Winsor Law Group Blog

A lot of people have been getting sick in the phoenix valley this time of year. It seems like it happens like this every year. My last sickness came from the bug my daughter picked up from a schoolmate. At first I was sneezing all through thenight. Next, my nose began running constantly with intermittent sneezing. Finally, I had terrible chills, a fever, and a cough. It was a terrible ordeal.

While I do not have a medical degree, I am a bona fide Juris Doctor. I can help educate you and your family for your next Estate checkup.

An estate is more than just property. It is more than just assets and current liabilities. It those things AND the daily activities that maintain them. Its essence you and all that you do. It is very much like a living organism. Symptoms of an unhealthy estate will manifest in different ways, but there are some strong comparisons that can be made to what I experienced from my common cold’s symptoms: Sneezing/Coughing, Runny Nose, and Fevers/Chills.

Sneezing/Coughing: Sneezing/coughing is an involuntary response by the body to attempt clear breathing pathways of troublesome elements present in the system or in the environment. Sneezing is a warning to do something different or to get out of the environment! Think of your last financial crises like an expensive car or home repair, or a big medical event. Was the estate prepared with resources to handle the event or not? Were the documents needed to deal with those issues in place? Sneezes are sometimes unavoidable, but they often happen unexpectedly.

The Juris Doctor recommends: a healthy diet of preparation and modifying or eliminating troublesome activities that likely cause them.

The Runny Nose: The Runny Nose comes after the sneeze. It is a constant drip. All we want to do is to get it to stop. The drip is frustrating because it requires constant attention and drains our energy. An estate with a runny nose is one that loses resources unproductively.

The Juris Doctor recommends: Find the leak in the financial bucket and repair it. You should experience a degree of relief as your resources replenish.

Fevers/Chills: For an estate, temperature control is determined by the people in it. Attitudes, opinions, and personalities affect the health of an estate so much more than many think. A good estate plan can be organized and efficient. A great estate plan understands the temperatures of the environment and plans accordingly. The goal is to keep the administrative tone at comfortable temperatures for everyone involved. If the environment is hot (contentious/dramatic) or cold (hidden/secretive) the other people affected by the estate are very likely to be uncomfortable and unhappy.

The Juris Doctor recommends: Have a check up to see if anything can be done to balance strong personalities with cooler temperaments, and avoid future controversy with planning where possible.

If you are one of those who are sick this time of year, I hope your health improves very soon. Thanks for reading, and do not neglect or forget to go see your Juris Doctor if your estate has unhealthy symptoms!

*The information provided in this article is of a general nature and reflects only the opinion of the author at the time it was drafted. It is not intended as definitive legal advice, does not create an attorney-client relationship, and you should not act upon it without seeking independent legal counsel.