Legacy Giving & Estate Planning with Attorney Gene Richards | Opening Doors with Annette

What does it really mean to leave a legacy — and how does CARES fit into that journey? In this Coffee with the President episode of Opening Doors, Annette Compo sits down with estate planning attorney Gene Richards, a partner at CMDA Law and member of the CARES Legacy Committee, to introduce the brand-new CARES Legacy Giving program. Together they walk through how the Legacy Committee was built, how donors can support CARES today, tomorrow, and as part of their final wishes, and why giving to a cause you love can be far simpler than most people think. Gene shares how easy it is to name CARES as a beneficiary, the different ways to give beyond cash, and the resources CARES has in place to guide you every step of the way. Whether you have a single bank account or a lifetime of assets, the new Legacy Giving pamphlet — now available online and at CARES — makes it easy to start the conversation. Reach out anytime and we'll walk you through it.
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Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:02

Welcome. I'm super excited once again to have a great person sitting next to me as we go through this amazing topic that we're talking about here at CARES, the campus of hope. Jean Richards is with me today. Jean, thanks for being here.

SPEAKER_00 0:19

My pleasure.

SPEAKER_02 0:20

This coffee with the president at CARES has just come up in the last three, four months. It's always fun to have this hour of time to be able to explore different ideas and concepts that not only our donors, our volunteers, our staff have for this amazing, amazing campus of hope. And so having you here, obviously, you've been serving on what we call the legacy committee as part of the board of directors for cares. And you have been an intricate part in helping us design what we have now called our legacy giving. And how do we give today? How do we give tomorrow or through the course of our life? And then what does it look like at the end of our journey and in our wishes that we want? And so you've actually taken me personally through this, which I'm very thankful for. And of course, um, you know, making sure that our wishes are uh met at the end is always important. So tell us a little bit first off about you and why I would have you here as the professional.

SPEAKER_00 1:26

Well, I am an attorney, but specifically I'm an estate planning attorney. So I meet every day with individuals and families who are interested in putting together their plan for their family, getting their personal legal documents in place, sometimes called an estate plan. Uh I also help make those plans work. So as people get to the end of life, the family then isn't quite sure how to make that plan work or needs assistance. I step in and help. And so I've been doing this almost 30 years. So I've talked to a lot of families, uh a lot of people who are very interested in supporting their favorite charities. And so I think we're here today to talk about how do you do that most efficiently and uh answer any questions that come up along the way.

SPEAKER_02 2:18

Yeah, I love that. I think uh when we think about giving to our favorite charities, a lot of questions come up. And so how does it work in regards to that February timeline of the big government IRS, you know, date? How does it work like if I give X amount of dollars to a charity?

SPEAKER_00 2:38

So I think you're talking about uh charitable deductions or charitable contributions. And uh, you know, the it's interesting the the laws have changed on that a good bit in in recent years. You know, they kind of took away our charitable deduction. And then now we've got some of that back. Um, but there's uh several ways that can be done. Uh what you what most people want is the tax advantage. How do I get a benefit personally while also uh supporting my favorite charities? And that can be done through uh primarily cash gifts or gifts of property, uh things, you know, real estate. Uh these days a lot of people are uh making contributions directly from their IRAs and other retirement accounts. So uh by doing that, if they do it in a timely fashion, actually that has to be done before the end of the year or before a tax season rolls around. Uh then they can the year prior. Right. So you said February. I think you were talking about uh April. April.

SPEAKER_02 3:42

Yeah. I was talking maybe business filing.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

You're very organized. Uh I'm doing my taxes in February. I wish I could say that.

SPEAKER_02 3:49

Um I want to be on vacation maybe in April. That's why I want to make sure my stuff's done in February.

SPEAKER_00 3:54

So, you know, real but w whether you're filing in February because you're so uh organized and efficient, or you're waiting till April or the extension. Either way, you're wanting to capture the donations you made to charity the prior year ending in December. And just quite a few ways to do that. Again, from cash to uh property to automobiles.

SPEAKER_02 4:17

Um let's break that down a little bit. Obviously, cash, you know, we know people just write a check and they they donate it. Now, is there an amount that the IRS stops and says you're not able to go over this amount to use it? I mean, you can go over the amount, but how much will they recognize as being an a deduction?

SPEAKER_00 4:36

So starting this year, 2026, there's uh if you do not itemize uh your deductions, there's an automatic uh $1,000 um deduction, up to a thousand or uh $2,000 for a couple. Now, remember, if you're giving more than $250 in cash, you need a letter from the organization acknowledging that gift. If you're going to actually itemize your charitable deductions, you're going to need to uh be over 0.5% of your AGI, your adjusted gross income. Um and so uh once you get above that number, uh, so I think it was like for $160,000 of AGI, it was like anything the first $800 didn't count, then everything over that did. If you're giving, you might have to have an appraisal if you're giving you know something worth more than $5,000. Uh I always say, I'm the attorney, I help make it happen. I'm not the accountant that does the actual return. So I I do encourage people to have a team of professionals. Uh, if they want to give charitably, figure out the ways to give. And in this case, if you're doing uh like annual giving, like while you're still breathing, uh, you know, during the year, you want to talk with your financial advisor and especially your accountant, because there are so many ins and outs. And these are brand new numbers that came out for this year. So I think everybody's getting acclimated to that. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 6:17

Well, and I think too, every year there's always a little nuance and changes. You always want to make sure you're seeking, you know, the tax experts.

SPEAKER_00 6:24

Absolutely.

SPEAKER_02 6:25

Yeah, so let's go into past cash. So, of course, um, we've here at CARES, we've even received someone trying to donate a mobile home, right? Yeah, um, but we can also donate real estate um or cars. Um, and so each one of those is a a different type of way of doing it. Yeah, and I think that trigger amount was like 5,000, right?

SPEAKER_00 6:46

Yeah, that's what requires an appraisal. Correct.

SPEAKER_02 6:48

So the correct and I remember um really understanding that, and obviously basic people don't know what those parameters are. And so when Gene had mentioned the 5,000, as long as the item that you're donating is 5,000 or less in value, there's no appraisal that's required.

SPEAKER_00 7:05

Right.

SPEAKER_02 7:05

Yeah. And then the nice thing too is that you can take that deduction of whatever that is, even with that with the appraisal or without the appraisal over the course of the next five years. True. So you can strategize in regards to how that one-time donation can be spread out over five years.

SPEAKER_00 7:22

Yeah, that could be really impactful when they're very large gifts, um, especially if you know mobile homes, real estate, especially real estate. Real estate, uh, you know, those can be pretty significant in value.

SPEAKER_02 7:33

You know, uh being a real estate broker, you know, as long as you've probably been an attorney, um, I just got started when I was younger. Yeah, that's the key.

SPEAKER_00 7:42

Nice.

SPEAKER_02 7:43

So one of the things I realize selling real estate is is we we've taken in um real estate lots, we've taken in cemetery plots, we've taken in rental homes. A lot of times what ends up happening is people don't realize that the tool is out there for them to do that. So we've had people that lived in other states, other countries inherit something and they just aren't wanting to deal with it. And so they literally sign it over to their, you know, and name their charity of choice. And it's nice here at CARES that we have the resources, we have the experts to be able to guide people through if that's the type of donation that they want to um leverage for CARES.

SPEAKER_00 8:22

And so I think you're saying it's critical that people maybe give you a heads up that this is coming your way, right? I mean, at least it's there's there's an element of planning to this. Um and so it is nice that CARES has a a uh whole stable full of uh other professionals from tax to legal to um you know investment advice. So uh I would encourage people uh to get out ahead of it um and contact uh this organization for help and how to give their gift.

SPEAKER_02 8:52

Yeah, because uh different organizations that are out there aren't able to sometimes have that background um like we have here at CARES. So let's take us into that next stage where you walk somebody through and even use me as an example, right? Okay. Um is you know, I'm thinking about what what are my wishes for my legacy? What are my wishes that I want to take place in regards to and how does cares fit into um my giving of of what that looks like?

SPEAKER_00 9:26

Well, first of all, you have to have a heart for giving. And uh when you decide it's more than just my time that I'm giving presently. Um, yes, I'll may make a cash gift during the year, but I want to make an impact at the end of my days. Um there you're going to need to decide how much, well, maybe which charity is first, and if it's cares, so how much am I going to give to cares and in what manner? Uh there's actually a few different ways to do this, and it can be quite simple to do. And I'll even go out and start with saying you don't even really need an attorney to do it. Most people, when they hear about the word legacy, they assume it's a complicated legal structure and it's going to cost a lot of money, and I don't even like attorneys, so why would I want to sit down with one? Uh, but it really doesn't have to be all that involved. Okay. Uh the important thing is to make sure uh you mention it. Um so uh for example, sometimes uh when people come to see me, again, we're at the planning stage. Someone says, you know what, this charity is important to me, and I want to include them uh in what I leave behind. How do I do that? And most people will think, oh, I need a will. All right, right. Fair. That's an option. That's one of the one of the options. And so uh, I don't know how far you want me to go into this, but um I uh the way I want them to know everything. Well, let's just talk about how to do it. Okay. Because from the simple to the complex, um, again, the important thing is I want people to hear is if you want to give to gears, it's very easy to do it. It doesn't have to take a lot of time or a lot of money or a lot of planning. There's some steps to take. So I think the way I approach this with my clients is I call it the three bucket shuffle. All right. So um, and the reason I use the three buckets is because when someone passes on, we can sort everything they leave behind into three buckets. All right. No more than three. Bucket one. They might use one, they might use three, but there's only three available. So bucket one is going to be anything that has a named beneficiary or that has a surviving co-owner. For cares purposes, we want the word beneficiary. So if I pass away on this financial account, life insurance policy, retirement account, it can be anything that you can put a name on. It says, I want to give 25% to CARES. And then the rest of it, something else. It could be 5%, it could be 1%. But I'm listing cares as a beneficiary.

SPEAKER_02 12:21

So let me give you an example. So I have a life insurance policy and I fill out the forms and I get the life insurance policy, and there's a line there that says beneficiary. Right. Is that the line you're referencing?

SPEAKER_00 12:34

Yes. So I'm on a springboard from that.

SPEAKER_02 12:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 12:37

Uh you won't be able to see it really, but I went before I came here this morning. I actually went online and looked up Fidelities. So this is a large company. Large company. A lot of people around here have Fidelity. Um, this is their beneficiary form. I downloaded it on uh from the internet. So I went on my computer.

SPEAKER_02 12:55

Without an attorney.

SPEAKER_00 12:56

Without an attorney, I mean, I am an attorney. So I kind of like told myself I wasn't an attorney for a few minutes, but literally just went online and and looked for beneficiary change form. And so we get this form that says beneficiaries, and this one's for a non-retirement. Now, uh, so this could apply to life insurance. Uh, but uh technically, if you have an IRA, you're gonna have a different form. But to your point, it's it's pretty much this simple. Tell who's the account owner? Okay, I am putting my name and information in there. Which accounts? So I could have more than one.

SPEAKER_02 13:31

Just listen the account.

SPEAKER_00 13:32

So let's say I have one account, I've got a Fidelity Investment account, it's not an IRA, it's my account. I put the information in there, and then this was to your point. There's usually two categories of beneficiaries. There's the first tier, what we call the primaries. So they get a first, and then you're going to have your contingents, which are if the people I named first are not available, then I want to go to the contingent people who are going to take.

SPEAKER_02 14:01

So this document actually has the longest life form, right? Yeah. Of what you're trying to do. So the person that has the account lists their beneficiaries, and then the second beneficiaries is if that first beneficiary is no longer with us.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

Right. So, for example, for myself being married, I have my spouse as my primary on anything. She expects that. Um, if if she is not living when I'm gone, then they're going to drop to my backups or my contingents. So you can put cares in this scenario at the top. You could say, and you can choose this one has a space for four uh with percentages. So if I have three kids and I want cares to be my fourth, uh, I can decide how much.

SPEAKER_02 14:48

You can do 25, 25, 25, and then list cares as 25%.

SPEAKER_00 14:52

Yeah, absolutely, or split up however you want. Um, so what we're pointing out though, and then you just sign it. It's that simple. And send it and send it. And for many people, you can actually do this online on your account. So every year uh when we're looking at our having to re-up our uh you know employee benefits through the through the company, one of the steps is you have to go through your beneficiary. So I'm every year at least reminded uh to do that. So this does not require an attorney. An attorney. And it stays in place for a long time. So this is bucket one. Very simple, very straightforward. I can change it at any time. I could fill it out today, come back next month and say, no, no, no. You know, I I want to change that and just do it again. I've not had to talk to anybody other than fill out a form.

SPEAKER_02 15:46

Well, you recommend that once a year people should sit down and take a look at, you know, um not only their retirement accounts, the beneficiaries, where they want, um, you know, their their legacy of something happens and where what's going on with that. Um, but we even say your homeowner's insurance, how are you on your mortgage? It's kind of like that once once a year housekeeping financial steps. And this is one of those things that if you decide you want to change, right, or someone gets you upset and you want to change your beneficiary, right? That happens a lot. Yeah, you can download the form literally directly from the site.

SPEAKER_00 16:21

So remember, so that is correct. Simple, straightforward. The problem is it's only one of the three buckets. Don't forget that. Right. So there's two other buckets. All right. We're gonna use this as this bucket two. All right. Bucket two is going to be a trust. You hear them call it a living trust, revocable trust, but an estate planning trust if they have one.

SPEAKER_02 16:41

So we have So before you jump into that, irrevocable.

SPEAKER_00 16:45

Well, that's different. Irrevocable means I cannot change it.

SPEAKER_02 16:48

Versus revocable.

SPEAKER_00 16:49

Revocable means I can modify it just like this beneficiary designation at any time. The difference is this one you should have a lawyer's assistance with.

SPEAKER_02 16:59

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 16:59

I did not need it with this form. Uh we'll come back to that, but this is a living trust, revocable trust, meaning they can change it over the course of their lifetime if they wish. All right, so that's bucket two. Bucket three is everything else. And I want to go ahead and list these two buckets because then we're gonna put all three together. Bucket three is anything that wasn't by beneficiary or was not handled by a trust, because a lot of people don't have a trust, right? So they just have beneficiaries and everything else. Everything else is probate.

SPEAKER_02 17:34

It's almost like bucket two is the planned purposes, right? So bucket one is the simple changes on beneficiary. Yeah, bucket two is your planned wishes, you meet, you figure it out, this is what you want to do. And bucket three is I haven't done anything, and now we have to find out how that looks.

SPEAKER_00 17:54

Right. So, and by the way, uh the the third bucket, the probate one, and we're gonna take some questions, I think, here in a minute, but the probate one is where wills work, and that's the reason I wanted to talk about bucket three. We'll call this our will today. Um, wills only work in bucket three, so we have three possible buckets. So, and the reason I raise this is because um they don't touch each other, and I hear people say, Well, I have the cares in my will. Okay, but if everything's happening out of bucket one or out of bucket two, the will doesn't matter. So that is something that confuses a lot of people. Say, well, I need it in my will. Well, not necessarily. About bucket one or maybe bucket two, and trusts are a more comprehensive planning tool. So usually those mean we're looking at all the pieces of a person's financial puzzle from bucket one to bucket three and making sure it works because trusts require that you fill the bucket. So uh I I actually had a conversation this morning with someone uh unfortunately this sister has a trust, she is end stage of life, and we were trying to figure out what's in the bucket, and he just kept saying, Well, everything. Everything's in the bucket. Uh well, no, because you just told us about an IRA, you just told us about a bank account that's in her name.

SPEAKER_02 19:32

They weren't actually physically put into that bucket.

SPEAKER_00 19:35

Right, because they were all worried about what this bucket said, and frankly, we're probably not using it. So why do I raise the three bucket shuffle? When you're wanting to give to a charity, there's a spectrum of easy, easy peasy, to I'm gonna need some help. And usually when you need some help, it's because maybe you want deeper planning. Um maybe you want to say, I would like to use this at CERES for certain purposes. You're gonna you're not gonna do that on a beneficiary form. It just ask for the name. That's just a transfer of the well, just a transfer at death, it just happens. If you go through a trust or a will, because some people on purpose go to probate, um, either one, you're going to be able to set some uh parameters for you know how this is done and when it goes out.

SPEAKER_02 20:25

Right, more specific wishes.

SPEAKER_00 20:27

Yes, correct.

SPEAKER_02 20:28

Right. So for instance, for me having um, you know, two kids, two children, um, my biggest thing with the trust was is I have businesses and then I have my personal assets, of course, and then I have my retirement. And what does all of that look like based on specifically what I'm looking? And then I bring in cares or other um, you know, places that I want to give. And so being able to align each wish on a piece of paper that's very clear, um, a trust is a good good instrument to use. It is yeah. And so one of the things I think that people forget is to actually use the trust. The trust is the owner of those assets. So for instance, if my home, when it's sold, is um going to be recognized by the trust, the trust has to be the owner of that home. And we see this a lot in real estate, right? Because people put their um their home in the trust. Um, and so the trust owns it. And so when they go to sell it, they're like, no big deal, I can sign my name. Good trail. Well, not work correct. Yes, you'll be signing, but you're not signing as an individual. You're signing because the trust owns the home, right? And so a trust has the ability to be a living document as you continue to live your journey, just re realizing that people always have to go back to reference what their trust says.

SPEAKER_00 21:52

Yes.

SPEAKER_02 21:53

Because we see that a lot.

SPEAKER_00 21:54

So they forget an interesting story, if I might just add this. So I I had an an L. Well, a lady passed away and um I think it was her sister who was coming in. So in her will, she said, I want this to go to a charity, very passionate about this charity. I want it was like 50%. I want 50% of everything I own, including my life insurance, to go to this charity. Big letters in the will, but it's gotta happen. And then we looked at the beneficiary designation, and it and it went to like a niece or somebody, you know, related to her, said nothing about the charity. And there was a lot of frustration because everybody knew she wanted half of this life insurance policy to go to the charity, but she didn't fill out her beneficiary correctly.

SPEAKER_02 22:51

So what happened?

SPEAKER_00 22:52

Well, it went to the niece. Because even though the it was in the because these buckets don't touch each other, right? This is the instruction man manual for what goes through probate. The beneficiary form controls whatever it's attached to. So that's the reason sometimes planning, it's good to speak with a professional because we see a bigger picture. And so it's entertaining sometimes to educate people on, well, you think you're doing this, but you're really not. So we need to realign the pieces to make sure it goes to your charity.

SPEAKER_02 23:28

I think that's one of the best things I ever did was sitting down with you and filling out that document, right? That asks me all the questions I didn't think I wanted to ask, but needed to be asked. Um, and doing it in the privacy of my own home with myself. Um, and then bringing you that document. And it's interesting as my life has changed, we just modify that trust, right? So a trust is, you know, when you look at it, it's more like that living document, almost becomes part of my overall picture of what my life is currently. And if something happened to me, what my life will look like, obviously, the the assets, what those life forms are and where do they go? So having CARES as part of that trust was a big thing for me to make sure that those wishes were clear. And so as donors here at CARES, we want to make sure that they understand that we have those resources to be able to do that. It doesn't mean you have to do a trust.

SPEAKER_00 24:24

No.

SPEAKER_02 24:24

Gene actually just mentioned bucket one is if they decide that maybe they want their life insurance policy, 50% of their life insurance policy um to go to CARES, and what would end up happening is is in the beneficiary form, they'd have the first person, right, for 50%, and then they'd list CARES as that second piece. Correct. It's that simple. All right, awesome. Well, Gene, I know um we have a question and so wanted to know is there anything else you want to talk about those great three buckets?

SPEAKER_00 24:52

Well, I think uh I don't know if I'd add anything else because we don't want it to be confusing. I think the objective is to tell people there's a spectrum of planning, and you don't have to have a lot of money. You can have a bank account and a checking and savings account, and you just want to include cares in that. Many people may not know or think about the ability to designate beneficiaries on your savings account, on your CDs. Just go to the bank and tell them what you want to do, and they will help you do it. So I don't want people, I'm what I'm trying to do is make sure this is available to everybody. This is not millionaires, this is not be with bucku money, you know, or just tons of different assets. Yes, hopefully they will have some interest in supporting charities as well, be very philanthropic, but this is just for your everyday person. It does not have to be complicated. You do not have to spend a lot of time. And don't be afraid of it. That's don't be afraid of it.

SPEAKER_02 25:54

The biggest thing is is just reach out and say, these are my this is what I'd like to have a discussion about. And education is is the key, right? When we educate consumers, they're better decision makers.

SPEAKER_00 26:05

Maybe one last visual. Um people ask me what kind of lawyer I am all the time. Like they say, ah, you're a lawyer. I'm like, well, there's two kinds of lawyers. This will be a good one. There's hand slappers. These are the ones you see the billboards for about, and you know, they have big advertisements. They're smacking people to get money. Ah, we'll we'll take them down, we'll sue them, we'll get money for you. I call those the hand slappers. Then you have hand holders, which is an estate planner, someone like me who we're we're friendly, right? We are there to help people. And so do not be intimidated from working with an attorney because most of the ones that do this type of work, they're going to be They're more consultive. They're more consultative. We're there to help people. And we actually take great joy in helping people figure out this this thing they want to do. And that's one thing. Care is again as a resource. You have, I know you know, have multiple attorneys that you can direct people to, and and uh so they should they should ask for help um if they're interested in doing that.

SPEAKER_02 27:12

Nice. So we have a question.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

Actually, I think you may have answered it. Um I think that what has caused a lot of confusion for people is you want to stay out of poll date. You know, and people don't realize that can take a really long time if you don't have everything written down or acknowledged in some way, and that can not only cost time but can cost money and then that is associated.

SPEAKER_02 27:40

And emotional time, right? Emotional time is as expensive.

SPEAKER_01 27:43

Like the the trust is ultimately the best advantage so that everything can be in the trust and then everything is clear. Is that correct?

SPEAKER_00 27:52

So the question on the table in case it wasn't picked up uh from the audience is um it I'm gonna generalize it. Shouldn't people stay most people want to stay away from probate? And it sounds like maybe the trust is the best solution of all, because probate takes a long time and it's costly, and you know it can take years. So I have a slightly different view of probate because I do a lot of probate work. Um probate gets a bad reputation. The thing, and I usually hear, well, what I just heard, uh, it costs a lot, takes forever, and people fight in court. Well, as to the fighting one, if people are fighting in probate court, they were fighting before they ever got there. The court is where we resolve the con the meeting of the minds. Right. But at its core, probate is just the legal process that we move, you know, if you left behind your um, you know, your two million dollar pen, you know, um who gets it? Right. You know, on a beneficiary form, we know who gets it, there's a name. On a in a trust, we know who gets it. And we don't need the court to handle a trust if it's done right. So what if it goes to probate? Is that a bad thing? Not necessarily. First of all, we're gonna ask, did they have a will? Because a will tells us where does this pen go? And then it's just walking through the process. And unless there's a fight over who should get the pen, there's not, you're not even ever going to see a judge. It's all paperwork in probate court. Now, yes, it takes a few months to get from start to finish, but frankly, a trust takes a few months to work through as well. So, yes, uh, so I I'm on a mission to help people realize probate's not awful. Doesn't the state doesn't take a big portion of the of the gift or the money, doesn't cost a huge amount in legal fees. It does cost extra. So most people want to avoid probate because they just don't like the sound of it or they had a bad experience as a family. But I want to emphasize there's nothing wrong with having a will and allowing things to go through probate. Okay, it's it's not the end of the world, at least in my opinion. But maybe that's just because I do a lot of probate and it's good business. Right.

SPEAKER_02 30:19

Well, you know, someone disagrees, obviously, with the will, or how the, you know, even how even how the trust, I mean, yeah, trust is a more secure document. Right. All you need is one person to disagree and it's going to end up over in probate anyway.

SPEAKER_00 30:32

Which surprises people to find out all it takes is that one person who is going to fight the will to fight the trust, and this slides over to probate because probate has control of how trusts are handled. But if you're doing your plan in advance, we're not talking about the the problems of of giving. We're talking about how to coordinate the three buckets. But it was a great question is the trust the best tool? And it's the best tool if that's what a person needs. But not everybody needs a trust because maybe their situation is not that complicated.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Right. Um, and as we age, sometimes we don't always keep those assets, right? Yeah. Uh I know when I was going through when my mom was at the end of her life, she was very clear. She was giving away things to my nieces, my nephews, their, you know, her grandchildren. Um, you know, before she passed, because she wanted them to it one, for she wanted to see the enjoyment of the giving, right? Right. And two, for them to be able to use that asset. So you have that as well. Um, so I think it really comes down to is this is a very personal journey. And each person is a little bit different of what they have. Um, and today we just want to talk about the ease of how um simple it is to be able to give to cares, to be able to um have a retirement account, a savings account, a checking account, where they ask you that question, here's your beneficiary form, who would you like on that? That is the opportunity to think to yourself, what other assets um do you want to be able to have cares benefit from? Um, and then if you have more complicated wishes, right, or multiple businesses, multiple assets, going into that second bucket and understanding that this is where you really want to define correct instructions um upon you know the the end of your journey.

SPEAKER_00 32:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 32:24

And of course, the third um bucket, which is the probate, we just want to make sure that people understand that probate isn't bad, right? It's it's it's just a process that we have to go through if for some reason, one, there's a disagreement, or two, is that there's no instruction. No instruction manual was left at the end of somebody's life. And now someone has to make that deciding factor of who the true beneficiaries are.

SPEAKER_00 32:49

Yeah. I think the big thing with the will is in probate, is that people think it does more than it does. I think that's the key there. They, oh, I have a cares in my will. But that was you did that 10 years ago, or well, I guess cares wasn't here 10 years ago. Sorry, wrong number. But you know, it's been a few years since I did my will, and I have cares in it. But they've forgotten that they've they're really not going to have much go through probate. So again, consult with a professional who understands the interplay of the three buckets and guide you through it. But probate is not bad. Using a will to give to cares is just as good as beneficiary and trusts.

SPEAKER_02 33:30

Well, in closing, just want to let people know is if there is um an opportunity or a conversation that they'd like to have of how they um would like cares to benefit from you know their lifelong dreams that they've you know accomplished over their term. Um, just reach out to us. And we not only do we have a brochure, we've got that now on the website. Our website is like this amazing instrument of information. Um, they can learn that as well as just reaching out to us and walk you through those steps and get you in front of those professionals. Jean, thanks for sitting in with me today.

SPEAKER_00 34:01

This has been a real treat for me. Thank you, Annette. Good to be here.

SPEAKER_02 34:04

We'll talk to you guys soon.