My Move to a Virtual Law Firm
As you have no doubt noted if you follow my blog, I have launched a virtual law firm site that offers wills, living trusts, and other estate planning documents bundled with legal advice for a fixed price. The site is designed to provide an alernative to web sites like LegacyWriter, Do Your Own Will, LegalZoom, and Wills-Online, which offer legal forms without any legal advice. None of these legal form web sites offer documents that are specific to the State of Louisiana because of the particular nature of Louisiana law, which is based on the French Civil Code. Users are able to complete an on-line questionnaire which generates a completed legal document, ready for lawyer review, analysis, and further customization. Web enabled document automation enables saves time in document creation, enabling me to provide legal advice with the document for a fixed price. The site is powered by Epoq’s, DirectLaw Web Service. For more information on virtual law firms, visit http://www.elawyeringredux.com/.
5 Steps to Realizing Your Financial Dreams Before Retirement
This week we have a guest author, my own Personal Power Mentor, Cookie Tuminello. Enjoy!
- Myrna
Quote: “All of our dreams can come true - if we have the courage to pursue them.” - Walt Disney
For the past 10 weeks, Myrna has been sharing with you her “10 Keys To Financial Peace.” She has done an excellent job of educating you on the LA Estate Planning laws and how you can achieve your financial dreams. The way I see it, you have two choices - You can store this information in some folder and pull a Scarlet O’Hara from Gone With the Wind and say, “I’ll just think about that tomorrow”, or you can take action NOW to create the life you want and deserve for you and your family. Sounds like a no brainer to me!
Pay attention Baby Boomers! Everybody has a dream for their life. The trouble is most of us so busy doing ‘Life 101’ that we don’t take the time to get clear about what we really want in our life. Consequently we don’t ever achieve the success we crave. Then to make matters worse, we are unwilling to make the changes necessary to turn our dreams into reality. We say “I’ve got plenty of time; I’ll do that when the children leave home; I’ll be able to work on that when the mortgage (car, credit card debt, etc.) is paid off; I plan on making those changes when I turn 35, 40, 50” and so on! Blah, Blah, Blah. The trouble is that certain ‘Someday’ never comes, or one day you get a wake up call that shocks you into reality and action. This is what happened to me. One day I was blissfully married and the next I was widow at 36 with two children. Luckily for me, my husband and I both believed in the importance of estate planning and having the ‘what if’ conversations. Now this did not minimize my grief, but I was better prepared to take the action I knew I needed to take.
It is true that dreams never die, but they can wind up fading into the woodwork of our lives if they aren’t cultivated and nurtured into reality. Just as a houseplant needs to be watered and fertilized on a weekly basis, so do our dreams. By shoving our dreams into that ‘Someday’ file in our mind, we run the very real risk of having that ‘Someday’ never come. We let our fears – fear of the unknown and the very real fear of change – get in the way of our taking action. And then we believe that we are powerless to change ANYTHING.
Remember - courage is taking action in the face of fear. You will never know what you’re capable of until you take this first step and just make a decision to do something – anything – to propel you towards your dream.
Think about this for a moment – how far are you actually willing to go to have the life (and dreams) that you want and deserve? What are you willing to change in your life to put the wheels in motion to turn your hopes and aspirations into reality?
Here are 6 Steps to get your started on your journey to making your financial dreams, financial realities:
1. Ask yourself this – What do I really want to be, do, or have?
You can’t get anywhere until you know where you’re going. It’s your life – your choice. Write it down, make it real. The clearer your ‘wish list’ is, the better your Financial Planner will be able to help you achieve it.
2. Is this dream in keeping with my core values?
Core values help you define what matters most to you in life and are the basis for making better choices for yourself. When you use your core values to make your decisions, you are less likely to second guess yourself.
3. What are the action steps I need to take to achieve this dream?
If your dream is to have financial freedom at retirement, then you know the first step you’ll need to take is to examine your spending habits. If you are not committed to putting a portion of your earnings into savings or a 401K, then chances are you won’t achieve your dream. Be realistic so you don’t sabotage yourself.4. Choose a time frame for your action steps.
4. How do you eat an elephant?
One bite at a time. That’s how you are going to achieve your financial dreams. Be realistic. Setting a target date keeps you honest with yourself. It also helps your Financial Planner set up a plan that works for you so that you’ll achieve your dreams… one dollar at a time.
5. What kind of support can I expect from my Financial Planner? What requests will I need to make?
The clearer you are about your current financial status and your aspirations for retirement, the better your Financial Planner will be able to help you get there. If you don’t ask, you don’t get – plain and simple.
6. How will I feel when I achieve this dream?
By concentrating on the end result as if you’ve already achieved it, you’re sending out positive vibrations into the universe which will help you in your quest to manifesting your dreams. In your mind, picture your life as it will be once you’ve obtained your desires. Imagine it, feel it, taste and/or smell the success. By believing you’re already at the finish line, getting there will be much easier.
So go ahead. Dream your dreams and reach for the stars. Your ideal life is waiting for you. Let go and give yourself the gift of a life well planned and well lived.
- Cookie Tuminello, Success Source
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How To Hire an Estate Planning Attorney
Choosing an attorney to help you with your estate planning is an important task. The decision certainly should not be made on the basis of advertising. The Yellow Pages are filled with ads–all of which say basically the same thing. You should not hire based solely on TV advertising–anyone can buy a slick commercial.
How Do You Choose? How do you find out who, in your local community, is the best for your case? We believe that there are certain questions to ask that will lead to the best person for your case–no matter what the specialty. It may involve some time on your part, but that’s OK because the decision as to who your attorney will be is very important.
Estate planning, successions and Medicaid planning are much to specialized for someone who does not regularly practice in these areas. I have often had to go back and fix estate plans that other, less knowledgeable attorneys have handled.
So how do you find out who is good in your area? Here are some tips.
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Get a referral for an attorney that you do know. He or she probably knows someone who specializes in the type of help you need.
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The Yellow Pages can be a good source of names. However, not everyone advertises there. My firm does not. Most of our cases come via referrals from financial advisors and other professionals.
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Interview several attorneys. Ask about their experience in estate planning, any associations they belong to.
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Visit the firm website and read their biographical profile.
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Does the attorney offer you educational materials to help you understand the issues and options you are facing with as you make estate planning decisions?
Once you find an attorney you are comfortable, make sure you understand their terms of engagement. Do they use a written engagement agreement that clearly explains the work they will do for you and the fee to be charged? Is the fee hourly or on a flat fee basis? Do they guarantee your satisfaction with their services?
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How To Avoid Probate in Louisiana
Probate is a court process that transfers title to property from a person who died to his or her heirs. Because the deceased person is no longer available to sign a deed or otherwise transfer the property, the probate courts step in to make the transfer on behalf of the deceased person