This Christmas video is just the thing for boosting Christmas spirit this year! It's a little gift from me to you. Enjoy.
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Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Christmas. Show all posts
Saturday, December 22, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
8 fun gifts for wills and estates lawyers
It's gift-giving season and I know you're desperate to find just the right thing to give that wills and estates lawyer you love so much. I've found some goodies that are so great, your lawyer might give you a deal on your next codicil!
1. Estate Planning Failures of the Rich and Famous poster. There are actually five in the series so you might be able to cover off a future birthday or two as well if you buy them all. Each poster contains nine lesson-invoking nuggets about celebrities, entertainers, politicians and even a royal or two whose lack of decent estate planning is just as famous as whatever they used to be famous for. Click here to go the website.
2. Last Will and Testament Hot Sauce. Judicial Flavours makes sauces for lawyers of all stripes and heat tolerances. And if anyone can take the heat, it's a lawyer. Some of the sauces are for litigators or commercial lawyers, but this one is just for us hot-blooded wills and estates types. Click here.
3. Law School in a Box. Sure, you could spend $100,000 on a law degree from Harvard or Yale. But then you'd have to deal with crowded classrooms, inconvenient course schedules, and rigorous academic study. Fortunately, the brilliant minds of Mental_Floss magazine are proud to offer an alternative: Law School in a Box. This prestigious boxed university offers a complete legal education for just $14.95. Your program includes: • Law School in 96 Pages: Your Comprehensive Textbook • 10 Heroes of the Courtroom Trading Cards • 10 "You Be the Judge" Cards • A devilishly complicated legal trivia bar exam • A rolled diploma with real Latin words. It's the perfect gift for lawyers and would-be lawyers of all ages, from the highest-ranked boxed law school in the country! Click here.
4. Want to show off your fancy vocabulary and beat down your fellow lawyers? Of course you do! Isn't getting a fancy vocabulary (and maybe a BMW) why you went to law school in the first place? Now here's a game that will help you out-spell and out-orate the best of 'em: Wordie Wars! Its advertising flogs it as "The Ultimate Showdown for Superior Spellers, Leaping Linguists, and Genius Grammarians!" Cool, huh? Click here to begin your domination of the word nerds.
5. The funny and subversive 'Queen's Counsel' cartoon strip has appeared on the law pages of "The Times" since 1993, delighting the legal profession and general readers alike with its accurate and biting send-up of the profession and its practices. Here - allegedly! - is the best of them. In these pages, readers will delight in Geoffrey Bentwood QC, who specialises in boring his clients to death, while not-so-secretly longing to be promoted to the bench; his sidekick, Edward Longwind, who takes lessons in pomposity from Sir Geoffrey; Richard Loophole of Loophole and Fillibuster who does his best to bankrupt his clients, while working his associates to death and pretending to remember some of the law he learned at school; and at the mercy of all of them is the luckless Mr Sprocket, the endlessly unsuccessful litigant whose lawyers will not rest until they have spent all of his money. This work features the best of the 'Queen's Counsel' cartoon strip from "The Times". Click here.
6. If your favourite lawyer needs a smile this Christmas (maybe there was no year-end bonus this time around) consider picking up this little gem, which includes such seasonal favourites as "Let 'em sue" and "It's going to be a billable Christmas". The whole family can sing along. There's nothing like it for creating a sentimental Christmas ambience. Click here.
7. For many Baby Boomers, death can be a touchy subject. They need to keep their inheritance away from step relatives, charities and caring neighbors. The more money at stake, the more potential beneficiaries seem to turn up. Meanwhile, their parents are growing older and less inclined to leave all their money to their children, as of right. Even after receiving an inheritance the Baby Boomer’s own adult children are a challenge. They can range from "competent and never call" to "have trouble sitting the right way round on a toilet seat." Their children are forever marrying (or failing to marry) spendthrift, drunken, philandering partners. At 62 years old, the oldest Baby Boomers increasingly find themselves under siege from many different quarters to make a decision. This attention is heightened by there being more money at stake. The Legal Guide to Dying-Baby Boomer Edition is the ultimate Exit Tool for those Boomers with little time to spare. Click here to give your lawyer some truly enjoyable reading.
8. You know, if there's one thing estate planning lawyers lament, it's the fact that we're so darn good at planning and our documents are so airtight, we just don't spend much time in the courtroom anymore. There's hardly a lawsuit to be had among us (Anyone else knocking on wood? Am I tempting the litigation gods? Is that a bus heading straight for me?). For the lawyer in your life who can't get enough of the adrenaline rush known as litigation, here's a fun substitute: Lawsuit - the board game! Click here, and he or she will love you for it, trust me.
And finally... for those of you who put things off until you get around to it, here you go. Problem solved. It's a genuine Round Tuit. Click here, when you get around to it of course. You're welcome.
1. Estate Planning Failures of the Rich and Famous poster. There are actually five in the series so you might be able to cover off a future birthday or two as well if you buy them all. Each poster contains nine lesson-invoking nuggets about celebrities, entertainers, politicians and even a royal or two whose lack of decent estate planning is just as famous as whatever they used to be famous for. Click here to go the website.
2. Last Will and Testament Hot Sauce. Judicial Flavours makes sauces for lawyers of all stripes and heat tolerances. And if anyone can take the heat, it's a lawyer. Some of the sauces are for litigators or commercial lawyers, but this one is just for us hot-blooded wills and estates types. Click here.
3. Law School in a Box. Sure, you could spend $100,000 on a law degree from Harvard or Yale. But then you'd have to deal with crowded classrooms, inconvenient course schedules, and rigorous academic study. Fortunately, the brilliant minds of Mental_Floss magazine are proud to offer an alternative: Law School in a Box. This prestigious boxed university offers a complete legal education for just $14.95. Your program includes: • Law School in 96 Pages: Your Comprehensive Textbook • 10 Heroes of the Courtroom Trading Cards • 10 "You Be the Judge" Cards • A devilishly complicated legal trivia bar exam • A rolled diploma with real Latin words. It's the perfect gift for lawyers and would-be lawyers of all ages, from the highest-ranked boxed law school in the country! Click here.
4. Want to show off your fancy vocabulary and beat down your fellow lawyers? Of course you do! Isn't getting a fancy vocabulary (and maybe a BMW) why you went to law school in the first place? Now here's a game that will help you out-spell and out-orate the best of 'em: Wordie Wars! Its advertising flogs it as "The Ultimate Showdown for Superior Spellers, Leaping Linguists, and Genius Grammarians!" Cool, huh? Click here to begin your domination of the word nerds.
5. The funny and subversive 'Queen's Counsel' cartoon strip has appeared on the law pages of "The Times" since 1993, delighting the legal profession and general readers alike with its accurate and biting send-up of the profession and its practices. Here - allegedly! - is the best of them. In these pages, readers will delight in Geoffrey Bentwood QC, who specialises in boring his clients to death, while not-so-secretly longing to be promoted to the bench; his sidekick, Edward Longwind, who takes lessons in pomposity from Sir Geoffrey; Richard Loophole of Loophole and Fillibuster who does his best to bankrupt his clients, while working his associates to death and pretending to remember some of the law he learned at school; and at the mercy of all of them is the luckless Mr Sprocket, the endlessly unsuccessful litigant whose lawyers will not rest until they have spent all of his money. This work features the best of the 'Queen's Counsel' cartoon strip from "The Times". Click here.
6. If your favourite lawyer needs a smile this Christmas (maybe there was no year-end bonus this time around) consider picking up this little gem, which includes such seasonal favourites as "Let 'em sue" and "It's going to be a billable Christmas". The whole family can sing along. There's nothing like it for creating a sentimental Christmas ambience. Click here.
7. For many Baby Boomers, death can be a touchy subject. They need to keep their inheritance away from step relatives, charities and caring neighbors. The more money at stake, the more potential beneficiaries seem to turn up. Meanwhile, their parents are growing older and less inclined to leave all their money to their children, as of right. Even after receiving an inheritance the Baby Boomer’s own adult children are a challenge. They can range from "competent and never call" to "have trouble sitting the right way round on a toilet seat." Their children are forever marrying (or failing to marry) spendthrift, drunken, philandering partners. At 62 years old, the oldest Baby Boomers increasingly find themselves under siege from many different quarters to make a decision. This attention is heightened by there being more money at stake. The Legal Guide to Dying-Baby Boomer Edition is the ultimate Exit Tool for those Boomers with little time to spare. Click here to give your lawyer some truly enjoyable reading.
8. You know, if there's one thing estate planning lawyers lament, it's the fact that we're so darn good at planning and our documents are so airtight, we just don't spend much time in the courtroom anymore. There's hardly a lawsuit to be had among us (Anyone else knocking on wood? Am I tempting the litigation gods? Is that a bus heading straight for me?). For the lawyer in your life who can't get enough of the adrenaline rush known as litigation, here's a fun substitute: Lawsuit - the board game! Click here, and he or she will love you for it, trust me.
And finally... for those of you who put things off until you get around to it, here you go. Problem solved. It's a genuine Round Tuit. Click here, when you get around to it of course. You're welcome.
Friday, December 24, 2010
When traditions must change
This article from a blog called The New Old Age discusses how the focus and traditions surrounding events such as Christmas have to change when an aging parent is suffering from dementia. Click here to read it.
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Your Christmas present to me, and vice versa
I'd like to give a gift to you in return. The first person who emails me asking for a copy of my book "Estate Planning Through Family Meetings (Without Breaking up the Family)" will receive one free of cost. And the first person who emails me asking for a copy of my book "Succession Planning Kit for Canadian Business" will receive a copy of that free of cost. Please don't ask for both because I want to send books to two people. I'll send you the books personally. The email address is estatelawcanada@gmail.com. Make sure you include a mailing address!
Happy holidays!
Saturday, December 18, 2010
A holiday treat: Let it Dough
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
30 ridiculous, fabulous, beyond-crazy gifts for the out-there senior in your life
Tuesday, December 29, 2009
Family meeting at Christmas?
Clients often ask me whether it is alright to bring up sensitive family topics when the family is gathered for the holiday season or whether doing so would "ruin Christmas". I'm in favour of having family meetings when everyone, or almost everyone, is already gathered together and prepared to spend some time together.
There are some subjects that are best brought up in person with the family group rather than being discussed in a hit or miss fashion on email or during telephone calls. For example, if an issue facing your family right now is what alternatives are available for an ageing parent who is having trouble living alone, it is better to have everyone present who may have something constructive to add.
During the holiday season you may also find that because many of your family members have time off work or are already planning to travel to join the group, you will be taking advantage of the fact that people are together who are not normally together. You can avoid trying to pick a date at another time of year that will suit several people's schedules, and you will not have to deal with the issue of people having to travel specifically for a family meeting.
If you are planning to take advantage of the family gathering at Christmas, use some tact and planning. Do not blurt out your issue unexpectedly at the dinner table. Instead, ask whether people would be willing to set aside some time that evening or the next day to have a family meeting to talk over some issues and help each other find solutions. Set the tone by asking in a calm, co-operative way.
My next book, which will be released in March 2010, is all about holding a family meeting to talk about estate planning and issues facing ageing parents. It is packed with ideas on how and where to hold a meeting, who should attend, what should be covered in a meeting and what to do after the meeting to make sure you end up with a legally binding estate plan. I'm really looking forward to this book coming out as I poured a lot of my personal and professional experience into it and I believe it will be really useful for a lot of people.
There are some subjects that are best brought up in person with the family group rather than being discussed in a hit or miss fashion on email or during telephone calls. For example, if an issue facing your family right now is what alternatives are available for an ageing parent who is having trouble living alone, it is better to have everyone present who may have something constructive to add.
During the holiday season you may also find that because many of your family members have time off work or are already planning to travel to join the group, you will be taking advantage of the fact that people are together who are not normally together. You can avoid trying to pick a date at another time of year that will suit several people's schedules, and you will not have to deal with the issue of people having to travel specifically for a family meeting.
If you are planning to take advantage of the family gathering at Christmas, use some tact and planning. Do not blurt out your issue unexpectedly at the dinner table. Instead, ask whether people would be willing to set aside some time that evening or the next day to have a family meeting to talk over some issues and help each other find solutions. Set the tone by asking in a calm, co-operative way.
My next book, which will be released in March 2010, is all about holding a family meeting to talk about estate planning and issues facing ageing parents. It is packed with ideas on how and where to hold a meeting, who should attend, what should be covered in a meeting and what to do after the meeting to make sure you end up with a legally binding estate plan. I'm really looking forward to this book coming out as I poured a lot of my personal and professional experience into it and I believe it will be really useful for a lot of people.
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