By Gahram Kang, Esq.
2019 has been an amazing year of growth and development for ALG.
As a firm, we have developed in our ability to listen to our clients, assess their needs accurately, and at times, send them to someone else – a different kind of attorney, or a different kind of professional altogether.
With regard to the estate planning clients we’ve worked with over the past year, it has been a delightful medley of people of all walks of life – single individuals with no children, young families with current and future children on the way, widows and widowers with adult children, grandparents with no debt, and many people with a huge heart for philanthropy, wanting to benefit hospitals, schools and other charities and causes close to their hearts. With a heavy heart, we also served a handful of terminally ill clients who knew that their days on earth were numbered more closely, and they wanted to ensure that their families did not have to face unexpected complications because they didn’t plan ahead.
In summary, here are some of the Top 10 reasons why our estate planning clients came to us this year to put their plan in place:
- They have children (minors or adults)
- They own a home (or some kind of real estate)
- They have loved ones/ dependents they want to take care of
- They were about to travel/ take a trip
- They were terminally ill
- They had a blended family (prior marriages, step-children, etc.)
- They had certain charities, hospitals, schools, churches and organizations they wanted to donate to
- They wanted to save their beneficiaries & grieving heirs from the hassle of probate
- They wanted to plan ahead for incapacity (car accidents, hospitalization, or dementia)
- They had an old estate plan/ old trust that needed to be replaced
If any of these reasons resonate with you, there’s no better time than the present to put your estate plan in place. Those who plan ahead can rest easier and relax on trips, car rides, plane rides, etc. We would be happy to be a resource for any of your family and friends who might be in the above situations.