Category: Estate Planning

Sounds good, but does it WORK?

With all you have going on, why add more to your plate? Because adding the right thing at the right time can actually make your life less complex. I know it’s a paradox, but it’s true. The challenge is knowing when and what to change.

Hopefully, I can help. I’d like to make at least a part of your life easier.

Sounds good, but does it WORK?

I receive a lot of email with offers for all kinds of different programs. I’m sure you do too. It can be a bit overwhelming for sure – especially when you also have client work, family, and community projects that need your attention.

Yesterday morning there were 3 new urgent client matters to deal with and an urgent matter for one of the community organizations I’m serving – all popping out of the blue. You’ve been there; you know what it’s like to be a solo or small firm attorney.

With all you have going on, why add more to your plate? Because adding the right thing at the right time can actually make your life less complex. I know it’s a paradox, but it’s true. The challenge is knowing when and what to change.

Hopefully, I can help. I’d like to make at least a part of your life easier.

We’ve all faced the fear of not knowing where the money to pay the bills would come from next month, let alone 6 months from now. Most of us don’t even want to think about 6 months from now, and if we do, we know in our hearts that any planning we’re doing is really just a fantasy.

SpaceBetween_logo_FA

That’s where being a member of The Space Between Center lawyer mastermind programs can help. One of the first things we do is help you free yourself from the trap of hourly billing and implement some flat fee models (customized to your practice, not mine) that will give you some benchmarks for REAL planning.

Does it work?

Here’s an email I received late last week from one of the founding members of The Space Between Center lawyer mastermind.  Remember this is after less than two months in the SBC program:

“I wanted to share with you that I landed one of the prospective membership clients considering my program (the other is just having me do a TM registration on a project basis for now) – his reaction was ‘I think that you have a great formula with the different tiers of service. Frankly, I wish we had met earlier so I could take more advantage of it…’- <- he is a very early stage start-up.

Once I showed the new membership client the math for the services they were looking for over the next year they signed up – at the $1500/month level!

Not only has this one client more than covered the cost of the Space Between Center program for me, but having knowledge of that recurring cash flow over the next year is already freeing me to focus on creatively growing my firm.”

Brian Fletcher, Esq.

The Fletcher Law Firm PLLC

Alexandria, Virginia USA

Founding Member, Space Between Center lawyer mastermind

Does it work?

Yes.

How good would it feel to know you had at least $1,500/month on the books through this time next year? How about $3,000, $5,000, $7,500?  How much better would your life be if you could look at contracted revenue of $10,000/month for the next few months?

That’s just one example and we’re too early in the program to have generally expected performance results to share, but it’s a great indicator of the results you COULD get if you become a member of our program and actually implement the approaches we’re discussing.

It’s about sharing.

It’s about experimenting.

It’s about moving through your fears and into the excitement & success that self-employment can offer.

It’s about being creative and taking control of your life and future rather than trying to fit your future into the model that some lawyer started using in England centuries ago. We’ve all been trapped by that guy. I’d like to throw some rocks at him. His billable hour model has caused unconscionable damage to lawyers and their clients over the centuries.

It’s time to get out of his trap.

  • Are you ready to take a few simple steps to get control of your life?
  • Are you ready to take a few simple steps to reach the potential you know you have inside?
  • Are you ready to share your knowledge and experience with like-minded business, estate planning, and collaborative family lawyers who would like to share with you?
  • Would you like some real support and guidance in building a legal services business and go beyond just “practicing?”

If you’re ready to get control of your life, then join us this Wednesday at 2pm for a free informational call about The Space Between Center’s lawyer mastermind programs.

We have openings in our small business mastermind group, and we’re introducing two new tracks:

Join us for the call.

The easy steps we’re talking about literally changed my life and took me from the depths of bankruptcy, fear, and anxiety to a place where I could plan, grow, succeed, and enjoy my profession. It can do the same for you.

Again, the call is this Wednesday, May 19th at 2pm Eastern.

You’ll be able to learn what we’re doing in the programs, meet the leaders of the different tracks, and ask some questions to make sure the program is a fit for you.

Sincerely,

KH-sig-formal

Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

Founder, The Space Between Center for Creative Spirit in Business.

P.S.  These programs are NOT for everyone.  If you’re satisfied in the billable hour model or if you have no intention of taking action to make the changes that will improve your life, then this program is not for you. If you’re ready engage with a mastermind group, share, implement, and receive, then you owe it to yourself to find out more.

Oh, and feel free to forward this post to other small practice attorneys that you would like to help succeed.

Scene Magazine – June 2007 – Young Family Wills

Young Family Wills
© 2007 Kevin E. Houchin, Esq.

When I get asked the same question 5 or six times in the same week, I know it’s the topic of my next column. This week’s question has been, “what information do I need to give you to do my will.” It’s come from folks in my circle of friends, and since I have young kids, most of my friends are in the same situation. If you have kids under 18, and you’re not worth several million bucks, then this article is for you. If you don’t have kids, it gets easier. If you have several million bucks, call me!

So, there are 4 main questions that need to be answered:

1.    Who will clean out your garage?
2.    Who will raise your kids?
3.    Who will handle the money for your kids?
4.    When can the kids handle the money for themselves?

Most of my friends are married, and in Colorado everything goes to your spouse anyway, so the real issue is what happens if BOTH of you pass at the same time.  Hey, we live next to I-25 and we get on airplanes. Stuff happens. Accordingly, the default answer to all the questions above is your spouse is something happens to you, and then we name an alternate or two in case your spouse is not available to handle the tasks.

One thing to keep in mind is that these roles can all be delegated to the same person, or they can be assigned to different people. The choice is yours.

Who will clean out your garage?

The person that has to take care of handling all you stuff is called the “Personal Representative.” This person should be local so they can show up at the courthouse, work with the lawyer to transfer your assets to their appropriate destinations, and yes, clean out your garage. It’s an gig that lasts around a year or two.

Who will raise your kids?

If your kids are under 18 when you and your spouse pass on, your kids need to live with someone. If YOU don’t make the choice, the Court will make the choice for you, and you might not be happy with the decision. You should designate one person as the first choice, and one as the second. Don’t name couples, because they might split up – you never know. This person will have your kids until they’re 18, so choose someone that you believe to be a good stand-in parent.

Who will handle the money?

Assuming you have some assets and maybe some life insurance, you might be dropping some serious money on some young kids. I know I don’t want to hand my life insurance benefits to a 12 year old, so the assets need to go into a “trust” for the “benefit” of my kids until such a time as I think they can handle the money themselves. The person that handles the money is called the “Trustee” and is on the hook until the terms of the arrangement are satisfied. This person generally has very broad discretion to use the money for the benefit of your kids, so pick someone financially responsible and that you, well – TRUST.

When do the kids get the money?

It depends on how much you think they’ll get. If they’ll only end up with a few grand, then it’s not worth the effort to make someone be the trustee.  If you’ve got a couple million in life insurance, then it’s a different story.  I like to “distribute” principal funds from the trust as follows: 1/3 at age 21, ½ of what’s left at age 25, and the full balance, which terminates the trust and lets the trustee off the hook for keeping the checkbook, at age 30. Some other attorneys like to do the same at 25, 30, and 35. There are no “rules” for this.  I like 21 because it would make a great college graduation gift, 25 because there might be graduate school, a house down payment, or kids coming along, and 30 because by that age the trustee should be off the hook, and my kids should know how to manage money. Along those lines, it’s good to set an amount of the trust balance, say $50,000 below which the trust is simply terminated and the funds distributed to the kid(s).

Those are the major questions relating to wills for  young family’s. Of course you’ll need to give your lawyer full names, birthdates, etc for the family too.  You do NOT have to give them a full accounting of your assets. Most wills are written to basically throw your assets into a “bucket” and then discuss how to divide the bucket. The will document should also make reference to an outside document that you keep with the will that acts as a running list of who gets the silverware and other tangible personal property. These things CAN be added in the will document itself, but generally aren’t – doing so just adds to the legal fees now and later.

Please be aware that for a will to be worth the paper it’s printed on, there are certain formalities that need to be followed in the signing process, such as the signor needs to make certain declarations, with the witnesses present, etc. This ceremony is why you hire a lawyer to help and coordinate the process.

While your at it, you should also complete 3 other documents. A General Durable Power of Attorney lets your spouse sell your stuff to pay bills if needed. A Durable Healthcare Power of Attorney that lets your agent make healthcare decisions for you if you’re unable. And a “living will” that lets everyone, especially your doctors, know your wishes if you are terminally ill and unable to make decisions for yourself.

These can be difficult questions to answer – practically and emotionally. However, when you think about a Court making the decisions for you, it’s a real motivator to get these documents completed.

##

Kevin E. Houchin is principal of Houchin & Associates, PLLC – a copyright, trademark, arts & entertainment, business development, and branding firm located in Fort Collins, Colorado. To contact Kevin, call 970-493-1070 or email kevin@houchinassociates.com. Yes, he does wills for young families too.

http://www.guidingvalue.com LAUNCH!

We just launched the new Site:

www.guidingvalue.com

Check it out. Register online for the upcoming workshops, review some of the latest thinking, and give a glance to how we plan to bring legal services under the same roof with marketing services – especially if you’re planning the launch of a new company, product, or service.