are reminded regularly of the privilege we have to work with some of the brightest, most successful attorneys anywhere.
Our “why” is very simple: to transform the lives and practices of estate planning attorneys across the country, and we thank you for your commitment and passionate execution of systems and strategies that have had such a dramatic impact on your community.
As the new year launches, we hope that you’re reflecting on your “why.” It is the one thing that can always keep you centered. Be clear about what that is and share that message with your staff and your clients. Once stated clearly, the “how” and the “what” look after themselves and your vision shows up in every area of your practice.
Make this the year when everything you do rests upon the clarity of your WHY. Remember, your “why” isn’t a detailed agenda of what you will and won’t do. It is a purpose, a mission. It’s at the root of what lights you up. We encourage you to reflect on the past year. Look at the growth you’ve experienced personally and professionally. Look closely at the areas that may not have measured up to your intentions. Take a moment as the year ends to celebrate your victories and, in areas that may not have hit their potential, look again at your “why.” Often when the why isn’t defined, or it isn’t in alignment with what we’re doing, there is pain or, at the very least, a lack of satisfaction. It’s an easy adjustment to make at this time of the year as we plan out our future.
Our optimism about what lies ahead in 2013 could not be higher and the entire Academy Team looks forward to leading you into the future we are all creating. We firmly believe that our Spring Summit, where we celebrate our 20th Anniversary together, will be one of the most memorable gatherings in our history. It will be the perfect time to celebrate our relationships, our accomplishments and the achievement of our goals, but more importantly it will be a time to take aim at what’s possible. We’ll also be focusing on the importance of structures for ancillary businesses and continued emphasis on Elder Law tools. As an added bonus, we’ll have a number of sessions taught by the most popular speakers in our event history.
Finally, we want to acknowledge each of you for your commitment to continuous improvement as counselors and leaders in your communities. We are grateful and proud of our affiliation and we wish you a wonderful holiday season with health and prosperity in the New Year!
To your success in 2013,
Robert and Sandy
Robert Armstrong & Sanford M. Fisch
Co-Founders
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
In a perfect world, aging parents would all get along with their adult children, and end-of-life matters would not place a strain on relationships. Unfortunately, the world is not perfect. As such, dealing with matters of estate planning and administration may not always be rosy. In some cases, it can be downright difficult, such as when a deceased person’s children feel the need to challenge that person’s estate plans.
In a recent case, the daughters of a deceased woman successfully challenged the administration of a will after their mother died. According to the facts, the mother had passed away at a time when all of her financial matters were being managed by a friend. Unfortunately, the daughters had a strained relationship with the mother and knew little about the situation. The mother, who had been battling breast cancer, received a morphine administration just prior to her death, and while the autopsy initially showed that the mother died of breast cancer, the daughters hired another doctor who concluded that the mother died of morphine poisoning.
The daughters then challenged the administration of the estate based on wrongful death. They stated that the friend had unduly influenced the mother’s estate planning decisions. After a significant proceeding, a district court jury agreed.
Even though a notary and the woman’s attorney attested to the fact that the mother was of sound mind when creating estate plans, this did not bar the jury from finding that the friend was acting in her personal interest and that the wrongful death was a matter of interference with the inheritance.
Though in this situation, the tensions were high and the relationships strained, it leads to an important understanding. Even where it may not be easy to discuss end-of-life planning due to strained relationships, it is important to communicate based on these matters in order to help avoid situations that may arise as a result of duress or other undue influence.
Families that are in limbo can seek assistance through mediation, as a mediator can help guide the families to results that satisfy all family members. In the case above, the daughters now have recovered leases to some property owned by the mother, but not any monetary damages stemming from the alleged wrongful death. To avoid such complications down the road, it is essential for children to work with aging parents to come to a thorough understanding of matters relating to estate planning – regardless of how difficult that might seem in times of tension.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
It seems that anywhere and everywhere, companies require personal identification codes in order to maintain access. Everything from your personal ATM pin to your email accounts require you to create, maintain and keep a code in order to ensure access. When creating passwords, you can help protect your identity and your personal information by avoiding the following:
Birthdays as passwords: Birthday passwords are all too common, and if you are using one, all a thief needs is one glimpse at your driver’s license to have access to everything you own. Avoid using your anniversary as well.
Simple formations such as 1234 or 1111: A study showed that these two combinations were the most popular iPhone access codes. Stay away from them if you don’t want a stranger to have access to your information.
Using “password” as a password: It is quick and easy to remember, and so you’ve been using it as the access code to your computer since you first got one back in the 1980s. The problem is, so have millions of other people. Avoid it if you don’t want to be hacked.
Your street number: Using this as your password is as simple to crack as showing the thief a piece of paper with your letterhead.
Phone number: Anyone can easily figure out your code if they also have access to your phone number (which may even be posted on the Internet).
So, what should you use?
If you’re serious about the safety of your personal identity (and we hope you are!), then there are a few tried and true tips to help you create codes that James Bond himself couldn’t crack.
Childhood phone number: It’s easy for you to remember but hard for anyone else to guess.
Favorite holiday: It’s tough enough for a stranger to guess your favorite holiday, and it’s even tougher for that person to imagine you’d use it as a password.
Childhood street address: Once again, this is something that is easy for you to remember, and nearly impossible for a stranger to guess.
Also, if you keep your passwords on file in an electronic document such as an Excel spreadsheet, remember to secure those with a personal identifier. There are also programs designed for small businesses to help store all passwords. The cost for such software or apps typically ranges from $30-$40.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
For those of us who can’t predict the future, it can be difficult to help a client choose a life insurance policy to suit their lifestyle. The difficulty comes in knowing what resources one’s spouse and family might need in order to maintain their current lifestyle in the unfortunate event of an unforeseen tragedy. To many people, sums such as a quarter million dollars can sound significant, but most families will find that such an amount won’t get them very far. The amount becomes even less when you factor in debts such as home mortgages, student loans and credit card payments.
Failure to extend a policy to incorporate all of these costs could cause a family to have to forfeit their home in order to keep up with funeral expenses, unpaid taxes and day-to-day expenditures, especially in cases where the passing results in the loss of a second income. And with state colleges charging between $30,000 and $40,000 annually, it is also important to consider how a life insurance policy might affect a child’s future.
As an estate planning professional, it is important that you be able to work with your clients to help them select policies that adequately protect their needs. Estate planning attorneys can offer assistance by asking the right questions about their clients’ lifestyle habits. A lawyer should remember to thoroughly investigate clients’ spending and savings habits by inquiring about income sources, retirement and savings accounts, personal debts and any liabilities.
A recent article in Westaways, which shocked me, suggested that a middle-income family with two children should hold more than $2.2 million in coverage between two working adults to support the family in the event of an unexpected passing. If your client’s policy is less than that, it is important to encourage them to evaluate the true costs of their lifestyle to make sure that their loved ones won’t find themselves enduring unnecessary hardships due to policy limitations. In many cases, the cost to expand an existing policy may not be as expensive as one might think. This seems to be something that is worthwhile to investigate.
The entire area of insurance is another issue many families may not be addressing on a timely basis. Therefore, be sure to help your clients by inquiring about their lifestyle, income needs, and insurance.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
In a law firm proprietor’s world, it is easy to get carried away with the day-to-day activities of firm life. Particularly for the small firm lawyer, a long workday can cause the attorney to overlook certain responsibilities that come with running, managing and operating the firm. Issues may arise when attorneys fail to implement hiring practices that help shield them from potential liability.
Small firm owners should therefore work to ensure that the firm adheres to employment practices in accordance with applicable state and federal law. The key to successfully managing unexpected personnel events is to ensure that the firm is prepared to address them before a situation spirals out of control.
What follows are some questions that law firm owners can ask themselves to ensure they are sufficiently keeping up with legal and ethical law firm requirements.
Does the firm’s hiring process preemptively protect from potential litigation? Many firms are reliant upon resumes when selecting candidates to fill legal positions; however, a formalized employment agreement ensures significantly more protection. For example, firm owners can opt to incorporate arbitration clauses to help protect against disputes that may arise. Additionally, if the firm hires independent consultants for special projects, any agreement should indicate that the consultant is engaged in work-for-hire and subject to confidentiality requirements.
Is the firm’s employee handbook up-to-date? In the event of a dispute, attorneys can point to the employee handbook for guidance as to how to address human resources complaints, and to ensure that the parties know their rights. The books can also offer information as to legally mandated items, such as meal and rest breaks, compensation laws and termination policies.
Is the firm staff effectively handling timekeeping for non-exempt salaried and hourly employees, and doing so in accordance with wage and hour laws? People who work in law firms may find themselves needing to work through lunch breaks, and to work overtime hours. In order to help protect the firm from liability, someone should be assigned to monitor when people work through breaks, and should cite the individual’s reasons for doing so. Keeping a log will provide a necessary defense should there ever be a question about the firm’s employment practices.
Does the firm staff conduct regular performance reviews and track reasons for termination? Doing so provides evidence against disgruntled employees who may allege that they were fired due to discrimination or otherwise without cause.
Addressing these simple questions allows firms to preemptively protect against potential liability, and therefore offers major protections should a human resources dispute arise.
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
How seriously does your law firm take social media?
ALM Legal Intelligence recently conducted an online survey with 179 lawyers and law firm administrators, querying them about their social media habits. The survey results seem to indicate that the legal industry is starting to catch on to the power of social media.
But there were two responses I found particularly interesting.
- Over half of the law firms questioned reported that blogging and other social media brought them leads on new matters. Forty-one percent said social media generated between $5,000 and $200,000 in new business.
- Almost half of the law firms surveyed said that the biggest obstacle to expanding their use of social media was “lack of time.”
What?! There seems to be some sort of disconnect here.
Social media is coming into its own as a reliable source of new business for law firms…yet almost half of firms just can’t seem to find the time to have their attorneys blog a little more, keep their Facebook pages up-to-date, or otherwise gain the online visibility they need to attract the new business that’s waiting out there?
It seems to me the firms that “don’t have the time” for social media, haven’t fully grasped its power – or the ways in which their clients are living their lives.
Consider this excerpt from a recent GigaOm article:
Today the Internet is how we do (almost) everything. Our phone calls are made using Skype. We video chat over Google Hangouts, and we communicate via Facebook, Twitter and iMessage.
Twitter is the new Associated Press. Vimeo is our PBS, and YouTube and Hulu are the new broadcast networks. Amazon is the mall and iTunes is our Virgin Megastore. Pandora is our radio and Spotify is our jukebox.
Before long, attorneys who fail to use social media as just another way to communicate with clients and prospects are going to find themselves with limited reach and limited influence.
What do you think? Is social media a high enough priority that you make time for it? Or is it one of those things that waits until you get around to it?
Remember the old saying about three types of people: those who make it happen, those who watch it happen and those that say, “What happened?”
Sanford M. Fisch
CEO & Co-Founder
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
You probably have one or two friends that count “boomerang children” as members of their households. You might even have a boomerang child living with you. And you almost certainly have clients with boomerang children.
If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, “boomerang child” is the nickname for a young adult who has moved out, lived independently for a while, and then returned to live with his or her parents.
So many young adults have begun following this pattern that last December, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey, uncovering some interesting statistics about the “boomerang generation.”
According to the survey:
- 29% of parents of adult children report that one of their children has moved back in with them in recent years because of economic conditions.
- Regardless of whether they live with their parents, 63% of 18- to 34-year-olds say they know someone who has moved back home in the past few years.
- Parental income doesn’t seem to matter. Parents with an annual income of more than $100,000 and parents with an annual income of less than $30,000 are equally likely to have an adult child return home.
- Families don’t necessarily see the phenomenon as a bad thing. Parents of boomerang children report that they are “just as satisfied with their family life and housing situation” as are those parents whose adult children continue to live independently.
From a purely financial perspective, having a boomerang child may be a plus, especially as parents age.
If the child pays rent (which, according to the survey, 48% report that they have done), that money would be treated as income to the parents. But, what if the child helps out with household expenses, by splitting the cost of household utilities and groceries? The contributions could help defer the parents’ costs, without being treated as income. Interestingly, 89% of those responding to the survey reported that they helped out with household expenses, rather than paying rent.
From an estate planning perspective, it’s important to keep a pulse on your clients’ family dynamics. For instance, if there are likely to be boomerang children in the picture, you’ll want to make sure your clients’ documents specify that the trustee can allow those children to continue to reside in the family home, even though they aren’t minors or “dependents.”
How many of your clients have boomerang children? What planning issues have you run into as a result?
Stephen C. Hartnett, J.D., LL.M.
Associate Director of Education
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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