Monday, March 17, 2008

Protecting our little family

One of the accounts I work on through Marz & Company is an estate planning law firm who recently opened their Nevada office. In the past few years, I've learned ALOT about the importance of a living trust & the craziness that can go on when someone passes away without a living trust. A will just isn't enough. Wes & I have been waiting for my client to open their office here since they do such a great job with estate planning. We went in a few weeks ago for our intial consultation and we signed our final documents this morning. It's been an interesting process thinking about what you want to happen when you die. I unintentionally watched "No Reservations" & "Raising Helen" in the last month or so. Both movies have to do with young parents dying unexpectedly and their children are left with someone else. Lets just say I bawled through both since I'd been thinking a lot about what I'd want to happen if I were to die unexpectedly. There were a few things I hadn't really thought of so it's nice to have it all in a legal document so in case of a tragedy, our family is protected.

For those of you who don't know much about why a living trust is important....here's a tidbit as to why you might want to look in to it:

If Wes and/or myself were to pass away or become disabled without a living trust, our successors would probably be involved in probate which can cost 3-7% of your total estate value. That's a lot of money! In probate, the courts appoint someone to manage your estate whereas with a living trust, you control everything because your wishes are written down. Can you imagine a total stranger controlling all of your assets instead of your spouse or children being able to do it? Pretty much anything and everything you want is recorded, legally, so you can have the peace of mind knowing that your family will be taken care of.
It's kind of a gloomy post talking about people dying but I'm glad we finally got our living trust set up. It's one of the few things you do where you hope you don't need it for a LONG while. :)
And of course, a few photos of Mr. Nate:
He loves the laundry basket.
We leave the water on in the tub for a little bit and he loves watching it & playing in the running water!

7 comments:

Megan said...

Wow, look at Nate playing in the big tub! He's so cute.

Isn't it funny how once you become a parent every movie hits a soft spot when it deals with those certain situations. Kuddos for you and Wes- that's such an important step to take.

Ali said...

I dig the whale jammies...

Doreen Griffeth said...

You get the best pictures! I agree with the trust! It's a great feeling to have your wishes known and followed in case of an emergency.
Love,
MOM G

Alisha said...

Jeff and I have updating our will and establishing a living trust on our to-do list for this year. You've motivated me to work on making the appointment tomorrow! Nate is cute as usual!

familyof4 said...

We got our living trust about 2 years ago and need to update it since Lauren has been born. The 2 hardest things for were deciding who would get my kids and life support. My mil is a nurse so I'm sure she'd try putting her two sense into it so just thinking about that stressed me out! But it's a great thing to have. Everything is equally divided in our trust.

Kelsey said...

Thats good to know about the trust. It is expensive to start one up? Love the pics of the handsome little man, toO!

The Skeehan Family said...

Are you in marketing or what?! Man, we should have you be the spokesman for the firm, you ROCK at it! :)