Tag Archive for: david carrier

Vaporized Like A Snowflake On A Hot Griddle

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What Is That Sizzling Sound?

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long- term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution? Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

What You Did Not Know About The Inflation Reduction Act

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$750 Billion Is Hi-Test Gasoline On The Inflation Bonfire

Inflation Is Baked In The Cake – You Knew That
Destruction Of 60 Million Independent Contractor Businesses– See That Coming?

America dodged a several trillion-dollar bullet when the Build Back Better plan was rejected. Did rampant inflation caused by trillions in spending already approved by Congress play a role? We can only hope. Now we have the IRA, which everyone agrees will do nothing to reduce inflation. Seven hundred fifty billion of new spending. For a football stadium full of IRS agents. Enforcing new rules that they are pretending are the old rules. But they are not.

Government does not like independent contractors, freelancers, small businesses, gig workers, or others who do not operate within highly regulated industry structures. Nontraditional workers are too hard to find, tax, and regulate. Everything a bureaucrat hates.

Independent workers, who are small businesses unto themselves, are about 35% of American workers, in whole or part. That’s about 60 million Americans. Sixty million small businesses. And that is about to change. Why do you think they want another 87,000 IRS agents? To go after rich people? Ho ho ho. And hah!

Americans like working independently. Especially younger Americans. For flexibility. To be your own boss. Other good, American-type reasons.

And if you are worried about the younger generation… and who isn’t? You might find some hope in the fact that they seem even more dedicated to personal responsibility in their employment.

It is too soon to tell how bad all this will be. But it will be bad. Very bad. Just look at California which implemented this scheme in 2020. Why is the supply chain so screwed up? Could whacking 70,000 owner/operator truckers with new taxes, fees, and regulations by reclassifying them as employees rather than independent businesses have some effect? Millions more are suffering. From yoga instructors to hairdressers. Entrepreneurs who rent space for their business are now employees.

The American Dream is under assault as never before. From inflation to stifling regulation, to inviting low-cost labor competition by abandoning our borders. Middle class Americans must fight back. Your children want the independence of their own business. We must work together to keep that dream a reality.

Elliot Ness, The Untouchables’ Finest Hour

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Scientist Of The U.S. (SOTUS) Demonstrates Space Alien Technology

Untouchables Rummage Unmentionables Former Elected Official’s Crime Wave Thwarted

Federal Crime Busters swooped in on scoff-law Former Elected Official’s hideaway lair in daring dawn raid. Echoing the finest traditions of Elliot Ness, Efraim Zimbalist, Jr., and the Lone Ranger, not to mention Batman, dozens of heavily armed federal officers secured the criminal mastermind’s hidey-hole and ransacked the joint. A treasure trove of evidence, including cocktail napkin notes, menus, current and expired passports was secured.

The true motherlode, however, was only discovered by scouring the “unmentionables” drawer of the Former Elected Official’s wife. That’s where Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information from Area 51 was discovered. Space Alien technology that promises to revolutionize the bicycling world.

Everyone knows that bicycles are nearly impossible to control. Falling off a stationary bicycle is the third leading cause of trauma and death in the United States. Bicycles, or “bikes” as some say, are truly the devil’s handiwork. Each family has its own tragic story of bicycle devastation. And yet, from Area 51 UFO Space Alien Research, an answer was found. A way to balance on that machine of death and disfigurement, the bicycle.

Retrieving this key bicycle-balance technology was essential to our homeland’s national security. No other reason could possibly justify abusing historical norms of decency or the victims’ Constitutional rights. Otherwise, the paper-thin flimflam excuses proffered by Government Agents for such an unprecedented paramilitary assault on a Former Elected Official’s unoccupied residence are not only ludicrous, they are also imbecile.

Our faith, however, has been justified. The Super-Secret Bicycle Technology has been recovered and demonstrated by the Scientist of the United States, or SOTUS, as some say.

Here is the photographic proof:

biden bike accident
AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta

First, a typical civilian encounter with a bicycle. Observe that the evil bike need not be moving to inflict harm. Keenly aware of the lurking malice, SOTUS wears an elaborate helmet and hi-tech handwear. He is surrounded by sycophants to sing of his savoir faire. Alas, the bloody bicycle manages to send him “keister over tea kettle” to the dismay of his disciples. Huzzah! SOTUS survived.

Next, observe the consequences of employing Double-Secret Probation Classified Intelligence Space Alien Bicycle-Balance Technology retrieved from the greedy clutches of the Former Elected Official:

This invisible, yet highly effective technology enables an extensive entourage to encourage SOTUS on his scientific sojourn. As you can see, we shall be free from those bulky, ridiculous egg crates perched on our heads! Hand protection will also be a thing of the past. The bicycle’s Reign of Terror is over!

biden biking on the beach
Photo Credit: The Telegraph Photo Credit: CNN Newsource

The lesson of course is obvious. If Government Agents approve of your politics and do not threaten the Swamp, you can destroy evidence, run the State Department on a compromised home- brew computer to avoid the Freedom of Information Act, smoke crack on camera, make dirty deals with foreign powers to kick back millions to your politician father, and basically do whatever you like. Without consequence. But if you try to selfishly hide Super-Secret Bicycle Balance Technology from Space Aliens in Area 51 from the American People, your so-called Constitutional Rights will be trampled. And your spouse will probably need a whole new unmentionable collection.

Why Do They Bank On Death?

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Traditional Trust Planning Is Profoundly Mistaken

Traditional estate planning supposedly avoids probate, saves taxes, and safely, efficiently delivers your remaining property and money to your heirs or beneficiaries after you have passed on. Traditional estate planning is not concerned with you while living, only after death. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help you?

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Are you surprised that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner surprised? Isn’t that their job? Or is your estate planner in denial?

You can defeat Nursing Home Poverty. LifePlanning™ empowers you. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

 

 

Even A Blind Squirrel Finds A Few Nuts…

Justice For Camp Lejeune Marines, Staff, Trainees

Congress Does Something Right For A Change!

It is the late 1950s. World War II has turned into the Cold War. America decided that there are worse things than maintaining military readiness in peacetime. A national commitment to Peace Through Strength. And in North Carolina, the U.S. Marine Corps operates Base Camp Lejeune. USMC Base Camp Lejeune has a long and storied history.

USMC Base Camp Lejeune also had a dry-cleaning and laundry facility. Over the course of decades, dry cleaning chemicals were simply flushed down the drain. Into the groundwater. Into the wells that provided drinking water for the Marines, their

families, the folks who worked at the Camp, the student marines and soldiers who rotated through the Camp for training.

Not surprisingly, folks began to get sick. From a laundry list of potential diseases, relating back to the Volatile Organic Compounds in the dry cleaning chemicals.

You may be surprised, however, to learn that the Congress has chosen to do something to fix it. Ten years ago, the Veterans Administration began offering medical care to surviving Camp Lejeune veterans for certain conditions. But Marines, soldiers, and sailors could not get compensation for their injuries or suffering. Now they can. The recent Camp Lejeune Justice Act provides significant monetary compensation.

Contaminated drinking water flowed from Camp Lejeune from 1953 through 1987. Primary victims are mostly older now. Time has run out for many, but not for you.

You seen the TV ads. Heard them on the radio. Read the newspaper and magazine ads. Maybe you wondered whether it was real. Maybe you wanted the full story.

So many injured veterans called, that we had to investigate and respond. Would you like to know more?

Call me. (800) 317-2812

Mail Bag Of Madness!

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Truth Stranger Than Fiction… Could We Make This Up? Who Has That Much Imagination?

Inflation Is Whipped! Gas Prices Down!
Easter Bunny & Santa Claus Spotted On Main Street!

How are you enjoying the non-recession? What do you think of the non-war in Europe? Have you heard about the non-raid on the 45th President’s house? At least this non-winter weather remains warm…

Gosh! Suddenly, things are getting better! They tell us inflation is down! Gas prices are down, so they say. Those unbiased, helpful, informative TV Experts® are telling us so! And here’s proof:

But wait a minute! TV Experts say “Gas Prices Are Coming Down!” Here’s proof from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (Your Tax Dollars At Work):

retail gasoline prices august 2022

See over there by the big red arrow? Gas prices coming down! Still the highest in 25 years, except for the last couple of months… Buy hey! Whaddaya want? Eggs in yer beer? Stop complaining, you complainer!

Would you like to know more? Would you like to know why gas prices are coming down? Perhaps it is the wise and beneficent policies of our Great Helmsman in D.C. Calmly guiding the ship of state from danger to safety. Sure, that could be it.

Maybe you might want to think about considering some other numbers from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.

weekly u.s. ending stocks of total gasoline in thousands of barrels august 2022

Remember July and August of 2020? Global pandemic? Surely you remember the virus that definitely did not come from a country that shall not be named. Ringing any bells? Well, there was this wholly natural pandemic, not a bioweapon at all, with no funding whatsoever from Dr. Fauci. To selfishly satisfy their grandiose delusions stop the spread, follow the science, and be good people, American popinjays desperately seized sweeping dictatorial powers public servants reluctantly assumed limited emergency measures. Which tanked the most successful economy in world history. Millions of newly working Americans were thrown under the bus. Economic growth ground to a halt. People stopped driving.

And yet, during this horrible time in 2020, Americans demanded and used more gasoline than in July and August of 2022. That’s what the gummint’s own numbers say. What does it mean?

Perhaps it means that there is even less economic activity now than during the height of the mysterious killer flu. When demand goes away and supply remains, prices go down. Our Dear Leader in D.C. has flooded trillions of Monopoly Money™ dollars into the economy. Other Really Smart Folks in D.C. just voted hundreds of billions more phony baloney bucks in giveaways.

It is bad enough to pump up inflation with fake currency. Inflation is demoralizing. Inflation robs the middle class of our desire to build and save. But this evil legislation also kicks the legs out of anyone trying to build their own business without being an employee. It kills the American Dream, then mutilates the body. Awful.

But Didn’t Inflation Go Away?

Nope. Producer Price Index shows that soul- robbing, wallet-snatching, budget-busting inflation will be with us for quite a while.

producer price index chart august 2022

But surely the Consumer Price Index tells a different tale? Not according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

consumer price index chart august 2022

Despite all the crowing about gas prices and slowdown in the rate of increase of inflation, the bitter truth is that our Great Helmsman and his merry band of pirates has flung the ship of state on the rocks! Terrible.

Can you rely on Washington to fix what it has broken? Are the Washington politicians looking out for you? If the government can smash and grab its way into the homes of retired politicians, and seize property from currently serving elected officials, what hope is there for you? Unless you shut up and knuckle under…Is this the America where you grew up? Is this the America you thought you were living in? Me neither.

The way out. Perseverance in basic virtues: compassion, honesty, caring, friendship, personal accountability. Maybe these simple things can be the foundation stones, as they have in the past, for a new birth of freedom. How can we refuse our duty, our responsibility?

Mail Bag Of Madness!

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Truth Stranger Than Fiction…
(Spelling? Punctuation? Editing? No Can Afford!) (Warning: Not Legal Advice!)

Can a guardian evict/kick someone off of a property the guardian has no rights over?

I have been cleaning up a property that belongs to my great grandma who is now in a nursing home. I was verbally told that if I could clean the property up and work on paying the back taxes, I could work on owning the property. But now she is stating she never said that and told me my mother is not to be on the property when she never told me she couldn’t. I was would like to know where her rights as a guardian plays into this property. She does not own anything.

Shortest Answer: Yes. Absolutely.

Short Answer: You are more screwed than you have imagined.

Unkind Comments: 1. Next time, when lawyers and judges are talking, pay attention! And when you do not understand, ask questions! 2. “Verbally told”?!? Seriously? 3. A stitch in time saves nine. 4. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. 5. Kiss Great Grandma’s house good-bye. Also, you’ll never get paid for your clean up or back taxes. Also, your mom’s getting evicted.

Kinder, But Not Much Kinder, Comments:
1. You are not alone. Regular folks, just like you, lose houses, lifesavings, peace of mind, work, effort, blood, sweat and tears, in similar circumstances every day. Hundreds, if not thousands of times every day.

2. It’s not your fault that you did not know. After all, there’s no 2-hour, live, weekly call-in radio show that provides this information (except on WOOD 1300 AM and 106.9 FM; WKZO 590 AM and 106.9 FM; WHTC 1450 AM and 99.7 FM; various others). There are no free workshops every week the Good Lord brings, in Norton Shores, Grand Rapids, Holland and Portage. No free videos on the website whenever you want ‘em. And certainly, there’s no Michigan Elder Law Reporter to let you in on the secrets. 3. Middle-class families routinely get chewed up and spit out by the long-term care system, you have lots of company. 4. Getting Great Grandma to avoid nursing home poverty is not easy. 5. Cleopatra is not the only Queen of Dee-Nile (Get it? Dee-Nile = denial! Funny, eh.)

Long Answer: Can we unpack this suitcase of suffering sadness? This trunk of troubled tribulation? This package of perplexing pain? This valise of vigorous vivisection? This bag of the boggling blues? This container of cloudy consternation? Let us begin.

Guardian, Conservator, Probate:
What Is It All About?

1. Everyone is getting older.
2. Some older people lose their minds.
3. At age 65, you have a 70% chance of needing an average of 3 years of long-term care services. 20% will need more than 5 years of services. https://acl.gov/ltc/basic-needs/how-much-care-will-you-need
4. When people lose their minds, others must make their financial and health care decisions.
5. A few people take action to decide who will make their decisions if they lose their mind. These blessed few do Trusts, Powers of Attorney,
Designations of Patient Advocate. Mind lost? No probate. No problem. Thankfully.
6. Most people take no action. If you are in the majority and lose your mind, a Probate Court Judge will decide:
a. Whether you have lost your mind
b. Who makes health care decisions (Guardian) for you
c. Who makes money decisions (Conservator) for you
7. Judge decides on Clear and Convincing Evidence. Presented in open court. On the record. Which is not humiliating or degrading at all. Ever.
8. If you get better, you must convince the Probate Court Judge by Clear and Convincing Evidence that you are now OK. Which is not humiliating or degrading at all. Ever.
9. With a Guardian, you are a legally incapacitated person. You cannot make decisions for yourself. Your legal rights? Extremely Limited. Will anyone care what you say?
10. Your Guardian and Conservator files annual reports with the Court.
11. Will the Guardian or Conservator be a family member? Will you get a Public Guardian? Ask the Judge. You had your chance and blew it. Don’t worry. Be happy.

Great Grandma failed to plan. Great Grandma went to Probate Court. And now a Public Guardian will decide everything for Great Grandma. Will the Guardian be guided by the specific, unique needs and aspirations of Great Grandma’s family? Or will the Guardian faithfully follow Probate Court protocols, one size fits all, the law’s best guess as to what most families would mostly do?

You have 3 guesses. Guesses 1 and 2 don’t count.

How It Plays Out

Statement: I have been cleaning up a property that belongs to my great grandma who is now in a nursing home.

Response/Observation: Great Grandma is probably in a skilled nursing facility on Medicaid. Average monthly cost of a skilled nursing facility is $10,000 – 15,000 per month. At the former Kent Community Hospital, residential, high-level skilled care is more than $25,000 per month. If Great Grandma is not already on Medicaid, she soon will be. And if Great Grandma has money, why the “back taxes”?

The state does not joyfully pay for long term care through Medicaid. When the state pays, it wants its money back. The state (so far) won’t seize Great Grandma’s homestead while she is alive. But, after death, the state shows up in Probate Court, looking for its money. Everybody knows that “The House is Protected from Medicaid!” False! “Everybody” apparently does not know that the house must be sold to pay back the Medicaid. After Great Grandma has died. With some loopholes.

Oh. And thanks for “cleaning up” the property. Did you know you are doing that for free?

Statement: I was verbally told that if I could clean the property up and work on paying the back taxes, I could work on owning the property.

Response/Observation: Whoops! You did not know you were doing the work for free? The law says you cannot make a probate claim for services without a written agreement. And the agreement must be written before you provide the services. Without a written, binding contract the Probate Court Judge will not listen to your story. And if you get paid while Great Grandma is still alive, Great Grandma will get hit with a penalty period, be denied Medicaid benefits and the skilled nursing facility will not be paid.

Do skilled nursing facilities enjoy not getting paid? No, they do not. So Great Grandma’s nursing home now sues Great Grandma. And wins! Now Great Grandma’s house must be sold to pay the legitimate bill of the deserving nursing home. And Great Grandma is off the Medicaid until the money is all gone. And you will not see a nickel.

COMMON SENSE POINT:
What the heck does “work on paying the back taxes” or “work on owning the property” mean? In English? Even if you were “verbally told” these things? You are dealing with real money here… Long-term care is expensive. Government does not (usually) just give money away. You are not being serious here. Get serious!

Statement: But now [GUARDIAN] is stating she never said that

Response/Observation: Of course, the Guardian is denying ever having promised you the property if you cleaned it up! It is unbelievable that any Guardian with any sense of their fiduciary duty as Guardian would say such a thing. Not credible. And that’s why we write things down. Because maybe (however unlikely) the Guardian did agree to something like this. But no one will believe it.

In Merrie Olde England, 450 years ago, Parliament created the Statute of Frauds. To stop folks from cheating each other. Our Founding Fathers adopted the Statute of Frauds for American law. The Statute says any contract for land must be in writing. End of story. See you later. Done.

Statement: [GUARDIAN] told me my mother is not to be on the property when she never told me she couldn’t.

Response/Observation: I did not tell you that your mother could not live in my house either. That does not mean that she can.

The Guardian’s job is to preserve Great Grandma’s property and to use it for Great Grandma’s benefit. If the Guardian chooses to evict you from Great Grandma’s home, Guardian can do it. You have no right to control Great Grandma’s home. If you allow someone else into Great Grandma’s home without authority, the Guardian can evict them. Even if the squatter is Great Grandma’s grandchild.

Statement: I was would like to know where her rights as a guardian plays into this property. She does not own anything.

Response/Observation: The Probate Court gave Guardian all Great Grandma’s rights over Great Grandma’s home. That’s the whole point of having a Guardian. It is a big deal.

 

 

What Is That Sizzling Sound? It Is Your Lifesavings Imploding At $12,000 Per Month

Vaporized Like A Snowflake On A Hot Griddle

Traditional estate planning is concerned with avoiding probate, saving taxes, and dumping your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long- term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

camp lejeune water contamination

Who’s Betting On Death?

Traditional Trust Planning Failure A Scam? Say It Ain’t So!

Traditional estate planning is supposed to avoid probate, save taxes, and dump your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

Democracy Dies In Typos… So We Just Ignore ‘Em

But It Avoids Probate! It’ll Be Fine! Nothing Bad Ever Happens!

Are we entitled to stocks from Uncle who removed Father as POD from Grandmothers account by mail when Grandma had dementia?

Grandma had severe dementia. Our Dad passed away and both him and my Uncle were POD beneficiary on her stock account.

Our Uncle requested a new account be opened removing our Dad as POD by mail. Grandma was not in her right mind and did not know what she signed. Uncle controlled all her finances. Paying her bill etc. He had undue influence over her. He wrote checks to his son in large amounts before she passed. He told us he would transfer our Fathers portion of stocks to us but then changed his mind and told broker not to do it. He now claims they are all his and we don’t get our Fathers portion. Grandma had a will that my Uncle now claims is missing so she died intestate. Bank statements tell the story of money he has taken before and after her passing. Grandma always told us and said it in her will everything was to be split between everyone. A neutral administrator is going to be appointed but the stock account has not been included in probate. How do we get our fathers portion of stocks. There is only my sister, Uncle and myself remaining.

There are two things going on here. First, Truth and Consequences of Grandma taking the easy way out by naming beneficiaries on stuff. Second, nefarious Uncle embezzling and undue influencing Grandma.

Truth And Consequences Of Taking The Easy Way Out

Avoid probate is great! Ask anybody. Beneficiary designations are great! Ask anybody. But are “Pay On Death” or “Transfer On Death” orders really the best? What if things go sideways? What if the world does not unfold the way you think it should?

Financial Advisors, Attorneys, Your Uncle Charlie and common sense all say that your kids will outlive you, so why not name them on your Individual Retirement Account, Life Insurance, Bank Accounts, Stock Accounts, and (God forbid!) your real estate (through the “lady bird deed”). This idea of “naming people” is easy, cheap, seductive, and actually works some of the time. But what if the Magic 8 Ball says: “Don’t Count On It” or “Outlook Not So Good”? Then what? Our letter writer is discovering what happens when Grandma assumes too much.

Uncle gets “Dad’s share” of Grandma’s stock account. But there’s nothing wrong with that! Grandma named her sons as “transfer on death” (TOD) beneficiaries. But Dad had to survive Grandma to be a TOD beneficiary. Uncle started out to be generous and kind and sharing. But he had a change of heart (not unusual when money is concerned) and decided to keep it all. As was his legal right. Could Grandma have taken other action (Hint: like a trust) to make sure that the surviving children of her deceased son (that’s our letter writer) did not miss out on the stocks? Yes. But she did not.

Bottom Line #1: When Dad died before Grandma, his entitlement (and his kids) to Grandma’s stock account lapsed. Kaput. Done. Over. Gone With The Wind.

Bottom Line #2: What if I misunderstood the letter and Dad died AFTER Grandma? If he survived by 72 hours, his estate would be entitled to the TOD share. And then Dad’s descendants would take through Dad’s estate. And the Broker could not simply give the money to Uncle, but would have to pay half to Dad’s estate.

Uncle Judas Betrays Niece And Nephew

There is a special place (an especially terrible place) in Hell reserved for those who betray their family members. It’s right next door to the Great Satan and populated with creative imps and demons whose sole delight is torture.

There are special laws, on this side of the Great Divide, to deal with those who financially exploit their family members. Especially terrible consequences for those who take advantage of vulnerable parents and older folks. Did Uncle exercise undue influence? Were the withdrawals legitimately authorized by Grandma or greedily embezzled by Uncle?

Bottom Line: Grandma depended on Uncle. Uncle controlled all finances. Uncle gave Grandma’s money to his own immediate family members. Uncle is accused of wrongdoing, undue influence, financial abuse of the elderly, embezzlement.

On the criminal side, Uncle is entitled to the presumption of innocence. It must be proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Uncle is guilty.

But on the civil side, it is different. When it comes to undue influence, fiduciary Uncle is presumed guilty (liable). Uncle must prove that there was no undue influence. Good luck with that!

Take Away Lesson: Lead Us Not Into Temptation

Half-planning measures like TOD beneficiary designations and failure to comprehensively plan open the door to exploitation. Not everyone resists temptation. If Uncle is guilty, he deserves the consequences, no excuses. But prudent planning would both limit evil Uncle’s ability to commit dastardly deeds and prevent weak Uncle from giving in to his all-too-common greedy impulses.

The Thrill Of Victory, The Agony Of Defeat

Read the Print Version

Spanning The Globe To Bring You The Constant Variety Of Statistics

Everything is too expensive. It is getting worse. It will continue to get worse. Until it gets better. When? God alone knows.

But wait a minute! TV Experts say “Gas Prices Are Coming Down!” Here’s proof:

regular gasoline prices chart july 2022

Wow! Looky there! Gas so cheap at $4.50 per gallon! (except Californians still paying $5.75). Selling off our Strategic Petroleum Reserve to those who hate us… Brilliant! Prices going down! A bit. A little bit. A teeny, tiny little bit. But that’s just phony baloney. Look at the long-term numbers they don’t want you to see:

u.s. all grades all formulations retail gasoline prices projection

Well, whaddaya know? Gosh, it looks like gasoline prices are at or near all-time highs. But surely there’s good news somewhere… Let’s look at consumer prices, shall we?

Oh no! More bad news from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Where’s the Beef? Not on your plate! Cost of putting bread on the table expanded by a yeasty 10+% over the last year. Hope you like beans and rice, rice and beans. Hold the hamburger.

Energy Expenses Exploding? Ka-boom! Up over 40% in the last year. How did we get here? Revoke drilling permits, cancel oil leases, shut down pipelines, badmouth everyone and everything related to reliable energy. That’s how!

Good News! It’s cheaper if you sit still and starve. Don’t eat and don’t move… your inflation rate is less than 10%! Oh Happy Day.

consumer price index chart june 2022

Consumer Price Inflation is still setting historic highs. But surely there is good news on the horizon? Nope. Inflation is baked in the (too expensive for you) cake. Here’s the Producer Price Index:

producer price index chart june 2022

Looking to buy a house? Refinance? Sell? Hope you like high interest rates! By the way, is the housing bubble just about to pop? Hello 2008!

mortgage rates chart july 2022

Everywhere you look, it looks like bad news. Yeah, well. Pucker up Buttercup, it ain’t over yet. Private sector money gurus continue to sprinkle fairy dust and sparkly snowflakes through their economic reporting and forecasting. But even the “Blue Chip Consensus” has begun to recognize the rancid stink of the economic corpse foisted upon us by our political potentates. The Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta provides this handy-dandy summary:

atlanta fed gdp chart

The Atlanta Fed GDPNow graph is based solely on reported numbers. Not wishes or dreams, just the facts, ma’am. The Blue Chippers with their rose-colored glasses, not so much.

Traditionally, a recession means two quarters of Gross Domestic Product shrinkage. At least when the bad political party is in the White House. First quarter of 2022, GDP down by 1.6%. Second quarter? More shrinkage!

Given the stonewalling, obfuscation, denial, selective prosecution, abuse of discretion, outright lying, misdirection, self- congratulating, posturing, and overweening, incomprehensible, hysterical righteousness that you have observed over the past couple of years, do you expect honesty now? Will they finally level with the American people? Regular folks who get things done. Ordinary men and women. Living ordinary lives. Achieving goals of human dimensions. Finding joy in friendship and family. How could they? Admit their failures? Admit the false foundations of their arrogance and sinful pride?

Is it more likely that they’ll serve up their usual hash of psychobabble? Selective focus? Like any stage magician, grifter, or street pickpocket, aren’t they experts at misdirection?

Perseverance in basic virtues: compassion, honesty, caring, friendship, personal accountability. Maybe these simple things can be the foundation stones, as they have in the past, for a new birth of freedom. How can we refuse our duty, our responsibility?

 

 

Traditional Trust Planning Failure A Scam?

Who’s Betting On Death?

Say It Ain’t So!

Traditional estate planning is supposed to avoid probate, save taxes, and dump your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long- term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long-term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

NO POVERTY. NO CHARITY. NO WASTE.
It is not chance. It is choice. Your choice.

Get Information Now.
(800) 317-2812

You Don’t Need A Weatherman To Know Which Way The Wind Blows

Read the Print Version

16+% Wholesale Inflation – Again! 10.1% Cost Of Food Inflation

Nostalgic For The Good Old Days Of Jimmy Carter? Me Too.

More good news from our friends at the Bureau of Labor Statistics! Consumer Price Inflation is setting new 40-year records. Again.

Energy prices are up. Way, way up. And that’s easy to solve. Simply stop driving anywhere. Stay at home. Problem solved.

Now that summer is finally here, you may wish to turn on your air conditioning. Do not. Your cost of cool is up 35%. Fortunately, sweat is still free. And it is all natural. Probably gluten-free, too. So, stay home, in the dark, with the air conditioning off. It is the New American thing to do.

Also, you can forget about going to the pool. No lifeguards. According to that paragon of virtue, National Public Radio: “the National Recreation and Parks Association says 8 out of 10 parks and rec departments can’t find enough staff.” “Tens of thousands of pools across the country are closed…”

Everybody complaining about gas prices. Is that the worst? No. Gas prices are not the worst part. So what is the worst? Since you have not read or heard it anywhere else, it falls to your Elder Law Reporter to point out the worst. Food Inflation. Food Inflation is in double-digit territory. Food costs 10.1% more now. You can stay home and save gas. Can you stay home and not eat? For how long? Little Orphan Annie said, “The sun’ll come out tomorrow, bet your bottom dollar that tomorrow, there’ll be sun!” Little Orphan Annie has not been watching the Producer Price Index.

Every time you go to the store, you experience the Consumer Price Index. The CPI is how the government measures misery today.

Future pain is predicted by the Producer Price Index. The PPI measures wholesale inflation, before it gets to your local store. Wholesale inflation is once again at a 40-year high. 16.6%. Did you think 10% Food Inflation was bad? How about 16.6%? That is what’s coming tomorrow. For Goods. Wholesale inflation for services is only 7.6%. Feel better?

Hey Annie! Wake up and smell the coffee! Whoops, according to the Wall Street Journal, thanks to “extreme weather and supply-chain disruptions,” we have a coffee shortage and prices are up 76%. Yeah, we got a chart for that.

Homebuyers! Do not feel left out. Home mortgage interest rates are still climbing, according to Freddie Mac (formerly known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation), now up about 300% since Christmas. Pass the eggnog! Merry? Merry? Investors! Guess what… the market is tanking. Down 17% this year. So far. But you already knew that.

What’s It All About? Six Keys To Happiness

How do you survive when the best-case scenario is: Horrifically Worse Than Jimmy Carter, But At Least No Thermonuclear War? Follow the Six Steps:

Stay home. Do not move about. Do not turn on the A/C. Do not eat. Do not buy another house. Do not look at your investments. Bonus Step: Go to a LifePlan™ Workshop. Drink our coffee. Have a oatmeal raisin cookie on us! Cheers… Easy!

Is Traditional Trust Planning Failure A Scam?
Why Is Your Estate Plan A Death Trap
Can Widespread Failure Be Explained By Incompetence And Indifference?

Traditional estate planning is supposed to avoid probate, save taxes, and dump your leftover stuff on your beneficiaries. After you die. Nobody cares what happens to you while you are alive. How does that help anyone? Stupid.

Traditional estate planning fails because the overwhelming majority of us will need long-term skilled care. 70% of us. For an average of 3 years. And we will go broke paying for it.

Is it surprising that thousands of recreation properties: cottages, cabins, hunting land, are lost to pay for long- term care? Why is your estate planner hurting you and your family? It is evil intent? Or stupidity?

LifePlanning™ defeats Nursing Home Poverty. Keep your stuff. Get the care you have already paid for. Good for you. Good for your family. Good example for society.

When my mother suffered from the dementia which led to her death, over 10 years ago, their estate plan preserved their lifesavings. Mom’s months in the nursing home did not mean Dad’s impoverishment. Dad spent the last years with security and peace of mind.

Is Now A Bad Time For A Real Solution?

Perhaps you think you already have an answer to this problem. Maybe you do not see this as a problem at all. It is possible that you do not believe in the passage of time or its effects on you.

Peace of mind and financial security are waiting for everyone who practices LifePlanning™. You know that peace only begins with financial security. Are legal documents the most important? Is avoiding probate the best you can do for yourself or your loved ones? Is family about inheritance? Or are these things only significant to support the foundation of your family?

Do you think finding the best care is easy? Do you want to get lost in the overwhelming flood of claims and promises? Or would you like straight answers?

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.

The LifePlan™ Workshop has been the first step on the path to security and peace for thousands of families. Why not your family?

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

Get Information Now. (800) 317-2812

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.

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