Estate Planning To Protect You and Your Children with Pamela Maass Garret

In this episode, Nika is joined by Pamela Maass Garret, a former Felony Deputy District Attorney turned estate planning expert and founder of Law Mother. With firsthand experience in the legal challenges families encounter, Pamela has dedicated herself to empowering families with a proactive approach to estate planning. As the wife of a veteran, she emphasizes the importance of meticulous planning, especially for parents, real estate investors, and business owners. 

Together, Nika and Pamela discuss the critical necessity of organizing essential financial documents, including wills and trusts, to protect children, safeguard wealth, and secure one's legacy. Pamela's unique perspective offers invaluable advice on creating an estate plan that serves as a solid foundation for your family's future.

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DISCLAIMER:
*This podcast and its contents are for informational purposes only and are not intended to replace professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always consult your physician or a qualified health provider for any questions concerning a medical condition or health objectives. Additionally, the advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for every individual and are not guaranteed for business or personal success. Use discretion and seek professional counsel when necessary.

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:16

Hey everybody, welcome to the show. As always, I'm so grateful for you to join me and my guests. Today we are going to learn about a topic that I think is sometimes so undervalued and so so important, especially, actually, as it relates to our health and you may not realize that it relates to our health, but it really does. So I want to welcome my guest, pamela. I'm so grateful to have you here. Thank you, so excited to be here. Yeah, so you are an attorney and you're also the founder of the Law Mother, which is a law firm dedicated to modern working moms. Can you tell me a little bit about like your backstory and why it's so important for you to focus on moms, especially working moms?

Speaker 2: 1:00

Yeah, so I've been practicing law for 11 years and I started my career out as a deputy district attorney, so I was working for the government and I was, yeah, in the courtroom every day. Yeah, very like picture of law and order, and I loved it. I loved serving my community, I loved being in court and I saw, though, this need where people would not have access to the legal planning tools we're going to talk about, especially younger families, and a tragedy would happen, an accident would happen and their loved ones would be stuck in court, their kids would end up in foster care or in child protective services, and I it's so preventable, and so that kind of started my passion for really wanting to help families plan proactively, kind of use my experience in the litigation side to help people plan in a way to protect their family.

Speaker 1: 1:58

Yeah, Go ahead, go ahead. I didn't mean to interrupt you, yeah.

Speaker 2: 2:04

And so I know we're on video so I could so yeah, so then you know, I, becoming a parent myself, becoming a mom myself, I have a lot of in this day and age, more and more I feel like women are the ones making the financial decisions in their families and I just found myself I mean, I work with couples, so I still work with men and I have a lot of male clients and I work with husbands and I work with married couples and blended families and all kinds, so but I really wanted to take a stand for the working mom and really provide resources and speak to her directly and what her needs are for the family, because I just I found that those were the people that I enjoyed serving and that were coming to me, and so I wanted to take that stand.

Speaker 1: 2:55

I love that. That is so amazing because I think it's something like 40% of women are having children outside of wedlock now, and so there's so much that comes behind women making those kinds of decisions and kind of leading the household, and so it's such a needed service. I really love that you're doing that.

Speaker 2: 3:13

Thank you. Yeah, absolutely yeah, and there is that trend that you know.

Speaker 1: 3:17

Like I said, I have clients that are married, unmarried, but I really wanted to kind of fill that gap fill that need, absolutely so one of the reasons why I was really interested in talking to you is I actually have a background working for a nonprofit.

Speaker 1: 3:31

I worked with the Alzheimer's Association for almost a decade and working through that or working with the families there, what I found over and over and over again and this is how it really relates to health was that families did not have any of their legal documents in order.

Speaker 1: 3:49

You would have families that somebody would be diagnosed with dementia and they wouldn't have a will, they wouldn't have any powers of attorney like medical or legal documents in order, and oftentimes that would cause a lot of issues, especially for the loved ones or the family members and the caregivers where there would loved ones or the family members and the caregivers where there would be issues with the estate or you couldn't make medical decisions on behalf of those people, and so it caused a lot of stress and you know things that didn't need to happen because people didn't have these documents in order. I like that you talk a little bit about how you know planning for your death can improve your life, and I really saw that day in and day out with clients in the association. Can you talk a little bit about. You know what are the documents we need to get in order and how does that improve our health.

Speaker 2: 4:43

Yeah, and so valuable to hear that story. And thanks for sharing that, because I do think you know, none of us think anything is going to happen to us, right?

Speaker 1: 4:52

Yeah, it's somebody else. It's always somebody else. Yes.

Speaker 2: 4:56

And I feel like one of the fears that comes up that prevents people from putting a plan in place, is this fear that if I put a plan in place, I'm going to, like law of attraction, something awful.

Speaker 2: 5:07

And the good news is, I've worked with thousands of people and I've never seen any connection with someone putting a plan in place and then something tragically happening. And the reality is the vast majority of us, at some point, are going to become disabled or incapacitated to something, so we're going to eventually need it. Hopefully, we all live long, long, long, healthy lives, but estate planning is one of those things that people tend to procrastinate until it's too late. But to touch on a few of the points that you all asked about. So the first one, like why does estate or legacy planning improve our life now? And if you just think about right now, if something were to happen to you today, what would happen? Like what would happen to your family? And if you're a parent and you have minor children, what would happen is your loved ones would have to go to court, your child might end up in child protective services or foster care until the court process goes through and then a stranger, a judge, is going to make the decision of who's going to protect your kids and who's going to be the one in charge of their kids, decision of who's going to protect your kids and who's going to be the one in charge of their kids. And if you so you know a lot of us, I think, as parents, have that thought in our mind of like, oh my gosh, if something happened to me today, what would happen to the money? What would happen to my kids? But then we actually realize what would happen is very scary. But the empowering thing is, when you put a plan in place, you get that peace of mind today, get to enjoy knowing that everything is taken care of. And one of the things I love about your podcast and one of the things you're really passionate about is leaving things better for people. And I think when something happens, eventually something's going to happen to all of us, and by putting a plan to place, it's almost like the ultimate love letter to your loved ones, like you're giving in a time when they're dealing with grief and dealing with the stress. You're giving them everything taken care of. They don't have to go to a court process, they don't have to go hire a lawyer, you can have everything streamlined for them in a really, really nice way and hopefully they won't have to use it for many, many years but to get to enjoy that peace of mind now and then.

Speaker 2: 7:05

The other thing that I've kind of talked to that I've heard back from clients is that when a lot of times they're like oh you know, I don't want to burden people by having them be guardians for my kids or I don't want to ask them, and they get nervous, and then they always report back to me that they, once they have these conversations with people and ask them hey, would you be a short-term guardian or a long-term guardian for my kiddo? That the people are so honored. It's almost like if you're religious, you know, a lot of times you have God, parents and people don't have those Right, but it's like that role, right. They. They reported back to me like they were so happy They've taken on an added role with my kid in life where they, like now, have asked me more questions and they're mentoring.

Speaker 2: 7:51

So you get that extra relationship for your family with these people. That when you have those conversations now, and even if you're single and you don't have children, when you have those conversations with those people in your life about something were to happen to me, I'd want you to help me and this is what you know. Would you be willing? People feel so honored and and really you get that joy and that connection and that added relationship in life, Absolutely.

Speaker 1: 8:16

Yeah, I think it's so, so important. Can you talk a little bit about, um, kind of not having these documents or things in order? What are some of the bad things that can happen? You touched on it a little bit with, like, children possibly going to foster care and things like that. But I think sometimes people don't understand. They just assume that you know, if I die, then grandma will watch the kids and you know dad gets the money or whatever. Like they just assume that everything has a flow and the courts will you know dad gets the money or whatever. Like they just assume that everything has a flow and the courts will, you know, just hand it out and it's easy, and it's not always that case. Can you talk about some of those things to kind of be aware of what might happen?

Speaker 2: 8:55

Yeah, so, to simplify it, the simple thing is, if you don't have any type of will or trust or a state plan in place, then the default plan is going to be the court that the state that you live in their laws, and it's going to be a court process. So it's that court process is called probate. And so in every state, essentially what would happen is kind of your blood relatives would go to court and they would ask the judge to be appointed and they would hire a lawyer, they would pay fees to do all that, and then the if there were multiple people. So say, you have a brother that would want to raise your kids, and you have, you know, an aunt, and you have a mom, and then you have, like, you have all these other people that want to do it, and then you have in-laws. Well, that's where the conflict can come up, and so you have different family members. Maybe if you have a decent life insurance policy through your job, maybe there's someone that just wants the money. They don't really care about your kids, or you know and so the judge tries to sort all that, and that's the thing where, on average, in most places in the US, it takes between nine months and two years, it usually ends up spent costing five to 9% of your state. So a lot of us think, well, I'm not wealthy or I'm not rich. But when you think about your retirement accounts, your life insurance accounts, your home, that can really easily, for an average family, be multi-thousand dollar number. That gets caught up where putting a plan in place upfront can save a lot of money. So that's the reality and then it's going to be the state's law that you're in.

Speaker 2: 10:38

So traditionally in most states you know if you're married, most drafts are going to go to your spouse. If you're not married, then it would go to a parent first, your parents first, and then it goes to children parent first, your parents first, and then it goes to children. But if your children, if you pass away and your children are under the age of 18, they're going to appoint the judge, is going to put someone in charge of that money until they reach the age of 18. So that's where you know. That's where things tend to get derailed and end up being kind of really costly and time consuming. And then if you are in a situation where you're disabled, then it's that same process, right? If you're incapacitated or disabled, your loved ones are going to have to go to court and ask a judge for permission to be in charge of you, to take care of you, and if there's any conflict or if there's more than one person that wants the job that's related, then there's going to be some infighting. And if you're married, there's no default rules that your spouse is going to be the one that's in charge of you. So we or make the decision.

Speaker 2: 11:40

So you may have remembered the Terry Shivo case from a long time ago. That's kind of the worst case scenario where, um, she was in this vegetative state, her husband, you know, wanted to pull the plug. Her parents, um did not, and so they it's not a default that wanted to pull the plug. Her parents did not, and so it's not a default that your husband makes the decisions if you don't have a document in place that says that. So that was 15 years of litigation. It became a huge political thing, it became very public and that poor woman had her feeding tube in and out. It was a really horrible, horrible situation.

Speaker 1: 12:11

So that's kind of the worst case scenario that we all remember have been moments that, you know, we've really had to figure out how this process works, and one thing that made that easy was having some of these documents in order being prepared for some of those kind of things. And what are the baseline documents that you think everyone should have and why should we have them? Oh, I guess we've kind of touched on why, but you know, what are those basic documents that people should have?

Speaker 2: 12:52

Yeah, so if you're a parent, you should absolutely name legal guardians for your children, and I always recommend short-term guardians and long-term guardians. Short-term guardians are the people that would be temporary guardians If your long-term guardians are people that live out of state or maybe they're out of town or they're not available. Your short-term guardians are people that live out of state or maybe they're out of town or they're not available. Your short term guardians are people that live close by to you that you would trust to keep your kiddo safe until your long term guardians could come to town, and that really prevents your kids ever having to be in child protective services or any type of government care. So short term guardians, close by people. Long term guardians they're those people that you'd want to care for your kids if you could not. So that's kind of the baseline. And then I always recommend a living trust or a will.

Speaker 2: 13:40

The big difference between the two is wills go through probate. So if you pass away with anything titled in your name, it's going to go through probate. If you title things into a living trust, it avoids probate and using a living trust, you can think of it as a substitute for a will. It allows you to have disability protection. So if you're ever disabled or incapacitated, a will only comes into effect if you die. A living trust is in effect during life, so it gives you that disability protection. Someone could step in and make your financial decisions.

Speaker 2: 14:16

So living trusts have a few different benefits. It avoids probate, so it saves that cost down the road, that long-term cost of probate. It avoids the time of probate, the nine months to two years, so your loved ones have immediate access to money. You don't have frozen bank accounts. You don't have real estate that can't be sold. You media access to money. You don't have frozen bank accounts, you don't have real estate that can't be sold. You don't have any of those issues with the living trust. It saves a lot of time, it saves a lot of money and you have the disability protection.

Speaker 2: 14:42

And then, finally, you can put in asset protection for your children and for your spouse so you can protect the money from future creditors, from future divorces. It's how children can inherit and then if they get divorced it doesn't get taken to them by their spouse, so you can do some estate tax minimization type things with the living trust. So those are the big ones. And then I always recommend Medical Powers of Attorney and Healthcare Directives and I have releases. It's kind of like a full healthcare set, yeah, and I can kind of go into detail a little bit about those as well.

Speaker 1: 15:21

Yeah, I think, talk about those, because I think those are often really underutilized or they're not often prepared or on hand, you know, and you don't know what's going to happen. So I think kind of deep diving into that just a little bit would be helpful.

Speaker 2: 15:35

Yeah. So the medical power of attorney is going to be who would make your medical decisions? If you could not, I usually recommend you have a few people lined up, like at least one person and a few alternates. Your living well or your advanced health care directive is what are those decisions? What are the things that you want as far as? Do you want artificial nutrition and hydration? Do you want life sustaining procedures if you have a terminal condition?

Speaker 2: 16:05

So that really goes through all of those types of things and it really takes the burden off your loved ones in that time where they're dealing with what is happening, to know what your wishes are. And it really takes away some of that conflict between family members because a lot of times you know one family member might assume you wanted this and vice versa. So really gives everybody that peace of mind and knowing that you've taken care of it. And then you give HIPAA releases as well so people can get access to those. So that's kind of the full health set. And I would say you know this is for Colorado what I'm describing, but you know most states have the same types. So you'd want to work with an attorney in your state to have it specifically laid out for your state's laws, but the majority of states it's these types of documents Pretty similar.

Speaker 1: 16:54

Yeah, I know New Mexico's are pretty much the same thing in that sense. So, yeah, yeah, can you talk a little bit about? You know, a lot of times people will, you know, create their will or their trust and then it sits somewhere, either with their attorney or in a safe or something, and then they forget about it. Is there, you know? Should we be revisiting these every year, every five or 10 years? Is there a time period you think people should kind of reassess where they're?

Speaker 2: 17:21

at yeah. So I do think it's something that should be a living breathing document. I have some clients that look at it every year, like when they're doing their taxes. They're kind of checking in with me, letting me know where things are. The big things are looking at big changes in your life, right? So birth of a child, purchasing real estate, opening a business, those types of things If someone that you've previously named is no longer appropriate or they've passed away, those types of things. And then I have a big rush of clients that did their estate plans 20 years ago and now they're updating them now. So you kind of get those waves of people who you know did it when the children were very young and now that the children are older, they have grandkids and they have other things that they want to do. But those are kind of the guidelines and you know, I try to check in with my clients every three years, you know, to kind of get any updates to make sure we have everything taken care of.

Speaker 2: 18:18

I think the other piece that is kind of just a helpful tool is to people is if something were to happen to you today, would the people in your life know what accounts you have and where you have them. Yeah, and so that's something that when you work with an attorney, they help you organize. But even this is something you could do right now and just before you're even ready. Just get everything in one place. Get all your insurance accounts, your retirement accounts, where your assets are, because here in Colorado there's over $50 million in our unclaimed property In California it's $9 billion. It's a major problem that people pass away and their family members don't know where their assets are or what they are and we just assume, if something happened to us, people would be able to find it, or that the banks aren't going to come after that year and after a second period of time it's going to go to the state and then, once it's unclaimed, it's going to go back to those accounts and your family's never going to see it.

Speaker 1: 19:24

So just getting everything really organized in one place is really really key to making sure that things pass Absolutely and this is a little bit off, but I've seen you know a lot of stories about it is what happens with, like, our social media accounts and things like that. Is that something that should be included, like maybe our passwords or sign in information, because what happens to those accounts when somebody passes? Can we access those as family members?

Speaker 2: 19:53

Yeah. So I think that's your decision right. If you want, if you want them to have access to it, you can put it. You absolutely like. You can put um, put that in your plan, have, have the passwords, have the information in place so that they know and can access it. But you know that's okay too.

Speaker 1: 20:16

Yeah, I've just seen people. You know somebody will pass away and then the account just sits there and it's live and it's an active. It's not active but it's still a live account and families don't have sign-ins and they're not able to shut it down without the sign-in information.

Speaker 1: 20:34

Yeah, yeah, yeah account and families don't have sign-ins and they're not able to shut it down without the sign-in information. So yeah, yeah, so kind of on that too. I think you talked about a little bit earlier about having this rush of people recently that have come. You know what are the thoughts behind. We're in a global pandemic and it's been heartbreaking to see so many people pass. Are there things that we can do right now to be prepared? If you know, the absolute worst kind of thing happens?

Speaker 2: 20:59

Yeah, so I definitely think speaking with an attorney in your area to kind of set up a plan is the smartest thing to do.

Speaker 2: 21:09

Yeah, and those things you know, I think especially you know I've seen at the beginning of the pandemic I saw a lot more tragic stuff where someone would be in the hospital and their loved ones couldn't get a hold of them or talk to them because they didn't have the right releases.

Speaker 2: 21:29

It seems like a lot of hospitals are working through that right now and it wasn't as like it was complete chaos at the beginning and it's a lot better. I, you know, I always recommend you know people if they know that they're going in for a procedure. A lot of times those, the place that you're going into a procedure with, will have documents that you can sign ahead of time just for that specific situation as far as who you'd want for health decisions and things like that. So you can always do that as a short term. But, yeah, as a long term, you know, speaking with an attorney in your area, you know who specializes in estate planning and you know most attorneys will do a free initial consultation, so you can kind of get things set up the way that would really best protect your family for your personal situation.

Speaker 1: 22:19

Changing the kind of the direction or subject here. Can you touch a little bit on what we should know about long-term care insurance? I think some people just assume that we can fall back on that, but sometimes there's some hiccups or things that we have to be aware of. Can you kind of give us an outline of that?

Speaker 2: 22:36

Yeah, I do not sell long-term care insurance, so I'm not a long-term care insurance, so that's the caveat I will share with you. So I do think long-term care insurance is a good option. The thing to keep in mind is that long-term care insurance doesn't cover everything, right? So I think that's the thing to keep in mind is that long-term care insurance doesn't cover everything, right? So, um, I think that's the thing that people get shocked by or surprised by is that long-term care insurance and I think it protects everything and it it I mean it will cover everything that doesn't? Um, I do think all insurance is better to purchase earlier. Um, before you, life insurance is the same way. So I think I tend to have more conversations.

Speaker 2: 23:18

My clientele a lot of them don't have life insurance, so a lot of times I'm talking to them as like that's their priority, is like let's get some life insurance, and then they do the long-term care and life insurance is an important piece for your planning too.

Speaker 2: 23:33

It's super affordable if you're healthy and you do it young. I also don't sell life insurance, but there's really great policies you can buy for your children when they're children and then they can take over when they're older, and so it prevents them from ever being excluded down the road, because you buy it when they're younger, so it's a really great tool. There are a lot of attorneys that really specialize in elder care and when you there are strategies. If you have a loved one that has a diagnosis of Alzheimer's or is getting to that stage and they don't have long-term care insurance, you can speak with an elder law attorney and they can do some planning so that you know you can do Medicaid set-aside trusts. You can do specific types of trusts that can still preserve what's there, because it's really really expensive to be in hospitalizations and assisted living and things like that. So, yeah, there's some really good tools that you can use for that as well.

Speaker 1: 24:32

Awesome, Thank you. How do we so? You also talked about kind of building a lasting legacy. What are things that we can do to do that? How do we focus on that?

Speaker 2: 24:41

Yeah. So I think you know everything we've been talking about is all the legal stuff, getting that in place, yeah, but I think when push comes to shove, when you're gone, you know your loved ones aren't going to. They're not going to be like snuggling up with a binder of legal documents right To remember you. No, they're not, at least. Yeah, no more. So you know, I always share the story.

Speaker 2: 25:05

I had a colleague who her father passed away and she just had a voicemail from him that was just like call me back. You know, one of those just standard ones you get from your parents, and he died unexpectedly and he probably she probably listened to it. You know, every week, you know just to hear his voice. So how much more memorable could it be to have something recorded that is a little bit longer, right? So I always encourage my clients to do love letters or legacy interview. So one thing you can do is and nowadays we all can do it with our smartphones take the time to do some recordings, either on video or audio, for your family and just tell them you know really simple things like what you love most about them, what your hopes are for their future, what advice, what your top pieces of advice are. Or you know, valentine's Day is around the corner. I don't know when this is going to be published, but you know, write a love letter to them, like to your spouse, to your kids, to the people that mean a lot to you, and then tell someone where they are. You can share it with them in life or you can share it with them tell someone where you've kept it. But those, those are kind of the pieces. Your, your, your larger legacy are those insights and stories. So we always get those started with our clients and encourage them to do it. And there's so many great resources out there of other questions and books and things like that. But that's the way to keep it simple. You can also start a journal and journal things, but those are the things that your family is going to really really appreciate.

Speaker 2: 26:42

And I was just talking to another colleague who really tragically, her brother passed away. He's a young guy with young children. It was not expected, but she had done his estate plan a few years earlier and she had done the legacy interview with him and recorded all these sweet messages where it was just like in an afternoon with her as the lawyer going through, lawyer going through and the family, like the children and the wife. They're just so happy to have it. That was the thing that they're most grateful for and they probably would he probably would have never done that. I mean, he was in such great health. So it's really heartbreaking when those things happen and hopefully that never happens to you, but you can really leave such a beautiful gift for that.

Speaker 1: 27:25

Yeah, I mean I love that you're doing that. I don't think I know a ton of attorneys and I don't think I've ever heard of an attorney kind of building that into like the will trust process and what an amazing thing to leave behind. It's such a good idea. I love it, thank you, yeah, yeah. So what are some of the things we've talked kind of about having?

Speaker 2: 27:58

the will and the trust. What are some of the things that are really important to include in it or maybe not include in the will and trust? Are there tips on either side with someone that can customize it for you and your family's needs? So, I mean, I work with families that are blended families, and I think that those are the ones that you, that there's some things that you want to think about. Right, like you want to think about in a blended family if you've been remarried, planning in a way so that you're, if something were to happen to you, your spouse, your new spouse, is not getting into fights with their stepchildren and you're not creating conflict. So there's a lot of things you can do to build things in, to kind of head off some of those types of things.

Speaker 2: 28:39

Yeah, I think the biggest issue that I see people doing is they set up a living trust on a website like LegalZoom or one of those other online websites and then they don't transfer everything into the trust, and so that's probably the biggest mistake that I see, and so if you create one of those trusts online, it's really important to transfer everything to the trust, and then, a lot of times, some of those online DIY.

Speaker 2: 29:09

And then a lot of times, some of those online DIY I'm all about, you know, trying to find affordable solutions, but a lot of times they give a false sense of security. That's the thing that irks me the most about it. It's a little bit like diagnosing yourself on WebMD, right? Yeah, absolutely yeah. I've just seen so many of those where people create them online and there's mistakes or they've left things out and there's big holes. So there is. It is worth it to seek some professional advice. I mean, I'm biased what I do because I'm passionate about making sure people don't end up in probate and end up with problems down the road like you go to your life insurance company or your bank account and you have your trust named on those accounts, or how?

Speaker 2: 30:14

does that work? Yeah, so it's going to be specific based on you, but generally speaking, your life insurance accounts you'd update the beneficiary designations to the trust. If you hold real estate, you do a quick claim deed to the trust. If you hold real estate, you transfer the. You do a quick claim deed to the trust. It would depend on the state too. So there's some. Some states have other things that you would do to update to the trust.

Speaker 2: 30:34

So you'd want to work with a lawyer. I keep saying that this is not legal advice. Legal education, education, education. In order for it to be legal advice, we'd have to sit down and you'd have to hire me. We'd have to have a specific conversation about your specific needs. So, but generally speaking. And then certain types of retirement accounts, depending on the tax, you know, sometimes you have the primary as your spouse and the secondary is the trust. So you'd want to work with a professional. If you're working with a financial planner or a financial advisor, a lot of times they can help you with it. To work with a professional If you're working with a financial planner or a financial advisor, a lot of times they can help you with it. And then your bank accounts you're bringing the certificate of trust to the bank and having them update the title of the account to the trust.

Speaker 1: 31:14

Absolutely so for someone especially in the Colorado area. Or I will also say I love your website. It's got tons of resources and information on it. I think it's really valuable. How can people connect with you? How can they either hire you to help them get their wills and trusts in place or find information and resources that you help share as well.

Speaker 2: 31:36

Yeah, so my website is lawmothercom and I also have a free legal tool on there where you can name legal guardians for your children for free on there and on Instagram I'm lawmotherco. I also personal family lawyer has a directory of lawyers like me all around the country so you can connect with someone in your area through them.

Speaker 1: 31:59

Yeah, but those are kind of the best ways. Fantastic, thank you for sharing that. So I have one last question for you, but before I get to that question, I just want to recognize you for the work that you're doing. I think it's so, so important. I know I mentioned it a little bit at the top of the show, but this is so, so valuable and it's really game changing for families, who have the documents and everything that they need in order for when, unfortunately, those crises hit, like a health emergency or a hard decision comes up or death. And I love what you're doing to help especially moms, but just families and people in general, to do this. I just wanted to recognize you for that. Oh, thank you, yeah, yeah, absolutely so. My last question for you. Today it's a little different. It's a lot of subject that I ask every guest. What would you recommend or what advice do you have for someone who either wants to make change in their life, in their community or around the world?

Speaker 2: 32:55

Ooh in their life, in their community or around the world. Yeah, I think that, really focusing on your mindset and what the record's playing in your head, I work with a life coach. I went through life coaching training too, just to help with my legal practice, and I really, really, really strongly feel that if you want positive change and you want to make a positive impact, it starts with working through those thoughts and that mindset, and investing in working with a coach to go through. That has been so valuable for me. And a simple way to start is just take a piece of paper and write down all the thoughts that are in your head.

Speaker 2: 33:44

I do that every couple of mornings. I do a brain dump, get all the thoughts and you can see it on a piece of paper. You can challenge those, you can look at those and say like, oh, are these limiting beliefs, are these things that are serving me? Do I want new thoughts? And until you get it out, I find, until I get it out on the paper, it's just you don't notice, you're doing it and you get in these ruts that you can't get past. But once you have it there, you can really look and go does this thought serve me, whenever it is kind of work through the positive change in your life.

Speaker 1: 34:14

I love that. That's been one of my favorite answers for sure. That's fantastic. So thank you very, very much. Thank you. Thanks for having me. Yeah, thank you so much. I'm so grateful.