Texas Gets My Stuff When I Die? And the Risks of DIY Estate Planning.

Sondra Ziegler (0:01)

Welcome to Second Half Conversations. I'm your host, Sondra Ziegler. This is a space to discuss all kinds of topics about the second half of life, from complicated legal topics like wealth protection and business succession planning that we break down in a practical way, to long term care planning and care navigation when you have a loved one on a care journey, to leaning into fully experiencing new seasons of life, of work and relationships. Our team and guests are here to equip you to take full advantage of where you're at. Because if done right, the second half is the better half. Let's get to it. Welcome again to Second Half Conversations, where our goal is practical guidance that helps families have peace of mind in the second half of life. Today, I am thrilled to be joined by Sharon Wright, who's up counsel with our firm and does an amazing job in estate planning and probate. We're gonna tackle three estate planning misconceptions that can quietly create big problems. But before we get to that, I wanted to let you know a little bit about Sharon and then put her on the spot to tell us a little bit about her why, how she got into estate planning, what her background is, her educational background, and just help us understand why she does what she does. I just love hearing that story. So Sharon is board certified in estate planning and probate law. She received her law degree from Baylor University School of Law. And for those of you who are listening to this from West Texas, give her a break on that because she's super smart. And so we want those Baylor Bears when as smart as she is. Sharon's specialization in estate planning and probate law is also complemented by a deep understanding of financial planning and asset management. We hired Sharon in 2024. I'm right about that, right? End of '24?

Sharon Wright (2:12)

'25.

Sondra Ziegler (2:13)

She joined our firm, and she's been an invaluable addition and brings so much insight and care to the work that she does for our clients. So she's been practicing for sixteen years now. So Sharon, tell us how you decided that you wanted to do estate planning. There's all kinds of law that you could have gone into, but I guess maybe let's back up for a second and say, how did you decide you wanted to be an attorney?

Sharon Wright (2:42)

Well, first of all, thank you. Thank you, Sondra, for a sweet introduction. Going to law school had been planned for many years by my grandpa. He always said he wanted me to be an attorney, and that that stuck in my head. And so my brother and I both ended up in law school together. He went the the criminal route, and I went the estate planning route. And my undergraduate degree was in finance, so I would say I'm more of a math person, you know, all along. So that's what has steered me into the estate planning realm. Even in law school, I focus, like you said, in estate planning because I like math, I like dealing with money and trying to save people money. But then also, you know, part of the bigger picture of helping families, you know, create legacy. Again, I'm very close with my family and my grandpa And so that was always in the back of my head. I enjoy, you know, helping others leave a legacy.

Sondra Ziegler (3:38)

Okay. I love that story. I had not heard that story about your grandfather. So was there ever any point, I don't know, when you were younger that you thought, I don't want to be an attorney. Why does he think I should be an attorney?

Sharon Wright (3:54)

I mean, I graduated early from undergrad. So I was already finished when all my friends were still there. And so at Baylor, I could continue to stay, go to law school. And so it was a practical logistically, it worked too, and and I wasn't quite sure, you know, where I was gonna end up. So it fit it fit in my path.

Sondra Ziegler (4:15)

That's fantastic. I love that. So I know your previous firm, you were part of a more of a, I would call it because I'm not an attorney, I would call it a general practice, but you might describe it differently. More business law related, more oil and gas. Is that right?

Sharon Wright (4:35)

Mainly oil and gas, but, you know, I was taught by the greatest attorneys around that yes, they knew a great knowledge across many fields. So I feel like I was very, very honored to be able to learn a little bit about a lot of different areas.

Sondra Ziegler (4:54)

Well, that was appealing to us when we were looking at your resume and wanting to add an attorney was to have someone with breadth of knowledge across different areas because, you know, in estate planning, you can have a lot of different factors come in, and it's just really it's good when you have those, that broader context and the context of financial planning and asset management too. All of that is so helpful when we're helping people plan.

Sharon Wright (5:26)

Right, definitely.

Sondra Ziegler (5:27)

You know, to protect their assets and make sure everything ends up in the right hands.

Sharon Wright (5:31)

Definitely. And I'm part of a small community, so I would be the attorney and several questions would come up and you have to be able to at least steer them the right direction, you know, no matter the issue.

Sondra Ziegler (5:45)

So, okay, I guess let's dive in because when you sent me what you wanted to talk about on our podcast, I was excited that you wanted to talk about three misconceptions that can cause big problems. So tell me what your first misconception is, or I can say it and you can tell me about it. This one was intriguing to me because I had not really understood that this was a misconception out there, but apparently it's pretty common. Misconception number one is Texas gets my property if I die without a will. So when someone says that, what are they really worried about and what actually happens in Texas if you die without a will?

Sharon Wright (6:30)

Yes. Well, yeah, I cannot tell you the number of times somebody has come into my office and and that's where we start. They say, you know, I just I just don't want the state or the government, I hear that one a lot too, to to get my property. And so while that while Texas does decide, you know, who your heirs are, who would take your property if you pass away without a will, Texas actually, you know, being the heir of your property is is not likely to happen. That's only if, you know, they can find no one else basically that you're related to. But but I do happens much more often than you would think.

Sondra Ziegler (7:09)

Okay. So in plain English, what is intestacy and who typically inherits under intestacy rules?

Sharon Wright (7:19)

So intestacy means passing away without leaving a valid will. So when that happens, we look to who the heirs of that person would be, which is defined who the heirs are as defined by Texas law. And without getting too much in the nitty gritty, it depends on your family background. So if the person was married at the time they passed away, whether they have children, whether those children are also children of their surviving spouse. And then it also depends on the type of property, which kind of makes it even a little crazier and nitpicky. It depends on community property versus separate property, and it also depends on whether the property they're passing is real estate, meaning a land or home, or personal property, meaning a bank account. So all these things factor into who takes your property if you pass away without leaving a valid will.

Sondra Ziegler (8:20)

So what are some of the most common surprises that families experience when there's no will?

Sharon Wright (8:27)

It's when somebody passes away with a spouse and they don't realize exactly who owns the property. Whether it's the person on the title or whether, you know, how the bank account is styled, they're surprised. They're surprised because they didn't, you know, take take the time to plan. And more often than not, the big surprises happen in a blended family situation where, you know, there's his and her kids or children of a previous marriage. And a lot of times, you know, people have been married for many, many years. They consider those kids their kids, but they never were truly adopted. They never, you know, corrected the title or looked at the accounts. And that's when it's, you know, kind of a difficult conversation to have to explain who actually takes in that situation.

Sondra Ziegler (9:17)

Can you tell us, is the Texas takes it idea ever true? Like, if there are no heirs, how rare is that scenario?

Sharon Wright (9:30)

It is true only if they truly cannot find an heir and that's it's never happened. I've never heard of it really happening, if that if that helps at all. And I know it's not even know, they they take significant steps and many years to try to make sure, you know, there's nobody out there before it would go to that.

Sondra Ziegler (9:53)

Okay, well that should-

Sharon Wright (9:54)

So very rare, very, yes, very rare.

Sondra Ziegler (9:57)

That should set some minds at ease out there. So in listening to what you were saying about people not always being clear about how they own what they have and how that can cause problems sometimes. How do beneficiary designations and joint ownership change the picture? And what I'm thinking about is, think it would be helpful for our listeners to understand a little bit about what passes through the probate process and what passes outside of it.

Sharon Wright (10:35)

Definitely. Terms of assets. Some assets, kind of going back those personal property assets, bank accounts, brokerage accounts, they are technically governed by the contract, you know, from the bank. So if somebody sets up with the bank a payable on death beneficiary designation, sometimes it's called a survivorship agreement, where they name who takes their property upon their passing, that contract will control. So that property is going to pass immediately however the, you know, the contract is stated, however the beneficiary is designated. All other property, you know, whether it's real estate, bank accounts that don't have that kind of designation, all of that falls into what's considered part of the probate estate. Just talking, you know, bare minimum of a person who doesn't have a will, doesn't have trust planning, anything like that. And technically that would be the probate estate.

Sondra Ziegler (11:37)

I've heard on bank accounts, sometimes there's a misunderstanding about who's a co owner versus who's an authorized signer, because those are two Just different because you can sign checks at the bank does not mean you're the owner, right?

Sharon Wright (11:56)

Exactly. And that can be added to our list of misconceptions because so many times people will come in and almost dismissively say, I'm on the account, no problem, because during their parents' lifetime, they're a signer. Like you said, they can sign the checks, they can act, but you just have to be sure and get that actual account agreement to be sure there is a beneficiary designated for it to pass upon death. Sometimes they may call this a signature card or account agreement, but it's definitely important to look at the actual agreement and make sure the person is a joint owner, you know, or it would be payable on death to that person, not just a signing authority.

Sondra Ziegler (12:38)

What would you say just in all the years that you've done this type of work, what is the emotional administrative burden on the family when there's no plan? When there's been no planning, what does that look like one week after death?

Sharon Wright (12:56)

You know, your family's already in the grieving process. And if they step into a mess, which happens more often than not, you know, it's awful for the family. That I tell people you're, you know, you're not only planning for who gets your stuff, who gets your money, anything like that. You're you're doing a a one last I love you by by not leaving a mess, by giving them an organized, you know, plan so that your family doesn't have to step into a nightmare. I I can't tell you how often a family comes in almost mad at their loved one because of the the mess that they left and that they're having to start you know, get stuck picking up the pieces.

Sondra Ziegler (13:42)

That was my next question. I thought, you know, without naming names, can you think of a situation that happened or can you describe a typical case where a family thought they were fine without a will and that went sideways?

Sharon Wright (13:59)

Definitely. One that I always think back to was a surviving spouse. She had been married to, you know, her her late husband for many, many years. They owned this, you know, beautiful home that they had updated together and that she had lived in, you know, over twenty years. Her husband passed away without a will, and he left, his daughter. so it was her stepdaughter. Well, the surviving spouse, she was ready to downsize. So she would you know, the house was too much for her. And I had to be the bearer of bad news because the the home was actually his separate property before marriage. They never got around to updating the deed even though, you know, twenty plus years at living at the home, fixing the home up, that the stepdaughter, you know, owned an interest in the home. The surviving spouse, you know, she had a right to live there since it was her homestead. But with regards to trying to sell the home and and use those proceeds to, you know, to downsize, she was not gonna be able to do that without the stepdaughter agreeing, and they didn't have the best relationship. And, you know, I I remember that case specifically because I remember her being upset with me when I was the bearer of bad news and it just wasn't a fun place to be because it was an easy fix he could have handled. You know, even if he wanted to make sure his daughter wasn't cut out, there was, you know, there were ways we could have done that in a better manner to protect his spouse and his daughter.

Sondra Ziegler (15:33)

Wow. Well, I've heard it said over and over that blended family planning is even more crucial than if it's not a blended family, but that's a good example of why. Okay. Misconception number two. You just spoke to this a little bit. Our house may really be his house, separate property, and the inception of title. This one shocks people when someone says our house, Why might it legally be someone's separate property? You just talked about it, but maybe there's other examples of that too.

Sharon Wright (16:14)

Right. So the rule in Texas, since we are a community property state, you look back at when the home was purchased and who exactly, you know, purchased the home. When somebody buys a home before marriage, even when the spouse moves in years later when they get married, it's still considered, you know, that person's separate property if it was acquired, you know, before marriage. So anything before marriage or even after marriage, but they acquired it through gift or inheritance is is considered separate property. So, you know, even if taxes may come in both their names, sometimes the appraisal district, you know, adds in the spouse. And even if the spouse spent her money fixing up the home, you know, technically it's still separate property of of the husband if he purchased it before marriage or wife if the wife if the wife owned it before marriage.

Sondra Ziegler (17:14)

Okay. Can you explain to us inception of title in sort of common language?

Sharon Wright (17:23)

Yes. Well, inception of title, basically what I just said about when the point in time of when title was acquired. So when they bought the home or whether they received the home if it was, you know, through inheritance or something like that. That's the point of time you look at the title and see, you know, was that person married? Even if it's, you know, in one person's name, if he was married, it is still considered community property. But if when when he acquired the property, if it was before marriage, that would be considered separate property.

Sondra Ziegler (17:55)

Okay.

Sharon Wright (17:56)

So even that, I guess, if, you know, if somebody acquired property after marriage but only one spouse is on it, sometimes this that certain spouse says, well, it's I'm the only one on the only one named on the title. And not necessarily. In Texas, it's a community property state. It's a presumption that the wife still has an interest even if it is in one spouse's name without any kind of separate property designation or other proof to explain.

Sondra Ziegler (18:26)

Okay, so if a couple discovers, okay, wow, this really isn't truly ours, what planning tools can align? You you mentioned a deed, is that what needs to happen? They need to come in, do their estate planning and also retitle assets like real property into both of their names?

Sharon Wright (18:50)

Yes. Definitely need to look at, you know, the full picture. But, yes, that would be part of the process would be to make sure that everybody's on the same page as to who owns what now and going forward and then, you know, who also who they want to their property who would they want to inherit the property upon their passing? And make sure those all align with how the the title is currently held. A lot of times people just don't know. They assume they hold it in one way, but and assume it'll pass a certain way and just for there not to be any surprises. You know, that that's why planning is key. So you can all be on the same page.

Sondra Ziegler (19:32)

And you mentioned it it needs to be part of their of of a holistic plan, or at least that's what I heard. And I'm guessing in that conversation when you're talking with maybe that couple where one of the spouses actually, you know, owned the house before their marriage, if it's a blended family, That discussion is more in-depth discussion when you're talking about either retitling the house in both their names, or if there were kids from that prior marriage, you know, thinking through, talking through with both spouses, what they would want to have happen with not only that asset, which is many people's largest asset, is their home, but all of their other assets. You know, how, in most cases, if the couple is sitting in our conference room, each of those spouses in this blended marriage would want the other one to be taken care of if something happened to them, if they pre deceased, they would want assets to go toward the maintenance and welfare of that remaining surviving spouse. However, there's also the issue of taking care of the kids making sure the from the previous marriage or marriages, if they both had kids, are not disinherited by the planning. That is a much more in-depth conversation that you're having at that point.

Sharon Wright (21:03)

It is, and there's just so many options to be able to address those concerns. And, yes, protect obviously, the surviving spouse, but but also look out for the kiddos and and make sure that they don't have to, you know, wait for their inheritance either. You know, there's definitely so much that you can do, you know, if you can be proactive about it rather than, you know, after the fact and hoping the family can come to an agreement.

Sondra Ziegler (21:32)

I think that brings us to misconception number three. I don't have enough oh, go ahead.

Sharon Wright (21:39)

I was gonna add in one quick example that I thought of.

Sondra Ziegler (21:42)

Yes.

Sharon Wright (21:42)

That that happened actually this week was a home that the couple purchased during their marriage. So it is a community property home, but wife has since passed away. And she has kiddos. They have kiddos together, and then she had kids from a previous marriage. Again, they had been together for many years. He considered those kiddos, I think they lived with them since they were two years old. But the home is not technically a 100% surviving spouse at this point in time because she passed away without a will. We are now having to go to the kiddos to try to get them to convey any interest that they may have from mom who passed away without a will in the home back to her surviving spouse, back to dad or stepdad. And so we're just kind of at the whim of the kiddos. He definitely would own his half, but we're just trying to, you know, make sure that he has all the interest. So that's an example of they bought the home together, but it's still a mess.

Sondra Ziegler (22:46)

Wow. Okay. So that does lead us to misconception number three. I don't have enough money to worry about estate planning or a situation like what you just said when I think some people, even if they know they have assets and they would want to make sure those end up in the right hands, they may just assume that well, if we're not fighting, and we're happily married, and our kids all get along, what's the big deal? When people say either I don't have enough money or haven't gotten around to it, or I'm not worried about it, what are they overlooking that estate planning actually is going to protect them from?

Sharon Wright (23:27)

I mean, one main issue you just said is not leaving, you know, obviously your family with a mess. It's an act of love to leave your family prepared no matter the size of the estate. But it also, you know, prevents your hard earned money from going to have to fix these issues. So a lot of times early planning prevents big expenses later, big probate costs, and big costs to try to fix the deed or try to, you know, get some sort of family settlement agreement in place. So often the people who have not planned, that is the most expensive following death just to try to, you know, clear things up for their family. Even in situations where the the families get along, there's still a lot of work that needs to be done to clear things up to allow the family to, you know, sell the property or whatever needs to happen. But it can get expensive really quickly if you don't, you know, plan ahead.

Sondra Ziegler (24:27)

I think, yeah, there's a lot of lack of understanding about how expensive that process can be after the fact if the planning's not there. And I also think about some of the non financial reasons to plan also. So when people come into our office and we're doing a will or a trust for them, we're also gonna be doing some foundational documents like powers of attorney. And so I was wondering if you could think about, or if you could speak to that about what those documents do for people and why they're so important, both medical and financial and, all of that.

Sharon Wright (25:13)

Yes. I'm very glad you brought that up. Part of estate planning, it's not necessarily like you said, just for planning after you pass away. It's also planning for during your lifetime, if you are unable to make medical or financial decisions or act on your own behalf, estate planning allows you to designate, you know, who you'd want to be able to to make those decisions for you. And just so much more goes into goes into it on the front end and, you know, to be able to make sure your family has enough powers to do what needs to happen and to save money the long run is to plan ahead of time.

Sondra Ziegler (25:55)

I think about also avoiding guardianship is one of the things that as people get older and are not able to make their own decisions anymore, and we hear about it all the time, but you know, if they are able to come in and do their estate planning and name who they would want to serve and make their decisions if they no longer have the mental capacity, or if they have a sudden health event like a stroke, you know, or they're in a car accident and have a coma, I mean, they're in a coma.

Sharon Wright (26:31)

Right. Or even on vacation and you need your kiddo to step in to do something for you.

Sondra Ziegler (26:38)

Oh, absolutely. Yes. That's a great example because I never think about those practical things like that.

Sharon Wright (26:45)

Yes. But yeah, Sondra, it just goes back to kind of our first misconception. If you don't plan ahead and name, there are laws that will, you know, will allow certain family members to make those decisions. But do you want the state to tell you who those people are or do you want to, you know, name them yourself and decide what exact powers that person will have?

Sondra Ziegler (27:08)

Oh, that's an important one too. I know we could go down a whole rabbit trail about long term care planning and Medicaid planning, but we'll save that one for another podcast, I would love to have you back on for, because one of the things people don't understand too is many times that if they have a power of attorney in place, it may be the case that it's not robust enough if they're needing to plan to qualify for benefits, for public benefits to So, help pay for long term so important to get their estate planning ducks in a row, as we like to say, not only a will or trust to determine, you know, what happens to their stuff when they die, but also what happens before you die. What if you don't die? What if you have a really long illness and need the care of another person, either at home or you need care in a facility before you pass, and this is an unforeseen journey, it's an unforeseen stress on the family, and certainly an unforeseen expense that could potentially wipe out the savings of a couple pretty quickly if you had to be in say a nursing home for years. Anyway, very important to get those, the estate planning done, for not only what's happening now, but what could happen in the future, you know, being able to do that planning that way.

Sharon Wright (28:47)

Well and, I know we're running out of time, but we also, we didn't even get into the fact that, you know, a couple with kiddos under the age of 18, that's a whole a whole another thing to consider and think about who's gonna possibly raise your children and who's gonna who would be in charge of the money, you know, overseeing the money. And those can be two different people. But again, it's proactively planning is key.

Sondra Ziegler (29:13)

So tell me about that a little bit, because I think that's something that most people wouldn't know. I mean, I would know it if I weren't involved in the firm. So you can have a different person named to be in charge of the money that you leave after you pass. Like if you and your spouse were to die in a common accident, for instance, you left minor children behind. You could have a separate person in charge of the money and a different person in actually raising the children. Talk to us a little bit about why you would do that in some instances.

Sharon Wright (29:50)

Exactly. Well, a lot of times, you know, obviously if you're naming somebody to watch over your kiddos, you completely trust them. Care if they also made the financial decisions, but that's obviously a huge burden to put on somebody just to raise the kiddos. So so naming somebody separate kind of just adds another layer another layer of protection, but also gives them a little bit of a break to not have to, you know, take on so much of the burden. So a lot of times I I see people doing it that way or who you know, this the sibling that you would want to, you know, has other kiddos, has the cousins they raise, would may not necessarily be the the best person to, you know, invest the assets like they should, put money away for the kiddos, you know, like like someone else that you would trust more or be able to, you know, handle the finances in a better way.

Sondra Ziegler (30:49)

You might have a sibling who's, I mean, this is an extreme example, but you might have a sibling who's a financial advisor and they would just be perfectly suited to help manage money.

Sharon Wright (31:00)

Exactly.

Sondra Ziegler (31:00)

Whereas like in your example, maybe you have another sibling who has kids of the same age. So I could definitely see in that situation where it might be good to name two different people. So that kind of leads me to my next question. What, or a similar question, what life events in your opinion should trigger planning? Because I think some of us think about estate planning as a one time deal. I'm gonna do my estate planning and now it's done forever. But we know that there are things that can happen that make it really prudent, the prudent thing to do to have it updated or maybe even completely a new plan put in place.

Sharon Wright (31:46)

Me personally with young kiddos, my husband and I, I always get nervous when we go out of town and leave the kiddos. So I always do a double check because so much can change. Even if you love and trust the same people you had designated, their situation may have changed. They may have too much on their plate to be able to handle, you know, your your mess that you may leave them. So so just when we travel is when I when I remember to to look back. I often tell people, honestly, every five to ten years, do a double check. These days with so many accounts and passwords, I also think it's a good idea to kind of update a list, you know, for for your family to be able and you just just to be able, you know, to make sure that you kinda have an inventory of all your things, where things are located, who to contact, financial adviser, and, you know, all of that information changes yearly. I know we're all busy, so it doesn't happen as often as it should, but typically every five to ten years, definitely look at your situation and everyone else's to make sure you shouldn't change, you know, who you previously designated for some of those roles.

Sondra Ziegler (32:58)

That is such a good point about the life circumstances of the people you might have named when you're maybe, for example, when your children were first born, you know, jump forward ten years, they could have health problems, they could have moved, you know, out of or, your you know, live somewhere you wouldn't want your kids to have to move to. You may have named your parents, because when your kids were little, they were, you know, healthy and vigorous enough to take on that if they had to at that point, but maybe ten, fifteen years later, that's no longer the case. So that's really a good thought. So what is a common, I'm gonna talk a little bit about DIY estate planning. So when people try to get online and maybe do some quick documents, what is a DIY mistake you see when someone tries to do it on the cheap? And what does it cost the family later? And of course, it doesn't always happen that the DIY estate planning doesn't work, but we see it every day instances where it doesn't.

Sharon Wright (34:14)

Horror story from a DIY will was a lady and her you know, from the get go, the will was valid. It, you know, checked all the boxes that it need to that it needed to. And she named certain things to go to certain people, but she forgot to, we call it a residuary clause, meaning like a and everything else will go to x y and z. So she only listed certain property. Come to find out, she owned millions of dollars worth of minerals that she did not, you know, she didn't have a, you know, and everything else to these certain people. So it ended up, again, going back to what we previously talked about where Texas had to figure out who her heirs were that would get, you know, all the other property and a share ended up going to a sibling that we knew she couldn't stand. And so that was a hard pill to swallow because I knew that's not what she would have wanted when you know we knew the family but that one always always sits out. So a lot of times it's, you know, failing to include just the the right things that most people wouldn't think about if they weren't, you know, in the in this world and failing to include everything, failing to execute it properly, you know, is it like maybe typing it out and then signing? There's a there's so many technical aspects to allow the will to be valid in Texas. And so many times it's not when people try to DIY.

Sondra Ziegler (35:45)

So if someone is listening to this and they are feeling a little bit overwhelmed or they know, okay, I'm behind on this. You know, maybe I have kids and I don't have estate planning. Or we did estate planning when the kids were little, but my goodness, that was twenty years ago and life circumstances have changed, and they're feeling just a little overwhelmed. How do you suggest they approach I mean, obviously I'm going to recommend that they just call our office and or go online to zieglerestatelaw.com and request a consultation. It's a free consultation. It's entirely free to them and it will allow them to sit down with one of our attorneys and we're going to spend quite a bit of time before their appointment gathering information from them. It's going to be a little annoying, I will warn you out there if you're listening, only annoying in the sense that we really do need to kind of have a good picture of your situation so that we can plan, so that we can start coming up with strategies that might be appropriate for you in your estate planning that fit your family, that fit your assets for what you have and what you want to have happen to it, and who you trust in your life to help make decisions if you do have a care journey before you pass, and what your health situation is. So my first impulse is to say, give us a call because it costs you nothing to have that conversation with us. But in preparing for that meeting, anyone who's out there listening and thinks, yeah, I really need to get this taken care of, What are some of the biggest pieces of advice you can give them about preparing for that consultation since you sit on the other side of the table, so to speak, and you're in these meetings helping to craft a plan for people every day. How do they prepare?

Sharon Wright (37:47)

I will say, like you said, it can be it can feel overwhelming, but to, you know, not feel that way. When we set up an appointment, we walk through some of those questions and and we will ask questions. A lot of times we say, we're not trying to be nosy, but and go into a list of questions. And that's just to try to really get you thinking because a lot of a lot of times, you don't really think about everything. All of all of us, you know, fault are at fault to doing that sometimes. To prepare for the meeting or to prepare just in general even if, you know, they don't reach out to us, I would say, you know, looking over kinda getting an inventory going of your assets and and where they're located, what does the account agreement say, what how is property titled, and that's a good place to start. And then having the conversation whether it's with your spouse or just with yourself on some of the people you would want to possibly designate. Because a lot of times that's, you know, it's not an easy answer. And so just to start thinking on the process is a good place to start. And it helps us when you've already started thinking on that.

Sondra Ziegler (38:57)

Yes. It helps, I think too, especially, I think people tend to think a little bit more about their property and what they would want to have happen with their property. Although I know there are follow-up questions certainly that we ask, especially in a blended family situation to help tease out those answers. Yes. Yeah, but on the powers of attorney, sometimes that's a good, a tricky one in terms of, you know, you have one child who's great. I'm going to use my CPA example. You have one child who's a CPA that would be great to serve as your financial power of attorney, but maybe they don't live in the same town as you. And you trust your daughter who lives near you. She may not be a CPA, but you trust her. And so just thinking about, do I want to name two people, you know, both my son and my daughter to be agents on my financial power of attorney for practical reasons? And how am I going to have them act? Do they have the power to act independently for me? Or do they have to agree and everything requires two signatures? I mean, all of that is stuff that I wouldn't think of if I were not involved in the firm.

Sharon Wright (40:20)

Definitely, yes. And it's, you know, it's kind of a a trickle effect when we get into those meetings. They you know, every every time somebody says, well, I haven't really thought about that. And it, you know, it takes a minute. It definitely takes a minute to process even when you have very trustworthy kiddos. Like you said, you have to think about everything, logistics, trustworthiness. And, you know, it's hard for people. We all think we're gonna live forever, and that's you know, I I'll make my decisions if I'm alive. And we we can be the kind of the bear the realist, I guess, in the situation and and tell you some, you know, stories that what we have seen that, you know, that's not necessarily the case and you need to plan because you're you know, you likely will need need somebody at some point in your life. We all need we may all need the help.

Sondra Ziegler (41:09)

So true. So true. Well, Sharon, thank you so much for joining me today for this conversation. We hope that those of you out there listening, it's been helpful. And we appreciate everything that you do for the firm and our clients every day. You just do amazing work. And thank you for joining us today for a great conversation.

Sharon Wright (41:32)

Thank you, Sondra. It's been fun.

Sondra Ziegler (41:34)

A quick reminder that today's conversation is for educational purposes only. It is not meant to be legal advice because to give you legal advice, we need to meet with you and know your specific situation. Thanks again for joining us today for this conversation and remember to make the second half the best half.