In the past, I've made it a point to send one big email per year about my estate planning law practice and professional life. Not this year - below is an email I just sent around to clients and friends:
I have received SO MUCH positive feedback about the Panic-free Planning Potlucks. Thanks to many of you for your participation and enthusiasm, and for spreading the word. However, the Potlucks are not right for everyone, so I've expanded my Panic-free Planning offerings. Read below or go to my website and click on Panic-free Planning.
In addition to Panic-free Planning Potlucks, I am offering Panic-free Planning Workshops in my office. These Workshops are much like the Potlucks - you execute the same very basic documents for the same very low price. The Workshops are good for those of you who can't or don't want to organize a group of friends, or would rather skip the bonding meal and get your documents finalized at a less time-consuming event. Workshops are already scheduled for April, and as long as at least two unrelated people sign up for a Workshop, it is a go!
I am also offering Self-help Consultations that take place in the comfort of your own home. How many of you have bought the do-it-yourself materials from Nolo or some other legal publishing company? Are the software and book gathering dust on your shelf? For a flat fee of $500, I come to your house and work with you for up to three hours to finally use that software you bought to help you create a fully customized estate plan (to the extent your software permits). Maybe you haven't created your estate planning documents because you have difficulty finding the motivation or time. Or maybe you can't let go of that nagging fear that you will miss something. With my self-help consultations you'll do it yourself, but you won't have to do it alone.
Lastly, if you are interested in putting together an estate plan (whether through a Panic-free Potluck, Panic-free Workshop, Self-help Consultation or otherwise) and are short on cash, talk to me about bartering! I can't guarantee I'll need your services, but I'm always open to talking about it.
OK - that is all for now. Please forward this information to anyone you think might be interested. If are on any listservs (in particular parenting or school listservs), and want to post this information there, that would be great, too!
With thanks and good wishes,
Amy
4 Comments
On June 12 of this year I will celebrate my 39th birthday. I consider that the official kick-off to planning my 40th birthday party. I have not written anything here for a few weeks. One of the reasons I've been reluctant to broadcast news of my web-log to all of my fans is that I wanted to see whether I'd really post regularly. Nothing is worse than a web-log that is never updated. Except a lot of things, really, but it sucks when you get all into following a web-log and then no one updates it. Bo-ring. I've done a moderately decent job of paying consistent attention to this web-log, in my opinion. I'll probably not post the link to my web-log on facebook or anything like that. Although facebook is really the only thing 'like that' in my life. A number of years ago, when we were both in our early 20's, one of my best friends suffered a string of terrible losses. A grandparent, his brother, a dear childhood friend - they all died within a relatively short period of time. At the time, I had a thought that has come back to haunt me: I felt safe. It seemed unthinkable that the metaphysical powers that be would take all of these people away from my friend and then take me, too. Seemed pretty clear that I was off-limits to the grim reaper for a while. I heard a lot about parallel play when my kids were infants and toddlers. Parallel play is a notion from developmental psychology, describing children playing side by side but without interacting. Different than playing alone (that is solitary play) but not necessarily playing with each other (that is group play). Experts say that parallel play is something commonly experienced by kids around ages 2 and 3. Presumably then they move on to group play, or other interactive experiences. The California Supreme Court recently heard oral arguments in the constitutional challenge to Proposition 8, California's gay marriage ban, passed last year by 52% of California voters who voted. Dreams are so crazy.
In September of last year, friends of mine had a baby who was born and then died within a few hours. These people are really acquaintances, or even sort of more remote - she taught my son and he is someone I've never actually met. She is warm and gregarious and an east-coaster, so we connected easily. She is a great teacher, and loved my kids, too. We like each other, and, by default, I care about her husband. I rarely watch TV, really only for sports or when I'm folding laundry. I don't have, have never had, will never have cable TV. I have WAY too little self-control for that one. And for now, anyway, my husband and I own a video store, so we have plenty of good stuff to watch at our finger tips. |