Tag Archive for: Carrier Law

Back To Basics: See It Through In ‘22

Read the Print Version

Are You Against Peace of Mind?
What Is A Will? Probate – Who Cares?
What Is A Trust? Why Do Trusts Routinely Fail?
Why Don’t They Ever Talk About The Real Problem?
Why Are They Misleading You?
Is Now A Bad Time?

American Middle-Class Values Are Universal
The Future Is Middle Class

Sometimes do you feel surrounded by gloomy complainers who think you should be as anxious and angry as they are? At Christmastime, they complain about everything: gift-giving is bad, Christmas dinner is sinfully extravagant, family time is traumatic. Sad. Proof positive that misery loves company.

Gloomy Gus and Miserable Mary take especial twisted delight in accusing you of all manner of wretched, greedy, evil behavior. Your joy in simple pleasures both infuriates and depresses them. They have “issues.” Every glass is half-empty. All emotions are tainted. Lurking beneath each good deed is a selfish and unworthy motive. The pinnacle of their dismal happiness is to accuse America of unique and awful sin. COVID responses have only deepened their malaise.

What rubbish! Just as your (vaccinated!) immune system rapidly isolates and destroys deadly viruses and bacteria, we need to inoculate ourselves against this deeply stupid and self-destructive whining. Childish and immature? Yes. Infantile and unserious? Definitely. That does not mean we can ignore this injurious infection. Sunshine is the best disinfectant!

Is everything bad and getting worse? Are you an awful person? It is easy to observe that throughout human history, humans have wanted the same things. Why do they ridicule the notion that we are all the same underneath?

You spent a lifetime working and saving. You paid your bills. You raised your kids. You showed up. Nose to the grindstone. Happy warrior. Fighting the good fight.

Lucky for you, you are an American. Being an American means that your efforts count. You can get stuff. And keep it. And enjoy it. Some people like snowmobiles. Other people like Precious Moments™ figurines. Bowling balls and pool cues. Snap-on Tools™. Surf boards. Quilts. Pottery. We like our stuff. It is good to get stuff. The more stuff, the better.

Abundance. Prosperity. Wealth.

How do I know that it is good to get stuff? Look around. Everybody, in every country, around the world, is trying to get stuff. Stuff like yours. Stuff we take for granted.

It starts with sanitation. Toilets. Clean water. Pretty soon folks want electricity. And a bank account. For their savings. Then cell phones. Then McDonald’s™ hamburgers. Then a place to call their own. Then a house. And a car. Health care too. People like to live. They like to live with their stuff. It’s not just you.
Everybody’s doing it.

How do I know? Glad you asked…

Extreme Poverty Almost Gone

The world is becoming middle-class. America just got there first. Not getting blown up in WWII probably helped. Working really hard and believing the America Dream also helped. And now, according to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, in the 2020 Goalkeepers Report, the world is catching up.

Worried about Extreme Poverty? It is practically a thing of the past. Look at the graph. Go to the website. All good news!

Got Personal Hygiene?
Get Running Water and Toilets…

What about safe water? Again, check out the chart. More people than ever are living healthier lives. Who knew that things were so good? The truth is that other folks want the same things you do. And, like you, they are willing to work to get those good things. Is it ridiculous to think that other people want flush toilets, clean water, and a place to wash their hands? Did you think anyone was choosing to wash in sewage?

financial services for the poor chart

Who Needs Banks and Banking Services The Most? Poor Folks

And what about money? Once again, trust your own eyes. Even in the poorest countries. Even the poorest people in those countries. 30% of the poorest people in the world have bank accounts. A safe place to store the fruits of their labors. Giving them a way out of poverty. Promising them a brighter future.

The job is not done. Not by a long stretch. Be of good cheer. Progress is tough to derail. Not even the COVID pandemic or some of the hysterical reactions to it have significantly slowed the train. So. Let the nattering nabobs of negativism tell you how bad everything is… Then give them a reality check. Pow! Right in the kisser. Metaphorically. Rhetorically. Confidently.

The future is middle class.

Middle class folks want to make things better for the family members they leave behind. It is a new kind of problem for most people. Including most Americans.

You Got Stuff, You Die Who Gets Your Stuff?
The Last Will and Testament

Funny thing about stuff. It lasts longer than you do. What happens then? The answer to that question is the beginning of estate planning. For a very long time, only the pashas, potentates and princes had anything worth having. But that began to change. Slowly at first, but eventually lots of folks had stuff that was still around after they were gone and still useful.

Who gets it? That was a big problem. The answer was a new kind of court, the probate court. A special place where all this could be settled out.

Along with getting stuff for themselves, folks wanted to give the next generation a leg up. They wanted to say who would get the left-overs. And that’s where wills come in.

Your Last Will and Testament is simply instructions to the probate court. That is it. Your Will only works if it goes through probate. Lots of people will tell you, “I don’t have to worry about probate, I have a Will!” And now you know better.

How much does it cost to probate your leftover stuff? A frequently cited number, attributed to AARP, is 4-10% of the value of the estate. That seems about right to me.

Why so expensive? Because you left a big mess. While you are alive, your name is on your stuff. You are large and in charge. It is as if you were carrying items around in a store. In your arms. As long as you are steady on your feet… no problem. But if you slip and fall… Whoops! There goes all the stuff you were carrying. And now you have made a big mess. You were in complete control of your stuff. Now nobody is in control. Stuff goes flying. Good luck sorting it out. Nice easy job, cleaning up the mess.

But cleaning up the mess is exactly what the probate court does. The probate court is a janitor. Your will is simply a note found in the mess. Let’s hope the janitor finds the note. And reads it. And follows it. And is not distracted by everything else going on…

Probate is not a curse inflicted on innocent people by a vengeful deity. Probate is the necessary and unavoidable consequence of the rise of the middle class. Together with a failure to plan ahead.

You Got Stuff, You Die Who Gets Your Stuff? The Trust

Is it ridiculous to think that most people would rather not lose 4-10% of their leftover life savings? Are you opposed to keeping what you have earned? Maybe then avoiding probate would be a good idea. Are you against finding better ways to get the job done? I didn’t think so…

That’s where the trust comes in. Trusts hold your stuff, like a shopping cart at the store. You are in control.

Put things in. Take things out. Re-arrange. It is all up to you. The key is that when you “slip and fall”, your possessions are in the cart. Sure, you went flying. Call the EMTs! But your stuff remains in the shopping cart/ trust. No fuss. No muss. Nothing for the janitor to do. Your successor trustee steps up and divvies up the stuff to your deserving and grateful family members. What could be easier? Are you surprised that trusts are so popular?

The Huge Dirty Secret of Trust-Based Planning

Is it ridiculous to think that a highly profitable industry based on cleaning up messes might want to go on cleaning up those messes? Can continue collecting those fees? If you were collecting 4-10% of folks’ leftover lifesavings, would you be in a rush to cut off that gravy train? Is it bad to wonder why 90+% of trusts fail? Is it cynical and ill-natured to wonder whether the astonishing failure rate of trusts has anything to do with probate industry profits?

Why do trusts fail harder than the Wizard of Oz? The simple reason, which is well-known to your banker, insurance agent, financial advisor, attorney, and anyone else with the slightest familiarity, is that hardly anything gets into the shopping cart.

You paid for a bright and shiny new trust/shopping cart. And that is what you received. It is beautiful! Leather binder. Lots of pages. Wow! And it is empty. And you are still carrying all those items around in your arms. So when you slip and fall… oopsie! All your stuff STILL goes flying, STILL makes a huge mess, STILL requires probate.

How Do They Get Away With Such Piracy?!

How does the probate industry get away with it? Simple. In that fancy binder of yours, there is a memorandum/ letter/instruction booklet/ brochure. In that document, the responsibility of getting your stuff into your trust is placed squarely on your shoulders.

Did you know that? Would it be a waste of your time to, right now, dig into that fancy binder and find that memo? It is in there, I promise.

The memo is how the probate industry turns your kids’ righteous indignation at having to pay for probate into sheepish surrender. It was Mom and Dad’s fault! They did not follow the instructions! Aww gee! Heh heh… betcha ya didn’t see that coming!

What if there was a law firm that did the hard work of tracking down your assets with you and getting them into the trust. Would you be surprised if the process took longer? Would it be a shock that it cost more? Would you be against getting what you paid for?

Would you be surprised to learn that there is no free lunch?

American Middle-Class Values
Are The Wave Of The Future

Do you reject the idea that a rising tide lifts all boats? Is it too farfetched to think that today’s “rising tide” are the peaceful virtues of the middle-class lifestyle? Rapidly spreading across the globe. Raising hundreds of millions, billions of our sisters and brothers out of poverty. On to the path for a better life.

Our better future has its enemies. Craven, miserable, alive only with jealousy and envy. You extend the helping hand of friendship; they see only the claw of exploitation. You offer to help build, construct, improve, they seek only to tear down, demolish, devastate.

You are winning. Ever more desperate, they are losing.

Peace of mind and security are waiting for everyone who embraces productive work. While you are here. And after you are gone. Waiting for you. You have a choice. Despite what “everybody else” says.

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste. It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. 800-317-2812

Have You Given Up On Christmas? A Focus Group Discussion

Panelists: Ebenezer Scrooge, Robert “Bob” Cratchit, Fred (Nephew Of Scrooge), Jacob Marley (Ghost Of), Cast Of Thousands

Special Guests: Spirits Of Christmas Past, Present & Future

Is A Focus Group Possible Without Experts?
Introducing The Authorities

Ebenezer Scrooge: “[A] tight- fisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous, old sinner! Hard and sharp as flint…; secret, and self-contained, and solitary as an oyster.”

Jacob Marley’s Ghost: “[P]igtail, usual waistcoat, tights and boots; the tassels on the latter bristling, like his pigtail… The chain he drew was clasped about his middle. It was long, and wound about him like a tail; and it was made… of cash-boxes, keys, padlocks, ledgers, deeds, and heavy purses wrought in steel. His body was transparent; so that Scrooge, observing him, and looking through his waistcoat, could see the two buttons on his coat behind.”

Robert “Bob” Cratchit: “[L]ittle Bob, the father, with at least three feet of comforter exclusive of the fringe, hanging down before him; and his threadbare clothes darned up and brushed…”

Fred (The Nephew): “[W]ith rapid walking in the fog and frost, this nephew of Scrooge’s… was all in a glow; his face was ruddy and handsome; his eyes sparkled, and his breath smoked again.” “[T]here is nothing in the world so irresistibly contagious as laughter and good- humour. …Scrooge’s nephew laughed in this way…”

Christmas Past, Spirit of: “[A] strange figure—like a child: yet not so like a child as like an old man… It wore a tunic of the purest white… It held a branch of fresh green holly in its hand; and… had its dress trimmed with summer flowers. But the strangest thing about it was, that from the crown of its head there sprung a bright clear jet of light, by which all this was visible[.]

Christmas Present, Ghost of: “[A] jolly Giant, glorious to see; who bore a glowing torch…” “[C]lothed in one simple green robe…, bordered with white fur. This garment hung so loosely on the figure, that its capacious breast was bare… Its feet were also bare; and on its head
it wore no other covering than a holly wreath, set here and there with shining icicles. Its dark
brown curls were long and free; free as its genial face, its sparkling eye, its open hand, its cheery voice, its unconstrained demeanour, and its joyful air.”

Christmas Yet to Come, Phantom of: “[S]hrouded in a deep black garment, which concealed its head, its face, its form, and left nothing of it visible save one outstretched hand. But for this it would have been difficult to detach its figure from the night and separate it from the darkness by which it was surrounded.”

Convenient Contributors: Portly Gentlemen, Mr. & Mrs. Fezziwig, Mrs. Cratchit, Tiny Tim, Fred’s wife.

Is It Such A Ridiculous Idea That At Christmastime We Could Find Kindness For One Another And Joy In Our Hearts?

Scrooge: “Bah!” … “Humbug!”
Fred: “Christmas a humbug, uncle!” … “You don’t mean that, I am sure?”
Scrooge: “I do,” … “Merry Christmas! What right have you to be merry? What reason have you to be merry? You’re poor enough.”
Fred: “Come, then… What right have you to be dismal? What reason have you to be morose? You’re rich enough.”
Scrooge: “Bah!” … “Humbug.”
Portly Gentleman: “[A] few of us are endeavoring to raise a fund to buy the Poor some meat and drink and means of warmth. We choose this time, because it is a time, of all others, when Want is keenly felt, and Abundance rejoices.”
Scrooge: “If I could work my will,” … “every idiot who goes about with ‘Merry Christmas’ on his lips, should be boiled with his own pudding, and buried with a stake of holly through his heart. He should!”
Fred: “I am sorry, with all my heart, to find you so resolute. So, A Merry Christmas, uncle!” Marley’s
Ghost: “At this time of the rolling year, I suffer most. Why did I walk through crowds of fellow-beings with my eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode!
Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!”
Scrooge: “[K]eep Christmas in your own way and let me keep it in mine.”
Spirit of Past: “These are but shadows of the things that have been.” “They have no
consciousness of us.”
Fezziwig: “Yo ho, my boys! No more work to-night. Christmas Eve, Dick. Christmas, Ebenezer! Let’s have the shutters up, before a man can say Jack Robinson!”
Spirit of Past: “A small matter, to make these silly folks so full of gratitude.”
Ghost of Present: “You have never seen the like of me before!”
Scrooge: “Never.” “I am afraid I have not. Have you had many brothers, Spirit?”
Ghost of Present: “More than eighteen hundred.”
Scrooge: “A tremendous family to provide for!” “Merry Christmas! Out upon merry Christmas! What’s Christmas time to you but a time for paying bills without money; a time for finding yourself a year older, but not an hour richer; a time for balancing your books and having every item in ’em through a round dozen of months presented dead against you?”
Fred: “But I am sure I have always thought of Christmas time as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of when men and women seem to open their shut-up hearts freely. And therefore, uncle, though it has never put a scrap of gold or silver in my pocket, I believe that it has done me good, and will do me good; and I say, God bless it!”
Tiny Tim: “God bless Us, Every One!”

Do You Reject The Idea, Actions Have Consequences?

Marley’s Ghost: “Man of the worldly mind! Do you believe in me or not?”
Scrooge: “I must. But why do spirits walk the earth, and why do they come to me?”
Marley’s Ghost: “It is required of every man, that the spirit within him should walk abroad among his fellowmen and travel far and wide; and if that spirit goes not forth in life, it is condemned to do so after death. It is doomed to wander through the world—oh, woe is me! —and witness what it cannot share, but might have shared on earth, and turned to happiness!”
Scrooge: “Spirit, tell me if Tiny Tim will live.” Ghost of Present: “I see a vacant seat in the poor chimney-corner, and a crutch without an owner, carefully preserved. If these shadows remain unaltered by the Future, the child will die.” Scrooge: “No, no, Oh, no, kind Spirit! say he will be spared.”
Ghost of Present: “What then? If he be like to die, he had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”
Scrooge: “Men’s courses will foreshadow certain ends, to which, if persevered in, they must lead, but if the courses be departed from, the ends will change. Say it is thus with what you show me!”
Phantom of Future: The finger pointed from the grave to him, and back again.
Scrooge: “Spirit! Hear me! I am not the man I was. I will not be the man I must have been but for this intercourse. Why show me this if I am past all hope!”

Should You Only Bless Those Who Bless You First?

Bob Cratchit: “I’ll give you Mr. Scrooge, the Founder of the Feast!”
Mrs. Cratchit: “The Founder of the Feast indeed! It should be Christmas Day, I am sure, on which one drinks the health of such an odious, stingy, hard, unfeeling man as Mr. Scrooge.”
Bob Cratchit: “My dear, Christmas Day.”
Mrs. Cratchit: “I’ll drink his health for your sake and the Day’s, not for his. Long life to him! A merry Christmas and a happy new year!”
Fred: “Here is a glass of mulled wine ready to our hand; and I say, ‘Uncle Scrooge!’ A Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to the old man, whatever he is! He wouldn’t take it from me, but may he have it, nevertheless. Uncle Scrooge!”
Everyone: “Well! Uncle Scrooge!”

Is Anyone Beyond Redemption? If A Scrooge Can Be Saved Can Anyone Be Doomed?

Scrooge: “I will live in the Past, the Present, and the Future! The Spirits of all Three shall strive within me. Oh Jacob Marley! Heaven, and the Christmas Time be praised for this! I say it on my knees, old Jacob; on my knees! A merry Christmas to everybody! A happy New Year to all the world.”

Scrooge was better than his word. He did it all, and infinitely more; and to Tiny Tim, who did not die, he was a second father. He became as good a friend, as good a master, and as good a man, as the good old city knew, or any other good old city, in the good old world. And it was always said of him, that he knew how to keep Christmas well, if any man alive possessed the knowledge. May that be truly said of us, and all of us! And so, as Tiny Tim observed, God bless Us, Every One!

No Poverty. No Charity. No Waste.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

As You Look Around… Satisfied By The Status Quo?

Happy Now?

Pleased By Punishing Prices? Gratified By Groveling To Grandees? Have You Given Up On The Idea Of America?

None Of This Is New Or Unexpected: It Is Obvious And Intentional (Also Evil)

Facts Are Stubborn Things: So Are Questions

When do you think we should use national emergency war reserve stocks of petroleum? Maybe in a national emergency? Or war? Do you think we should use national emergency war reserve stocks of petroleum because Russian rulers and sovereign sheiks humiliated and rejected us when we begged for more oil? Is it ridiculous to think that canceling America’s energy industry would lead to dictators and potentates holding us hostage? How did America’s enemies rip away our energy independence? Who delivered us hogtied and weak to our blackmailers? Didn’t that just happen?

Russia threatens invasion of Ukraine. Again. Russian pipelines from Russian oilfields supply Western Europe. New pipelines that do not go through the Ukraine. America approves. America shuts down American pipelines and oilfields. America begs for Russian oil. Russia says “Nyet!” Will Russia listen to America about Ukraine invasion? Is good joke, no?

China plans invasion of Taiwan. Etcetera. Etcetera. Will China listen to America about Taiwan invasion? Also good joke, yes?

Some people smash and grab sledge hammers and crow bars from big box home improvement stores. Some people use sledge hammers and crow bars to smash and grab luxury goods from luxury stores. And regular stuff from drugstores, dollar stores, grocery stores. No sledge hammers required. Some congressionpersons deny this is a problem.

Some prosecutors refuse to prosecute smash and grab theft. Also minor assaults. Also major assaults. Also murders. Also riots. Also arson of police stations, federal courthouses, stores, small business, single family homes, apartment houses, and basically anything else that burns. Some TV talkers think you should look at the “good news.”

Some people rob and murder wealthy, generous, socially-conscious, 80 year-old Black women in their guarded Beverly Hills mansions. Now Oprah Winfrey disapproves.

Some presidents (to media applause) pardon people who were convicted of detonating bombs in the U.S. Capitol building. Some presidents (to media applause) hold people in solitary confinement who are accused of protesting in the U.S. Capitol building.

Some teachers encourage some kids to think of themselves as evil exploiters, based on skin color. Some teachers encourage other kids to think of themselves as helpless victims, based on skin color. Some teachers encourage kids to think of teachers as avenging angels. Some teachers discourage kids from thinking that hard work pays. No more grades. Or advanced placement or study courses. Providing pillows, puppies, and warm, soft comfortable spaces to think correct thoughts about their victimhood. Based on skin color.

Inflation. At least they stopped lying about it and admit that skyrocketing prices for just about everything are here to stay. Happy now?

There Is Nothing New Under The Sun

5 The sun also rises, also does it set, And hastens to the place where it arose.
6 The wind whirls about continually, And comes again on its circuit.
7 All the rivers run into the sea, Yet the sea is not full.
9 That which has been is what will be, That which is done is what will be done, And there is nothing new under the sun.
11 There is no remembrance of past things, Nor will there be any remembrance of things that are to come.
—Eccliesiastes 1:5-7,9,11

Is there any mystery as to how we got here or how to get out? Is the world too complex? Should we simply run away? But where would we run to? Is surrender the answer?

“There are no easy answers, but there are simple answers. We must have the courage to do what we know is morally right.” Ronald Reagan. How do we know what is morally right? This is not a new question. The answers are not new either.

Seven Deadly Sins
Breaking News From The 4TH Century

Is it ridiculous to recognize that humans today are the same as humans two thousand years ago? Same temptations. Same ways of getting it wrong. Doing evil.

Same aspirations. Living a good life. Finding meaning in the world. Getting it right. Doing good.

Do you hear preachers these days talking about the time-tested seven deadly sins? Are today’s preachers correct that everything is okay? Have good and evil gone out of style? When? Is it a good thing that preachers are most intensely concerned about current social theories about which skin color group is to blame for the misery of other skin color groups? Should we cheer when preachers condemn some people for disapproving of the actions and behaviors of other people, when those actions and behaviors are harmful? To themselves and others? Should the question of good and bad be a popularity contest?
Here is a list of bad attitudes and behaviors first identified by Aristotle thousands of years ago. In the 4th century a Christian monk listed them as 7 or 8. A few hundred years later Saint Thomas Aquinas whittled the list down to Seven:

  • Lust
  • Gluttony/Drunkeness
  • Greed
  • Sloth
  • Wrath
  • Envy
  • Pride

Can you think of any problem we face today that does not spring directly from one of these mindsets? If someone is pushing schoolkids to embrace Sloth (no grades), Envy (they got stuff you want), Wrath (they stole your stuff), and Pride (they can do no right, we can do no wrong), does that someone really have the best interests of the kids at heart?

Do you insist you are perfect? Do you claim the right to judge others? Are you asking for anything more than the right to try as best you can to do as well as you can? Do you want unjust, undeserved rewards? Do you seek unfair advantage? Do you want a crumb more than what you have earned? Can anyone honestly accuse you of wanting more than simple fairness?

Of course, none of us are perfect. As the sun also rises, so do we fail to meet our highest ideals and aspirations. But just as all rivers run into the sea, we keep trying. Keeping faith. Acknowledging our failures and striving to improve.

Seven Cardinal Virtues
How To Win

Humans have been behaving badly for a long time. No surprise. And humans have been rising above bad behavior for just as long.

Is it ridiculous to recognize that humans today are the same as humans two thousand years
ago? Same hopes and dreams. Same aspirations to get it right. Doing good. Making the world a better place. Is that ridiculous?

Fortunately, the folks who gave us the list of the Seven Deadly Sins, left another list. The second list has the simple answers. Remember, these answers may be simple, but they are not easy:

  • Chastity
  • Temperance
  • Charity
  • Diligence
  • Kindness
  • Patience
  • Humility

Can you think of any problem we face today that could not be solved by applying one of these mindsets? If schoolkids were encouraged to embrace Diligence (do your homework), Patience (good things come to those who wait, and work), Kindness (understand others before you demand understanding from others), and Humility (nobody has all the answers, no one is perfect), would we have parents feeling betrayed and (finally) demanding accountability?

Are you against enduring faithfulness to your spouse? Are you too afraid to see the world clearly, seeking deadly shelter in a drunken haze? Have you given up on extending the helping hand to others? Is it crazy to think that challenging work gets superior results? Do only suckers and chumps practice compassion, loyalty, and integrity? Are you opposed to seeking peace and extending mercy? Do you reject the bravery of listening to the other side and the modesty of acknowledging your faults?

America wins when we all win. That has always been the promise. And America has been pretty darn good at keeping that promise. Better than anyone else. In the history of the world.

But now we are flooded with petulant, peevish professionals: teachers, lawyers, politicians, tech moguls. You know who they are. Unhappy people who find their toxic joy in the misery of others. Resentment is their stock in trade. Utopian promises that deceive only the ignorant.

From National Socialism to Soviet Socialism to Venezuelan Socialism to a Baskin-Robbins assortment of other socialisms, the results are always the same. Repression. Starvation. Death.

Is it a ridiculous idea to think that you can do something about it? Have you given up on the idea of America? Are you opposed to fighting for the way of life that has brought so much happiness to so many?

Avalanche, Landslide, Earthquake, Tidal Wave Big Events Start Small

A few pebbles bounce down the mountain side. A tiny snowball starts to roll. Tectonic plates slip, just a little. Then a little more. Bouncing pebbles cause rolling rocks. Snowballs grow huge. The earth shudders. Change is coming.

A few people become concerned. They talk to other people. Who talk to other people. The powerful try to shut them up. Ban them. Cancel them. Ridicule them. But like other natural events, the cascade cannot be stopped. Change is coming.

Is it a ridiculous idea to think we have reached a turning point? Do regular folks, the kind you go to church with, approve the current situation? Do you think America has been well served by so-called the best and brightest? America’s greatest strength has always been her people, the steady, reliable men and women who get things done. Should we let things slide further? Do you really want to see how far down we can go? Is this a bad time to say, “Enough!”?

Don’t Give Up, Don’t Give In

Nursing home poverty. Long-term care expenses. Probate. Taxes. Family feuding. These are realities for most middle-class families, like it or not.

LifePlanning™ is the way families like yours preserve what they own to protect what they value. For over 30 years, making the rules work for thousands of families who play by the rules.

Are today’s challenges the ordinary, routine, normal sorts of challenges we have always faced? It feels as though it is increasingly difficult to do the right thing. But do fundamental truths ever change? Does ignoring reality make it go away?

Do you wish you could spend all day focused on the Medicaid, probate and tax rules and regulations that drives well-adjusted people crazy? Or would you like some payback for all the taxes you paid in. Some dignity and respect. Along with the madness.

Peace of mind and security are waiting for everyone who knows what work really is. Waiting for you. It is a choice. Despite what “everybody else” says.

Well, here you are. Now you know. No excuses. Get the information, insight, inspiration. It is your turn. Ignore the message? Invite poverty? Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions. For you. For your loved ones.

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.

It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

Are You Afraid To Hate Some Things? Are You Afraid To Love Other Things?

Let Your ‘Yes’ Be ‘Yes’, Let Your ‘No’ Be ‘No’. Anything Else Comes From The Evil One
— Matthew 5:37

The Facts Concerning The Recent Carnival Of Crime…

In June 1876, The Atlantic Monthly published a short story by Mark Twain: “The Facts Concerning the Recent Carnival of Crime in Connecticut.” Twain portrays the narrator’s conscience as a shriveled, moldy gnome who delights in torturing the man with feelings of guilt and remorse. The narrator eventually seizes his conscience and rips it to shreds. Having destroyed his sense of right and wrong, he proclaims, “You behold before you a man whose life-conflict is done, whose soul is at peace; a man whose WITHOUT A CONSCIENCE!” Joyously, he engages in the Carnival of Crime. Including 38 murders and arson of a neighbor’s house. Not to mention “swindl[ing] a widow and some orphans out of their last cow, which is a very good one, though not thoroughbred, I believe.”

Today, 145 years later, some people have taken Mark Twain’s “Carnival” story as a challenge, not a warning. Our schools, colleges and universities have spawned a sprawling empire of injury. Poseur intellectualistic charlatans preach a depraved gospel of grievance, greed, and entitlement. Popular media proudly and industriously spread the resentment poison. Weak, wishy- washy, gutless and vain, community and church “leaders” cower from conflict. Truth sacrificed on the altar of cheap vaporous popularity. They lie. Say things they know are not true. Shrink from honesty, run from the light. A nest of vipers, they camouflage evil with a deceptive veneer.

Have you forgotten the fairytale of Hansel and Gretel? Abandoned, starving children find a wondrous house made of delicious bread, cakes, and candy. Unfortunately, the Gingerbread House is a snare to attract and trap innocent children. Hidden inside, the evil witch lurks to catch, roast, and devour them. Through luck, bravery, and intelligence, the clever kids boldly destroy the witch. They escape the enticing fraud. Welcomed home to the modest woodcutter’s cottage, they live happily ever after. No magical Gingerbread House with sham promises concealing ultimate destruction. Ordinary life, ordinary joy.

Is it ridiculous to think that our society may have fallen into the Gingerbread House trap? Is it unexpected that a materialistic culture promising everything to everybody all the time might lead to frustration, envy, and selfish anger?

Did you miss the news that roving bands of shoplifting punks have forced San Francisco drug stores to close? Did you fail to notice that well-dressed, well-fed smash and grab gangs looted luxury handbags and jewelry from mall stores? Then escaped in their own cars. Their own cars.

Are we talking about hungry folks forced to steal a crust of bread? Are these street urchins with rags on their backs, who have worn holes in their shoes walking to school?
When asked for charity, hard-hearted Ebenezer Scrooge replied, “Are there no prisons? Are there no workhouses?” But. That was a couple hundred years ago.

Today, we will spend over 750,000 tax dollars to provide Bob Crachit with 2 bedrooms of “affordable” housing. In San Francisco. The rest of California is a bit cheaper. (In fact, it is much more, that chart is from 2 years ago!) “Feeding America”, one of many food charities, runs 60,000 food pantries. There are 8 major federal food
programs. And countless state relief agencies. Billions of dollars are spent annually. How far are you, right now, from a food pantry?

Grocery stores do not get the smash and grab treatment.

What is going on? Bandits do not steal to eat. Or for nice clothes. Or for automobiles. Or TVs. Or cell phones. They already have all that stuff. For free. These scroungers steal luxury goods. Luxury. Only the best. Fancy leather wallets and handbags. Ridiculous watches. Gaudy jewelry. Would you buy any of this stuff? We cannot afford it, so we would have to save a long time. And think even longer. What is this entitlement, get- mine sickness? Who has the cure?

Is Ignoring The Problem The Best Solution?
Will It Go Away If We Shut Our Eyes?
Shall We Pretend Everything Is All Just Fine?

Should you keep ignoring the problem? Is now a bad time to wake up and smell the coffee? Are you opposed to making our world, your neighborhood, a better place? Is it ridiculous to believe in basic values like, trust, loyalty, courtesy, kindness, thrift, and bravery? Are we fools to be helpful, friendly, cheerful, and reverential? Are you against an America that works for everyone because everyone capable of working works? Have you given up on the American Dream? Have you given up on your own ambition to live your life well and to be a blessing to your family?

It Is Possible To Hate Without Loving.
But Is It Possible To Love Without Hating?

Like you, I find that statement difficult to believe. Nevertheless, we must embrace all truth, whether comfortable and gratifying, or awkward and embarrassing. On reflection, it seems obvious and inescapable that there are some people who do not love, but merely hate. It also seems to me that the people who take the risk of love, also accept the responsibility of hate. So, in the interests of restoring some balance:

I hate cheating, but I love competition and fair play.
I hate money grubbers, but I love financial independence.
I hate government handouts, but I love getting something back for all the tax dollars I have paid in.
I hate getting old, but I love getting up in the morning.
I hate freeloaders, but I love cooperating with other hard-working people to achieve mutual goals.
I hate noisy, grasping, bossy, phony, hypocritical politicians, but I love public- spirited citizens willing to accept office and serve the rest of us.
I hate stupid rules and regulations imposed by ignorant idiots masquerading as super experts, but I love commonsense laws that make life better for everyone.
I hate grinding poverty, but I love the chance to work hard and make the world a better place.
I hate mean people, but I love charitable folks, giving generously of themselves, their time and treasure.
I hate blamers, whiners, complainers, Gloomy Gus and Debbie Downer, who sit on their lazy keisters hypnotized by TV and finding fault with everything that happened over the last thousand years of human history, but I love cheerful men and women who GIT R DONE!

I hate slovenly slugs who won’t make their own bed, wash the dishes, fold the laundry or practice basic personal hygiene, but I love doers, workers, laborers, and peasants (because near as we can figure, all my ancestors were serfs and “of the land”) (except for a few mercenaries).

I hate bitter resentful infantile complainers who won’t raise a finger to help but will happily raise a brick to throw at police officers, court houses and through windows, but I love younger people facing challenges and meeting needs with grace and dignity.

I hate long-term care that evaporates lifesavings, robs dignity and fails to meet real needs, but I love supportive skilled home care that assists folks in their own homes, lets them enjoy the rewards of their working years, and allows leftovers for the kids.

I hate nursing home poverty, but I love planning that secures lifesavings while meeting real needs. Care that you have already paid for. With your tax dollars. Over your working life.

What do you hate? What do you love? It is up to you.

Wherefore, By Their Fruits Ye Shall Know Them

Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
— Matthew 7:17-20

Is Nursing Home Poverty inevitable? I’m letting you know that you do not have to lose your home, cottage, business, lifesavings, independence, security. Do you choose to give up everything you have earned? Is it ridiculous to think that someone who has been working on issues like this, for people like you, might have figured out a few things? Does it make sense to rely on “My lawyer/financial advisor/ accountant/tax person/banker/best friend/fill- in-the-blank” when none of them have ever pursued a Medicaid application? Let alone succeeded with over 2000.

Well, here you are. What do you think? Is it wise to choose failure? Will you have more choices with less money? Will your spouse be better off with fewer assets?

It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. Call (800) 317-2812

Thanksgiving 2021… What Went Wrong?

Gratitude Is Not Only The Greatest Of The Virtues,
But The Parent Of All Of The Others

— Cicero

A Noble Person Is Mindful And Thankful Of The Favors He Receives From Others

— Buddha

Best Of Times, Worst Of Times

In 1863, Abraham Lincoln proclaimed Thanksgiving as a national holiday:

The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God.

They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, … to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.

— Abraham Lincoln, 1863 Thanksgiving Proclamation

So, I guess 1863 must have been a pretty good year, right? Of course, some may remember a certain unpleasantness. Such as 51,000 men killed or wounded at Gettysburg on a few sunny days in July. And then there was the Battle of Chickamauga in September. Only 35,000 killed or wounded under the changing leaves. Even fewer died or were wounded in early May at the Battle of Chancellorsville: a mere 30,000 young men. Dead or maimed. And the year started out the same way, with 25,000 men and boys dead or hurt at the Battle of Stone’s River (Murfreesboro) on New Year’s Day. And for every battle death, 9 or 10 more soldiers and sailors died of disease, over 300,000. And the war and slaughter would continue for another couple of years.

Would it help to give a little perspective? In 1863, there were only about 32 million Americans. Now we have over 332 million. That means, given today’s population, the casualty counts and death tolls would be more than 10 times as great.

2021 Gettysburg: 510,000.
2021 Chickamauga: 350,000.
2021 Chancellorsville: 300,000.
2021 Murfreesboro: 250,000.
With 3 million dead of disease. Think of that.

Yet in 1863, the gratitude was not ironic, or phony, or fake. These were the Americans who sang “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” and meant it. Despite the great national upheaval. Death all around. Future unknown and unknowable. Still, it was America and Americans found time for genuine Thanksgiving.

In 2021, our leaders proclaim… what? Blame? Recrimination? Mandates? Does the solution to our problems really lie in borrowing trillions of dollars from our children and grandchildren?

In 1863, America was in torment. America’s best were busily killing and maiming one another. With new and improved weapons and tactics. Unprecedented and never to be repeated carnage. Why? For a new birth of freedom. To make good the promise of the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution. To atone. To keep the promise.

In 2021, America is in torment. But of a different kind. Yes, inflation is at a 30-year high. Gas prices up 50%. Home heating fuel up 100%. How is any of this good for working families? Who is celebrating?

Does anyone honestly believe riots and bombing small businesses and federal courthouses lead to freedom? Who truly thinks floods of reckless money printing will cure inflation? What fool advocates choking off America’s energy independence and relying on sheiks and commissars to save the planet from… anything? Why has encouragement of division, blaming, scapegoating, and poverty taken the place of grace, goodwill, gratitude, and appreciation? Can you believe that we are being led to peace or justice?

And Yet So Much To Be Grateful For

A deadly disease appears. Mobilization follows. Empty stocks of personal protection equipment are refilled in record time. Ventilators appear on automobile assembly lines. Researchers formulate new treatments and vaccines at (dare I say it?) warp speed. More and better solutions keep coming.

Small business has been decimated. Huge burdens imposed by shutdowns and capricious government orders. But still. There are more jobs at higher wages than ever before. Why isn’t this the best of times? Why are we not grateful? Who benefits from our division? Where is the profit in America’s decline?

Gratitude Is A Universal Value, An Eternal Good

Across cultures and religious traditions, from ancient times, people have given thanks. As Cicero, thousands of years ago, observed, all virtue begins with and flows from gratitude. Let’s not forget that. Ever.

The Blessed One said, ‘Now what is the level of a person of no integrity? A person of no integrity is ungrateful and unthankful. This ingratitude, this lack of thankfulness, is advocated by rude people. It is entirely on the level of people of no integrity. A person of integrity is grateful and thankful. This gratitude, this thankfulness, is advocated by civil people. It is entirely on the level of people of integrity.

— Buddha

Thankful People Are A Blessing To Themselves And Their Families

There is nothing inevitable about losing your home, cottage, business, lifesavings, independence, security. All of that is a choice. Despite what “everybody else” says. For thirty years, people have told me, “I’ve never heard of this before!” “If this is real, why haven’t I heard of this before?” “My lawyer/financial advisor/accountant/tax person/banker/best friend/fill-in-the-blank never said anything like this…”

Well, here you are. So now you know. No excuses. Now it is your turn. To ignore the message. Invite poverty. Or get the freely offered information. To make wise decisions about your life. And that of your loved one.

It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.
Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

The Secret Hiding In Plain Sight

Your Estate Plan Is Doomed | Why Your Trust Will Fail | What Everybody Knows And No One Will Tell You

Why People Do Estate Planning

Nobody likes estate planning. Estate planning is like castor oil when you were a kid. You had to take it. It was supposed to be good for you. Not sure how or why. But it was unpleasant.

Like insurance, but worse. With insurance, you must have coverage. Just in case. Same with estate planning. You do not want to, you are not sure why you have to, but you must.

If you are like most folks, you do the estate planning because:

1. You have stuff now. House, money, investments.
2. You know you will die. At some point.
3. You think you will have some leftover stuff when you die.
4. You like some people. Spouse. Kids. Friends. Charities.
5. You do not want the government to get your stuff.
6. You want the people you like to get your stuff. Because why not?

Has anyone told you that you are likely to die without stuff? Without leftovers. Has anyone told you that long-term care will drain you dry? If there are no leftovers, why bother? Now you know. Consider yourself told.

Death Is Not The Problem

Some folks believe we will all pass over the Great Divide to the Other Side. Glorious! Other folks hold that sooner or later the organic metabolism that makes up your consciousness will cease and that will be that. Food for worms and nothing more. There are many variations on this basic theme.

Death is not your main problem. Those who survive you will figure out what to do with your remains. And whatever is left of your stuff. This can be done well or poorly. Mostly poorly.

Great families make great plans. Truth to tell, it is not that hard to do it right. But you are not going to see it anyway. Not really your primary problem.

Life Is The Problem

In the Army, I often heard (and often repeated) that, “There are no problems, just opportunities to excel!” Your life is your opportunity. And middle-class folks like you tend to make the most of the gift. That is great. You are independent. You did the work. You get to make choices. Until you cannot.

If you are like most people, you think that tomorrow will be like today. Pretty much. You handled things today. You will handle things tomorrow. And the next day. And the next. But that is not accurate. For most of us, at some point, we will not be able to carry on as we have. That is the castor-oil reality. And most estate planning has nothing, zero, zip, zilch to help you deal with this new, inevitable situation.

LifePlanning™ Is The Solution

LifePlanning™ is focused on you here and now. How do you maintain your independence? How can you stay in control and in charge for as long as humanly possible? Your freedom is what planning should be all about.

The Secret Truth: LifePlanning™ Is Like Hearing Aids

Why do folks buy hearing aids? Did you know that the #1 reason has nothing to do with chirping birds or adjusting the TV volume? The real reason is something no one will admit. It is kind of embarrassing. That is how you know it is true. Folks buy hearing aids because if you cannot hear, your kids will believe that you cannot think. And that is the first step to the kids “helping” you to give up your freedom. The first step to “we can’t trust mom and dad with the kids.”

The real reason for LifePlanning™ is to keep your edge. You do not need lectures. You do not need to hear how nice it is to live at Shady Acres. You do not need another Shady Acres brochure. You want to keep your home. And live there. And you might need some help with that. LifePlanning™ is how to get the help to keep your independence.

Your Trust Will Fail

You went the extra mile. Spent the extra dollars. Got the big binder. Got a trust. Everything is all good now, right? Not so fast.

Everybody knows that trusts fail. Almost all the time. Your financial advisor, insurance agent, banker, accountant. They all know that you will not re-title your assets to the trust. Sure, you will get some stuff in there. Maybe. Most folks have very little in the trust. One survey says 96% of trusts do not avoid probate.

The Institute for Continuing Legal Education gives out certificates to attorneys who want to practice estate planning. Including trust planning. Lawyers who want to be certified must take a whole raft of courses to get that piece of paper. When asked recently about the problem of trusts that do not avoid probate, the instructor was clear. “That is what the pour over will is for. No problem.”

Think about this. The instructor is a highly qualified and experienced estate planning attorney. Partner in a huge, prestigious multi-state law firm. This person is teaching would-be estate planning attorneys that going through probate is no big deal. Did you think that the whole point of the trust was to avoid probate? Whoops. Besides, probate is not that bad… they say…

Your LifePlan™ Will Not Fail

LifePlanning™ means your funding coach works with you to get the job done. To help make sure that your assets are safely in the appropriate trust. It is not easy. It takes time. Two months on average. But there are no shortcuts. No easy way out. And everyone knows it.

LifePlanning™ Is The Solution

LifePlanning™ is the way you keep your stuff. And at the same time, qualify for the government benefits you have earned. Focused on you here and now. By acting early, rather than waiting until the last minute, you will qualify for benefits that may mean you never need residential long-term care. Let’s face it, who can afford the $9000-$12,000 to $15,000 per month costs of skilled nursing? Even a little at home care is ruinously expensive at $30 – $50 per hour.

LifePlanning™ gets you what you have earned. Assistance to stay at home. Health care that keeps you healthy, active, engaged with your grandkids. Free to be your best self.

LifePlanning™ Prevents Tragedy

Nothing is more tragic than one spouse dying while caring for the other. The other spouse now faces institutional care. Which their spouse sacrificed everything to avoid. And that is what happens 40-50% of the time. LifePlanning™ supports the caregiver as well as the disabled spouse. Getting necessary benefits. Staying home. Maximizing potential. Living life to the full.

I Don’t Want Government Help!

Middle-class folks are independent do-it-yourself types. Government hand-out? Perish the thought! Understandable. But.

Government demands taxes. You pay taxes. You never thought you would see any of that money again, right? No return on that investment. This is a return on that investment. Unusual times.

That is the LifePlan™ approach to estate planning and elder law. You paid in, why shouldn’t you be paid back? If you need it. When you need it? Learn more. You can do this.

Secure Your Independence Today… Get Started

COVID flaring up again. Isolation for holidays. Merry Christmas? What are we waiting for? Isn’t today is the best time to plan? Begin by calling the LifePlan™ Hotline: 800-317-2812.

Get Information You Need: Your Life, You Choose!

COVID has not gone away. New challenges arise daily. The risks to your freedom to choose, to your ability to keep what you have earned and built have not gone away. And neither have we. It is your stuff… protect it. And yourself. With complete control. LifePlanning™ means your choices matter, whatever life brings.

How can LifePlanning™ protect your middle-class life savings? How to get this information?

Are you like thousands of Michigan families who played by the rules and earned homes, cottages, farms, lifesavings? Would you like the rules to work for you, for a change? Why wait until it is too late?

GET ANSWERS NOW… CALL THE LIFEPLAN™ HOTLINE
(800) 317-2812

LifePlan™ Workshops are Available Now!

Live, Streaming and Recorded “What could it hurt?”

How I Failed My Father… And How I am Fixing It

PLAIN AS THE NOSE ON YOUR FACE

NONE SO BLIND AS THEY WHO WILL NOT SEE

YOU PROBABLY KNOW MY DAD

Everyone knows somebody like my father. I bet you are a lot like him in many ways. My Dad is the sort who always goes the extra mile. Always giving everything he had. Looking out for others. Going out of his way. Generous. Hard-working.

Dad enlisted in the Navy during WWII, as soon as he could. Following his older brother, an officer and PT boat commander. Dad served stateside, as a Photographer’s Mate, at the Philadelphia Naval Air Station. Mostly taking pictures of crashed airplanes. And the remains of the trainees who crashed them.

After the war, he went to college on the GI Bill. Surrounded by other sailors, soldiers, airmen and Marines. A generation of men and women who did not feel sorry for themselves. They had seen evil and death. The world was balanced on the edge of a knife. And they did their duty. They saved the world. Look it up.

Then they came back and went to college. And got married. And raised families. And were grateful for the ordinariness of life. Thirty years ago, when I first started my law practice, I was privileged to meet many of these men and women. So many heroes. The real kind.

They are almost all gone now. But they made a lasting impression. Among them, my dad is not unusual. But how many of us have the same quality?

When Dad met Mom, he settled down. Became a teacher, like so many of his Navy buddies. Teachers in the 1950’s were not paid very much. All worked through the summers. Most had a second job. Mom wanted a large family. Dad came from a large family. He knew what was required. So.

My father got up early… had to be at school by 8 a.m. A tough school in a bad neighborhood. When the bell rang at 3 in the afternoon, Dad came home and took a nap. By 6 in the evening, he was punching the clock at the local brewery. Bottled beer all night. Dad clocked out at 2 in the morning. Came home. Took a nap. At 7 a.m., he started all over again. For 16 years.

Did I mention he was also taking college courses for his master’s degree? Yeah, he did that too. Eventually he took on enough extra jobs at school to quit the brewery. He ran the breakfast program, lunch program, after-school program. He was pretty happy that he did not have to work until 2 a.m. anymore.

Like you, he was active at church. Joined the Lions Club. Volunteered for stuff. Helped out in ways no one ever saw… no one ever knew.

Dad and Mom raised 8 children. Five boys, three girls. I’m the second. I have an older sister. Their example was powerful. And we are all doing quite well. Thank you.

Mom died ten years ago. Dad still lives on his own. Pretty much. At 96 years old, he cannot do what he used to. But he keeps trying. A few weeks ago, he was painting the handrail on the brick stairs leading the front door. Lost his balance. Fell to the brick stairs. Fell on his face. Not the first time. Still OK. He insists.

So, the kids take turns staying with Dad. Just to be there. Just in case. My two weeks is coming up soon. We talk together to set the calendar, to make sure someone is always with Dad. And we talk about options. Including assisted living.

This is where my failure became obvious.

WHAT TO DO ABOUT DAD (OR MOM): THE KIDS’ CONVERSATION

Your children are talking about you. Deny it if you wish, but it is the truth. What to do about Mom? What to do about Dad? How long can they stay at home? What sort of behaviors do you see? What does it mean? What do we do now? Well-meaning questions. By good-natured people. Who truly love you. But are concerned. With your best interests in mind. What they think are your “best interests” anyway.

Recently, as we were setting the Visiting Kids Calendar, one of my brothers asked, “Why isn’t Dad on this PACE program you keep talking about?”

I had no answer. Honestly. You have heard the old saying, “The shoemaker’s kids go barefoot!” It is not that bad. When Mom needed skilled nursing home care for the months before she died, we were ready. LifePlan™ to the rescue.

Dad was not impoverished. There was no Medicaid Mortgage. Mom got the care she needed, at a top long-term care facility. Dad’s years of taxpaying and planning were rewarded.

Ten years later. Dad’s needs are increasing. With 8 kids, he will never be alone. But we are not medical people. What about those needs?

My brother saw what I did not. PACE – the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly was designed for my Dad. He stays at home. With his woodwork shop. Puttering around, fixing this, painting that. Independent. Proud. And getting just the right amount of help to keep him that way.

Was I embarrassed to have overlooked the contribution PACE could make to my own father’s ability to live life on his own terms? You bet. I wish I had proposed the solution. But a good idea is a good idea, whomever comes up with it.

SEE THE LIGHT, OVERCOME BLINDNESS

Most folks who seek answers are relieved and pleased they learn that effective solutions do exist. Thousands of families have honored my team and me with their confidence and trust. And those families have received the benefits they have earned and deserve.

But I have often been puzzled when some families reject the same answers that other families have embraced. It is not unusual for some folks to come back to us, often after months and sometimes years of “spending down,” exhausting their lifesavings. Selling the farm.

If you are like me, you learn from your mistakes. And you try not to repeat the same- old, same-old. I failed my Dad by not seeing how the PACE program could greatly improve his quality of life. But I see it now, and I am taking action. To preserve his independence. His choices. My Dad, and yours, and you, deserve to enjoy life. On your own terms. Not crammed, shoved, or stuffed into someone else’s idea of what you need.

Most people have never heard of PACE. But now you will know. You will be the expert.

COVID NURSING HOME DEATH TRAP

Everyone knows COVID-19 decimates older folks. National reporting confirms the worst place for COVID victims is a long-term care facility. The undeniable tragic history: if you were in a nursing home, your risk of death from COVID-19 was 70 times greater. Did autocratic Executive Orders in New York, New Jersey and Michigan cause thousands of extra deaths? Of course they did. We know that now. But what can we do?

Over the last couple of years, we reported good news about at-home care. Michigan changed the Program of All-inclusive Care for the Elderly – PACE. Eligibility expanded for thousands of new families. Families can now keep their life savings, cottage, farm, rental properties, business. Poverty is no longer required… provided you follow the complex rules. Care services are free. Keep your income. No co-pay, doughnut hole or other contribution.

Many Michigan families have acted on this new information. They have secured at-home care for their loved ones. PACE has kept them safe from the deadly COVID-19 virus stalking long-term care facilities. Healthier at home!

HEALTHY SKEPTICISM OR DEADLY DOUBT?

Many more families cannot believe it is possible. But they could benefit from PACE. Healthy skepticism hardens into stubborn rejection. Everyone suffers. Clinging to the idea that it is “too good to be true” or “fake news”?

Pitiful. Naturally, some folks are uncertain and suspicious. Rightfully so! But accurate information and proof beat unfounded fears every day. Fact: You do not have to accept nursing home poverty for yourself or your loved one.

DO YOU OR YOUR LOVED ONE QUALIFY?

ANSWER YES TO 3 QUESTIONS:

1. Need help with activities of daily life? Memory problems? Oxygen therapy? Blindness? Dialysis? These are just a few of the many ways to qualify.
2. Are you safe at home?
3. Gross social security less than $2382? (Special rules for pension income.)

Let’s do the homework together. Most folks get the benefits they need for independence and security. Information costs nothing. You can find out. Today.

Get Answers Now: 800-317-2812

COVID-19 RULE CHANGES WILL NOT LAST

COVID-19 emergency rules are temporary.

The benefits are permanent. When the emergency is over, these favorable rules will be gone. Of course, this may not be for you. Why not find out? Is it so bad to get back a little from the tax dollars you have paid?

WHAT BENEFITS DOES PACE PROVIDE?

Folks always want to know: What can PACE do for me? You have a team on your side. Your PACE team is doctors, therapists, dieticians, nurses, physician assistants, administrators. All work together to provide the best solution. Want more detail? You can receive:

ADULT DAY HEALTH CENTER
• On-Site Physician/Medical Supervision
• Nursing Care
• Physical Therapy
• Occupational Therapy
• Recreational Therapy
• Activities and Exercise
• Breakfast, Lunch, Snack
• Nutritional Counseling
• Social Services
• Dental Care
• Audiology
• Optometry
• Podiatry MEDICAL SPECIALISTS
• Women’s Services
• Dentistry and Dentures
• Optometry and Eyeglasses
• Audiology and Hearing Aids
• Podiatry, Diabetic Shoes and Orthotics
• Cardiology
• Rheumatology OUTPATIENT SERVICES
• Lab Tests
• Radiology
• X-Rays
• Outpatient Surgery

PRIMARY CARE PHYSICIAN
• On call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

HOME HEALTH AND HOME CARE SERVICES
• Skilled Nursing and Assisted Living
• Physical and Occupational Therapy
• Personal Care
• Chore Services
• Meal Preparation

INPATIENT SERVICES
• Emergency Room Visits
• Hospitalizations
• Inpatient Specialist
• Skilled Inpatient Rehabilitation

TRANSPORTATION SERVICES PRESCRIPTIONS And OVER-THE-COUNTER MEDICATIONS

FAMILY/CAREGIVER SUPPORT SERVICES
• Respite Care and Caregiver Education

REHAB And DURABLE MEDICAL EQUIPMENT
• Wheelchairs
• Walkers
• Oxygen
• Hospital Beds
• Diabetic Testing Supplies
• Adult Day Care

Get the straight story. Your loved one is counting on you. Don’t let them down. It’s simple and free.

Call 800-317-2812.
Your Discovery meeting and Analysis meeting are waiting for you. Get it done.

Life Is The Test… Why Not Win It?

Americans Love A Winner And Will Not Tolerate A Loser.

— George S. Patton

What is so different about you? What enables middle class folks to rise and win, time after time? Facing and beating challenges? At 7 years old, I began helping another kid on his paper route. Lucky for me, there was a block of triple decker houses and Paulie did not like climbing stairs. A few years later, my next younger brother and I had our own route. Hot in the summer. Cold in the winter. Raining or snowing from time to time. On foot.

We did not always whistle while we worked. But the Carrier boys delivered the Evening Bulletin 6 nights a week. And early Sunday mornings, before church, the Journal-Bulletin. You have done the same.

Throughout your life, you took the overtime. The second job. Doing what it took. My weekends at Notre Dame were spent delivering pizza. As a law student, I worked full time on the graveyard shift as a security guard. Just like you. What else could we have done? We had a job. We saw the need. We got it done. We learned it from our folks. After beating the bad guys in WWII, our parents went to work. Dad taught school all day, came home, changed clothes, and put in 8 more hours at the Narragansett brewery. For 16 years. Mom was an RN. After raising 8 kids, she pinned her nurse’s cap back on and resumed nursing.

Details vary, but your family lived the same values. How do I know? Thirty years of talking to and planning for your folks. And you.

These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of their country…yet we have this consolation with us, that the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph.

— Thomas S. Paine

And now COVID. The Elder Plague. Death rates: way down. Therapies: better and improving. So much winning. But we are not done yet. COVID is real. COVID can strike close to home.

By a series of commonplace coincidences, a team member tested positive for COVID. Several of us are now waiting on our own test results. We should be fine. Since the beginning, the Carrier Law team has taken every recommended precaution. And come up with a few of our own. Hand sanitizer, videoconferencing, outdoor workshops, social distancing, masks, working from home, plexiglass barriers, ultraviolet lights, temperature checks, screening protocols, Clorox-ing conference rooms, prudent behavior. Not perfect.

Last Friday, I spent a few hours (in the rain) climbing through trees on one of those courses. Team building with several paralegals. Outdoors, yes. Distanced, yes. Wearing masks, yes. Until that triumphant team photo at the finish. Mask off. Picture! Mask on. Well. So now we wait for the test results.

One more thing to be taken in stride. Aren’t we all waiting on “test results”? What will your “Alzheimer’s test” reveal? Of course, there is no such “test.” We find out only as time goes by. With COVID, we face reality, we do not wish it away. Most of us will eventually face dementia. Personally. Not just our spouse or a loved one. Lots of statistics. One bottom-line fact.

The trouble in American life today, in business as well as in sports, is that too many
people are afraid of competition. The result is that in some circles people have come to sneer at success if it costs hard work and training and sacrifice.

— Knute Rockne

We, the middle class, do not deny reality. We accept it, make our peace, and do the best we can. With optimism and good cheer. Lots of critics have lots to say about us baby-boomers.

But all agree that when we see what we want, we go get it. Make it happen. Rejecting the counsels of gloom and doom. With open eyes and stout hearts.

When you are facing long-term care, dementia, end of life issues, there are a million questions and few reliable answers.

Many people, including otherwise competent financial planners, well-known attorneys, and respected members of the community, seem to believe that you should go broke when facing these issues. Maybe they are unaware of the options. Perhaps they are in denial. Is there a moral imperative that you should go broke? Some “experts” seem to think there is.

Americans play to win all the time. The very thought of losing is hateful to americans.

— George S. Patton

Like you, I completely reject the idea that losing is okay. Like you, I believe in winning. We all have challenges and sometimes we do lose. But we never “get used to it.” Why should we? Losing is a bitter pill. I may have to take my medicine, but I do not have to like it.

If you want to go broke, as some folks think you should, you do not need me. The state is very good at making a bonfire of your lifesavings. The state helps only when you comply with their rules. And for most folks, compliance means poverty, insecurity, loss. Unacceptable.

[W]ith firmness in the right as god gives us to see the right let us strive on to finish the work we are in…

— Abraham Lincoln

LifePlanning™ is middle class Michigan’s tool kit for winning. Comply with their rules? Yes, absolutely. If you want to win, you must know how to play the game. Thirty years of study, experience, testing and delivering results have produced the LifePlan™ system. Techniques and tools that preserve, protect, and defend your right to decide how you will live.

You earned that right through decades of work and conscientious stewardship. Isn’t it ridiculous to suggest that impoverishing yourself, your spouse, your family is somehow noble? Isn’t it foolish to reject your own life experience for the defeatist counsels of the “wise”?

LifePlanning™ means your choices matter, whatever the test results. Are you like thousands of Michigan families who played by the rules and earned homes, cottages, farms, lifesavings? Would you like the rules to work for you, for a change? Are you waiting for the test results?

Are you waiting until it is too late? Would you like to know now?

GET ANSWERS NOW… CALL THE LIFEPLAN™ HOTLINE
1-800-317-2812

LifePlan™ Workshops are Available Now: Live, Streaming and Recorded
What could it hurt?

Client Success Stories…

We were very happy with the information at the workshop on Estate Planning [LifePlan workshop]. Amanda was very helpful in explaining the options we could choose from to protect our assets from excessive taxes.

All questions were answered in depth and in a manner that was very understandable. I left feeling confident that we can contact them at any time for help navigating the system.

The staff are incredibly professional. My mother was treated with utmost respect. Her paperwork was organized and concise. I dealt with David and Jim and they spoke in terms my mother and I could understand.

I was totally lost when my husband’s dementia got bad. David and his group helped me feel in control again. They are there to help me whenever I need them. I should have done this sooner.

Perfect balance of pleasant and professional. Starting with workshops with targeted info, to chit chat with David (and all the staff we met) – great experience. Thank you!

My husband and I just returned from your workshop in Portage…We are so pleased we attended and came away with so much information and insight. The workshop was well organized, well presented and your staff was wonderful. Patrick made things fun, and as he promised, the time flew by. Thanks you again for 2 very well spent hours.

Donna & Stephanie are extremely professional, on top of everything, friendly and just a joy to work with. Very prompt on phone calls, emails, etc. I am very thankful for these two people!

We have been extremely pleased with the professional service of David and the staff. It has been a pleasure working with everyone to make sure our future is secure. David was also very helpful finding an out of state attorney to help our parent’s address their Elder law needs.

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“The Law Offices of David L. Carrier is an estate planning and elder law firm located in Western Michigan. Our main office is in Grand Rapids, and we have 3 other conveniently located offices in West Michigan. We specialize in medicaid crisis planning, estate planning, elder law, probate, wills and trusts.

Our Office Locations

Grand Rapids, MI

Norton Shores, MI

Holland, MI

Portage, MI

Practice Areas

Medicaid Crisis Lawyers

Estate Planning Lawyers

Elder Law Lawyers

Family Trust

Probate Lawyers

Trust Funding Center

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