Continuing the discussion of the 25 separate representatives who affect your life, but will never, ever be in the same room at the same time to make sure that everything will work as optimally as possible is today’s lesson. It’s all about optimization. Are you living a life that is optimized? Today, I wish to discuss the ‘legal’ conversation.
Legal could be representative of an attorney. We all live in a world of contracts. The Constitution is a contract for the operation of the United States. Our state has a constitution, that also operates for our benefit. There are different rules and regulations that we live by in our municipality. There are rules, regulations, and stipulations on how our estate will be handled. Everything revolves around contracts. If you don’t operate in the world of contracts, you will probably be disadvantaged at some point in time.
Think about appliances: a washer, a dryer, a refrigerator, a range, a furnace, or an air conditioner. We’re lucky if they last 10 years, maybe 15. Every single one of them comes with an owner’s manual. That is exactly what a contract is. It’s an owner’s manual on what to do if…, how does this work, etc. When we put information together in a contractual way, things will follow through the way that we want them to, like our estate, our wills, our trusts. Just like our appliances wearing out, our wills and estate plans need to be updated; about every 10 years. My wife and I have been through four additions, changes, and updates to our legal documents over the past 40 years.
Even things as simple as marriage. Marriage is a contract that provides certain rights and privileges that people who are not married do not receive. People who live together might believe they have certain rights because they have been in a relationship for years. Well, unfortunately, a contract is missing and the state government recognizes marriage as the contract that provides certain rights that you may not have otherwise.
Whether it is wills, trusts, limited liability companies, or subchapter S corporations if you own a business, all these contracts make certain that you are playing by the rules, and if something bad happens to you, other people have to play by your rules as well. Every entity, whether it is a corporate entity, a partnership, or a marriage, follows certain statutes.
When was the last time that you updated your will and estate plan? Usually, when we ask that question of new clients, the couple will often look at one another, and then their head will turn downward and then they’ll typically say that’s one of the reasons they’ve come to our office. They want us to help them prepare before meeting with a qualified attorney and begin the process of setting up their own contracts – a will. A contract on how things should work with their children, grandchildren, business, and with each other. If you don’t make the decisions yourself, then the state government has its own contract, it is called dying intestate. That means if you didn’t set something up, then your estate will have to go with what the rules and regulations are that they have put into place for you, based upon state law. Is that the contract that you want your life to follow? Probably not.
If you want some free resources, find the tab that says “Free stuff” on our website. Scroll down to estate planning. There, we have videos and PDFs that can help you begin your journey. If you would like some additional support, then perhaps it’s time for you to schedule your Financialoscopy®.
