0:01 Who [music] are you? And where are you going? What do you want? [music] Hello and welcome to Trust & Estates Weekly. I'm your host Kevin Bemmel and I'm here every Monday at 10:00 a.m. Pacific time to talk about estate planning and and trust and probate administration from the perspective of professionals like myself and my guest Melissa whom I'll introduce in just a moment, but
0:36 also for those of you who are maybe you were appointed the executor of your parents' trust. This is not what you do for a living and now you're trying to navigate your way through this opaque process. So hopefully this will give you some information and an ability to speak with your advisors in a more cogent fashion. So today and I'm I'm I'm very happy to um have on the show all the way from Georgia the the state where some of some of my good friends who have left California have moved Melissa Holcomb.
1:12 Melissa is a senior advisor with Child Free Trust and you know as as is the the practice here on the show. Well first of all Melissa welcome and thank thanks for coming on.
1:23 >> Thank you for having me.
1:24 >> Yeah, you're welcome. Absolutely. So if you would start out just tell us a little bit about yourself so viewers can can get to know you a bit and and and understand your background and and you know how you came to to be with Child Free Trust cuz it's it's an interesting story.
1:45 >> Okay, sure. Thank you. Uh well, I'm a social worker and I've been a social worker for over 30 years now. Um most of my work has been with children and families and youth Uh the bulk of my work first with family and children services and then with the school system and working with families who were experiencing homelessness. So that's been the bulk of my work for 30 years. However, during those 30 years I always had what I call passion projects or side
2:20 projects where I was able to work with students. So I worked as a faculty at Jumpstart for several colleges and worked with Bachelor of Social Work students. I was able to do some counseling for people who have lost their pets. Some some grief counseling with that. And then my most recent work with people who are had had guardianship filed at probate court. So providing competency
2:55 evaluations for those guardianship cases. And I started doing that work and what I realized is that I was coming in at a time when if if I found the person incompetent then they didn't have a lot of choices or they weren't at a position where they could make choices and they didn't have plans set into place. So there were no powers of attorney set and there were no different scenarios that and people taking care of them.
3:31 So basically they left it up to the court to decide. And you know, our judges that I've worked with they're they're wonderful people but they're not mind readers. And so they'll do the best that they can do in making those decisions for a person and in the guardianship but sometimes people ended up with sub-optimal situations [clears throat] and it really it really got to me and the point of you know, wanting to reach out to these people and wanting to reach out to everybody basically and say please
4:07 plan. Please plan. And on the flip side of that, I'll get a little personal. After 30 years, I was divorced. And I realized that after that divorce, if anything happened to me, the person making my decisions would be my 80-year-old daddy.
4:24 >> Mhm.
4:25 >> I love him dearly and I would never put him in that position.
4:30 >> Yeah.
4:30 >> So those things, those those situations, being personally involved and then also going out professionally and seeing this. I was listening [clears throat] to Childfree Wealth with Jay, Dr. Jay, and he was starting to talk about his new program, their new program, Childfree Trust. And basically what Childfree Trust does is it steps in for people who don't have children. Who you know, need that support, that next of kin support, the power of attorney for medical and power of
5:06 attorney for financial. And when I was listening, I was like, that's it. That's what I want to do. So I called Jay, I reached out via LinkedIn and got in touch with Jay and after maybe two phone calls, then we were we were set. He said, you're coming to work with with us and I said, okay.
5:33 >> [laughter]
5:34 >> So I want to dig a little bit more deeply into something you mentioned a moment ago. You talked about you know, judges are not mind readers and and and that's that's true here in California. I suspect that's you know true everywhere, right? Most judges I think want to do the best they can, but you know, oftentimes the information is limited or there's arguments going on. It's hard to really know where the truth lies. And you said that that sometimes they come out with
6:09 or they the result is a sort of sub-optimal you know, solution. So I mean without you know, disclosing any kind of you know, private information give us if you can an example of a a situation where the result was sub-optimal so people can kind of put you know, flesh to that that issue. I mean, I think we all know sub-optimal means not as good as it could be of course, but I I think to to put the real human face
6:45 on that and the results of it is is important.
6:49 >> Okay. Sure. And so what I've seen in my years working in the situation with these families, um oftentimes you know, guardianship will fall to a relative. And if you have children, it may fall to a relative to to a child to take care of you to do these things that that you need to do or that they need to do to take care of you. Um that doesn't necessarily guarantee that that person is very good at doing that job. Especially if there's money involved and care involved. Um you know,
7:28 your your child or your relative may not have the same uh idea of how to take care of you and what you want. And you may not be at a point where you can dictate that. Um so I have seen situations where um guardians have gotten in into place and assets were sold when they weren't supposed to be sold or that was against the wishes of the person or you know the person was moved directly into a nursing home and that was not their wish. They wanted to age in place.
8:04 So it just you are at the mercy a lot of times of that person that has gotten the guardianship of you because they are in they act as a parent over you. Once guardianship takes place there can be some safeguards in there but most often courts will do a blanket guardianship. And so what that means is that the the guardian is over where you live, who you see, what doctors you go to, you know, what medications you you get or don't get, what what treatments you
8:40 get or don't get, those sorts of things. And so it's it's good that you can have a family member do it but you really want to set some safeguards into place to ensure that if it is a family member or if it is a friend that has stepped in that they know what you want and it's set down in the court work.
9:03 >> Got you. Now I know here in California um there is a distinction between a a guardian and a conservator. And and although there are situations where a guardian could be appointed for an adult, um it's typically where the adult uh basically lacks capacity for some reason other than for example age. So you can you could have a guardian ad litem or something like that. Whereas conservatorship is typically for you know an adult who for
9:38 various reasons is unable to handle, you know, his or her finances or maybe you know, we have both guardianships of the person and guardianships of I mean um conservatorships of the person and conservatorships of the estate, right? So, when you're talking about a guardian um to to whom does that term apply so people can also understand, you know, that aspect of of the concern that you're raising?
10:08 >> Sure, that's a great question because you know, the legal terms are different in different states. And a guardian can be a guardian of a child as well as a guardian of an adult. So, you know, some of the same legal terms are used in different ways. Typically, what we look at is when you have guardianship, there are two separate sides to guardianships. So, it can be a guardianship of finances which is often called a conservatorship.
10:37 >> Mhm.
10:37 >> And that person would take care of your day-to-day bills, any um selling of your house or paying for your your house payment and using your funds to um make sure that you're taken care of. So, they can uh you know, sell your stocks, anything that they need to do in order to take care of you. So, that would be the guardianship of finances or the conservator. Then the guardianship of person, that's usually it can be referred to as as a healthcare proxy.
11:10 >> Okay.
11:11 >> And that's the person that makes those medical decisions for you. That makes those living decisions for you and those sorts of things.
11:20 >> Got you. Okay. So, uh the the the gap that that child-free trust is addressing, that you're addressing, is where uh someone either doesn't have a relative to step into the guardian's role or I suppose maybe they do, but for various reasons that person may not be um the the the the proper candidate, I guess. So, um how
11:56 how is that assessment made? Or how maybe the better question is how should that assessment be made? So, I'll take myself, right? I I guess like you, I there's nobody, you know, no child who can step into that role for me. In theory, I guess I could have my, you know, 92-year-old mother that would be my guardian, um but probably not a good idea to burden her with that. Um I suppose I could have my older sister, uh you know, play that role, um but again, she's she's got a very um busy life and not that she
12:33 wouldn't do it, of course she would, but it would be a tremendous burden on her. Right? So, so, you know, so here here here I'm your, you know, your, uh you know, prospective client, I guess. Uh what, you know, what would you be, you know, what would you be advising me to be thinking about in in regard to this this issue?
12:56 >> Right. So, with child-free trust, um 25% of the population is uh child in America is child-free, what's considered child-free. So, they don't have any um living children, they don't have any stepchildren, and they don't have any um birth children, and they are going to be child-free. That's their decision. Now, about 4% of that 25% um are child-free because of maybe some medical concerns uh or uh reasons that they couldn't have children. The The other 21% are uh
13:31 people who have decided that they're going just to remain child-free. And 11% of those, I believe it's 11%, uh are over age 55. And so we work with, you know, people who are child-free. And um [clears throat] So what we what we do is we can we provide all of the uh legal documentation. Uh so we help someone create their will. Uh we help someone create the trustee um paperwork and then also the power of
14:06 attorney for medical and financial. And we can serve in those roles. Now we can also be a backup. Uh which means that uh you can name one, two, three different people that you want in succession, not at same time but in succession, maybe to step into that role. However, if it doesn't work out, then you know, our trust company would be the one that would step in at the very last. So it doesn't have to be a situation where we're that first person involved. And so say you you
14:41 did all of this documentation and you decided that you wanted uh our trust company to be your power of attorney for financial. And you get um you get a diagnosis of dementia. At some point, once that diagnosis has happened, uh you will enact that POA. That power of attorney. And at that point, the trust company would take over all of your bill pay. And take over all of uh all of the day-to-day financial um dealings. And
15:16 the greatest thing about our program is we have what's called care documents. And I always say that the um the will and the trust and the POAs, those are legal documents and those are the bones of our program. But the the heart of our program is actually the care documents. And in these care documents, that's where you are putting everything down. That's where you're listing you know, your assets, that you're listing your uh
15:43 >> So I'm just I'm going to have you hold that for just a minute. Let's take a quick break cuz I really want to dig into this part.
15:48 >> Okay.
15:50 >> [snorts]
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16:29 or visit magnumprops.com. So I think, you know, this is really, I guess, the core because any well, not any, but there's there's a lot of lawyers um who can draw up a trust, they can draw up a durable power of attorney, um you know, a um health care, you know, directive um and and and there's also places one can go online and and do it. Although, in general, I don't advise that. I think that's problematic for many reasons. But so you
17:04 mentioned the care document. So l- let's climb into that, if you would, and and explain what are they, why are they important uh you know, for for for the for the people who are um, involved with Child Free Trust.
17:21 >> Sure. Sure. Uh, the the care documents they cover a wide range of things and they will cover things like um, you know, who you want to have your assets afterwards. They they kind of coincide with the the will. Uh, you know, how you want some things divided. But they're the document that we look at if something happens and you're capaci- incapacitated. But you haven't passed away. How do you want to be treated? You know, do you have a DNR? Um, do you have a living will?
17:56 Uh,
17:56 >> [clears throat]
17:57 >> you know, if you have to be in a nursing home or if you have to be in a rehabilitation facility, you where where do you want to go? Um, what sort of um, interventions do you want? Do you want, you know, every intervention imaginable, uh, which some people do, or do you just want the bare minimum? Um, it covers the day-to-day stuff as far as if if you had a car accident and you were in the hospital and you're you've got the um, number for the Child Free Trust, the emergency room calls that number and automatically everything gets
18:34 starts to to roll into place. So, um, all of the POA documents, all of your medical documents and everything go to that hospital. And we start contacting the people that are on your list of who's going to take care of your dog. You know, you've got your dog there. Um, pets are really important to people. You want to make sure that that that pet is fed and taken out and not just forgotten about in your house. Um, so who's taking care of your dog? Who is going to get your mail? Um, all of these different things you roll out into your care document. And if
19:09 you don't have people, because sometimes there are no people around. Maybe you don't have any friends or your friends have passed. You know, as my daddy got older, his he had a a large group of friends, but then they started to pass and he was one of the only ones left. Uh so if you don't have those supports, identifying professionals in the area, aging care managers, uh senior centers, those sorts of things. Starting to really dig into that and really plan. Because not having a plan is just not an option
19:45 um for your future.
19:47 >> Yeah. Yeah. I I mean it it it it it's interesting what you mentioned about your father. My my mother, too, you know, we were talking about this just um I think it was last week. She's outlived, you know, most of I think almost all of her friends. That's just the reality, right? As people get older. And I I honestly I never I I I'm blessed to have a lot of friends, but I never really thought about that as an issue that, you know,
20:15 >> [laughter]
20:16 >> I'm just assuming I'm going to you know, they're they're going to I'm they're going to you I'm going to predecease them, you know, but I realize that may not be the case. I've been, you know, sort of working on getting some younger friends. [laughter]
20:29 >> Same. Same.
20:31 >> So, [clears throat] which which was which is which has been terrific, by the way.
20:34 >> [laughter]
20:35 >> It's it's really you know, it enriched my life and and you know, belied this whole thing about how you know, young people are so whatever. Uh So, you you raised an important issue and we hear about this from from time to time where someone will have a pet and for whatever reason, you know, they're not able to be home or or, you know, whatever. And the next thing you know, the pet has, you know, starve start, you know, God forbid starve to death or something. So, I I I mean, I think that's
21:11 I mean, how how does, you know, how do you how do you deal with that? I I mean I mean, it's not like, you know, you can sort of here here's a bottle of water, here's here's a bag of food, right? I mean, pets need you know, they they need well, cats don't so much, but but dogs anyway,
21:32 >> [laughter]
21:32 >> you know, need attention, right? So, um how how do you how do you deal with that? Um you know, as as as as, you know, part of sort of discharging your responsibilities.
21:46 >> Mhm. Mhm. What we do, we have a pet care emergency plan that clients will fill out and list all of the foods and medications and uh because, you know, you don't want to feed a dog a food that they're not familiar with. They're that won't go well. Um
22:05 >> [laughter]
22:06 >> but all of their foods, all of their medications, their vet, all of these different aspects, and that is also included in the care documents uh or with the care documents so that the trust company can call your vet, let them know what's going on. Possibly, the vet would be the person that would keep your dog for you while you were incapacitated. Because sometimes these are very short periods of time. They may go into longer periods of time, but we don't know. But it the having that peace of mind to know that if something
22:41 happens and I am not conscious and I need all of these things to be taken care of, that someone is on a professional is on the other end that is starting to make those contacts uh in your area and reach out to those people, the people that you want to be contacted, and also, you know, not reaching out to the people you would not want to be contacted because that sometimes that's just as important.
23:05 >> Yeah. Yeah. Yes, there are people in our lives who would delay our recovery if that were imminent, so
23:12 >> Exactly.
23:13 >> How how How does one keep up-to-date? I'm focused on the pet angle just because I I I I I think, you know, for a lot of people who don't have children, they do have pets, right? And and that would be I I would think a a major you know, burden on their mind. So, you know, medications change from time to time or, you know, foods change or whatever. So, how does one, you know, keep up-to-date, you know, with that and and how how does
23:49 all that work?
23:51 >> Right. Right. Okay, good question. So, all of the care documents are online and you can go in and make changes regularly, anytime something changes. I actually recommend maybe once every month, every 2 months to go in and take a look at that those documents and just think think it through. Has anything changed here? Do we need to Do I need to move this person's remove this person's name because they've moved away. Do I need to you know, add some medication either in my own list of things or or for the you know, for the pet.
24:27 Those sorts of things. So, with the care document you can go in at any time and make changes. With the legal documents, once those are filled out and they're printed off and you take them to have them notarized and send them back in, they're in effect. However, when you want to make changes, all you have to do is go in, make those changes, print the documents off again, have them notarized and mail them back in. So, there's no charge no additional charge for that.
24:58 >> Got you.
24:58 >> So you can make you can make changes at any time.
25:01 >> And and and those those documents that need to be, you know, signed in front of a notary, which which are those documents? And and and how you know, what would be a situation where someone I'm you know, unlike the change of a medication, right? That's that's pretty pretty simple. But what might be a triggering event, if you will, that would necessitate that kind of change?
25:30 >> Oh, okay. Um so if you if you had already filled out your will and your spouse, say your spouse got um you know, so many assets or so so much stuff in the will um but your spouse predeceases you.
25:45 >> Mhm.
25:45 >> Then [clears throat] you would want to go in and change your will.
25:48 >> Got you. Okay. Okay. So we're talking about the will, the trust, the um the durable power of attorney, the health care directive. Those are the as being kind of the four primary documents. So
26:01 >> Exactly.
26:02 >> Got you. Got you. Now um that bring you that brings up another aspect of this. So um for I don't know why, but I was thinking oh, you know, child free and child free person, it's someone who's single. But I guess there there can be child free couples for various reasons. It it could be for whatever reason they just weren't they wanted children, but weren't able to have them or they chose not to have them. So uh talk if you would a little bit about that, because in in a case like that, it would seem well well, you know, um the spouses would uh you know, take
26:39 care of each other. Hopefully. Um so what would be the concerns there? Uh you know, with with respect to um you know, the issues you're raising vis-a-vis, you know, being child-free.
26:56 >> Right. Right. And you're right. Um, most times spouses, they're going to take care of each other. And so they would be named as their own power of attorney uh for for their spouse. Um, and but what happens if you're both in a car wreck? Um, and so your spouse can't make those decisions for you, and you can't make them for yourself. Then you've got that backup of the child-free trust. Um, so in a situation like that. Also, uh a lot of people come together later in life. And so they have separate finances.
27:30 >> Mhm.
27:31 >> Um, and so you may if something happens to you and you're incapacitated, you may not want your spouse to have access to all of those funds. It may be a trust issue. It may just be logistics. Um, you know, in today's world, we have to um kind of watch out for the different possibilities. You you hope for the best, and you plan for the worst. Um, so in that respect, each person in the couple would have their own child-free trust account. And they can name each other,
28:07 and you can do all kinds of uh variations. But in the end, uh the trust company would be the one that would be that backstop if something happened to both of you.
28:21 >> Okay. Okay. Yeah, and and and yeah, yeah, that that certainly makes sense. Um, I certainly from a from a, you know, successor uh position. But yes, of course, people can become incapacitated together. And uh and now, you know, what do you do? So, um actually, let's take another quick break, and and we'll talk a little bit more. Probate and Trust TV, your curated source for the most useful and insightful content on estate planning
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29:31 you know, as I as I I think about all the various issues, um I guess this this whole thing seems uh so massive. Um Wow. If if if, you know, God forbid I were incapacitated, how would anybody even know to, you know, contact you? What is the mechanism that
30:06 um sort of triggers uh you know, Childfree as as the, you know, basically the office that's going to look after me? How how How does it know that there's a need for intervention, I guess, is the best way to put it.
30:22 >> Mhm. Mhm. [clears throat] Um basically, it would be like any next of kin type situation where you would maybe have it on your phone. Uh so, the emergency contact on your phone. You would have a card to carry in your wallet. Um that the um medical provider could look at and then make that contact. So, the hope is that uh those entities, those medical entities would would reach out and contact us. And then in the situation of you maybe some uh dementia or cognitive decline, you
30:59 would have a a trusted person listed that could contact us and make those arrangements or or start to uh get things in motion, I guess, would be the the way. And uh so, there's just you would treat it just as a next of kin situation.
31:17 >> Gotcha. Gotcha.
31:19 >> And you had touched on earlier, I didn't mean to cut you off, but
31:22 >> No, no, go ahead, please.
31:23 >> [laughter]
31:23 >> You had touched on earlier about in California that uh they do have people who provide medical power of attorney. Uh one of the things that uh Jay, Dr. Jay had found when he had childfree wealth clients is that the childfree wealth clients didn't have their documentation in place. And they didn't have their documentation in place because there was no one to list for all of these roles. And so, started searching high and low, basically, to to find that. And it was easy to find that power
31:58 of attorney um for financial. That's not a problem at all. You can use a lawyer, you can use um you know, very since sundry uh people. But, no one wanted to do that medical power of attorney. And so, there were only a couple of states, I think it's California and Arizona, I think are the two states that actually have uh professional power of attorney for medical. And the rest of the United States, they just don't have those services. There may be pockets where some attorneys will serve in those roles or some trust
32:33 companies will serve in those roles, but then it's not a uniform uh situation, and so that was the main reason that Child Protective came about.
32:43 >> Got you. And And that is the case. So, in California, I actually I This is the license under which I practice. It would professional fiduciary license, and it does um authorize me or permit me to handle kind of both sides, the financial and the personal care. Uh I I don't do personal care because I don't have the knowledge to do that. Um but it But it In fact, I think the the vast majority of professional fiduciaries in California are on the sort of person care side as opposed to the financial side cuz they're coming
33:18 out of the health care world. Um And it's interesting in Arizona does have a license, but it only applies to the person care side. There In Arizona, there's no license for handling the financial side of things. So, as far as I know, those are the you know, the only two states where it's a a license profession. So, that's a Uh yeah.
33:39 >> [laughter]
33:39 >> That was a perceptive uh you know, um It's It's thing for uh for for for Dr. Jay. So, Uh uh um How How you So, you I'm I'm going to kind of go back to the care plan for at least for a minute. Um the care plan I I assume is um the guidance that you use in order to handle things in accordance with a person's wishes.
34:15 >> Mhm.
34:15 >> Um What happens if for I I could, you know, come up with any number of reasons, it's just not possible to comply with the care plan. You know, I mean, maybe there's there's just not the, you know, the funds to support it or something like that. So, so what happens then?
34:43 >> What happens then is, you know, the trust would take all of the information that you've supplied in the care documents and they would make the best possible arrangements that they could make for you. You know, you had mentioned earlier that a fiduciary duty. So, the trust company has a fiduciary duty. They have a legal duty to do what's in your best interest. And so, they will do everything possible to get things exactly the way you've described them or want them, but reality sometimes is that you may not have the money to do certain things or you may not
35:21 there may not be enough resources out in the community to provide say, you know, in in-home care that's not nursing care, but is more more of a going shopping for you, doing your bills and those sorts of things. So, they would of course work with you to the extent that you could be worked with, you know, depending on on how incapacitated you are. And they would use your care documents and make that best decision for you.
35:53 >> Okay. Yeah, um I guess, you know, in the end what else what else can be done, right? I mean, you have to deal with the situation as it is. What would happen in a Let's say that someone uh you know, has has a child, um however, for various reasons um they've decided that that child isn't, you know, the right person to handle things, right? And so, they engage Childfree to you know, to fill that role um and
36:32 and then the you know, the child gets upset and and they you know, they're you know, they were counting on on getting a hold of you know, mom or dad's money for example. So uh how how how would how would child-free uh handle a situation like that?
36:52 >> Right. At this point, we only serve people who are child-free. Uh they they cannot have any living children even if they are estranged from them or if they don't want them to serve in those roles. This has come up the the question the concern um has come up a lot uh with the people that we've talked to and we're working on possibly, you know, partnering in a different way or developing um some sort of comparable program for people with estranged children, but as you just uh
37:27 as you just stated, it can get legally uh sticky in those situations. So, we only work with uh people who are child-free legally. Um we're hoping also that someone takes our model and runs with it uh to serve people who have children um that may not want them to be that person. Uh if your if your child doesn't have the mental capacity to do it, not uh you know, at least to your standards and those sorts of things. So, uh we're hoping that between those two things,
38:03 people will start to get served because, you know, this is it's necessary for people to have these documentations in place. Uh and if you do it through if you can do it through Child-Free Trust, great. If you can do it another way, great, but just have those conversations and make those plans and do the legal documents. Um because if you don't do it, then the court is stuck having to make those decisions. And the court will tell you that is not something that they want to do.
38:33 >> Yeah. Yeah. I I mean it uh you know, in in a number of my cases, I end up being the one who essentially, on behalf of the court, are making those decisions cuz people die intestate. And now now there's, you know,
38:51 >> [laughter]
38:52 >> a blood feud going on between, you know, the heirs. Um and and so then the court will say, "I think you need to bring in a professional fiduciary." Um and so then I become the at least in theory the neutral party. Um but it's, you know, trying to divine what somebody wants or wanted now that they're gone is, of course, im- impossible. Right? And it also I find there there is no satisfying Well, I shouldn't say it never, but in most cases, there is no
39:27 satisfying the heirs cuz they both or all each heir has, you know, his or her idea of "Well, this is what, you know, Mom wanted." And and they end up being mutually exclusive. And so, yeah, a a a collegial solution is is just not not in the cards. So,
39:49 >> Right. Right.
39:50 >> And it's so painful for family to have to, you know, this is already trying for them. Uh either either their parent has um become incapable of making decisions or they've passed. And you [clears throat] know, trying to make those decisions to the best of their ability. And you're right, they may see things completely different. And they're both convinced that that's the way their parent would have wanted it or that's the way their loved one would have wanted it. So, if do your family and your friends a favor and again, have those those documents in
40:26 place. It makes a huge difference.
40:29 >> Yeah. So, last question here because we're actually getting getting close to to time.
40:37 >> [clears throat]
40:37 >> When
40:39 >> [cough]
40:39 >> excuse me. When um when one of your clients does pass away, right? So, now they they have a will, they have a trust. Um what happens at that point? Does just child-free kind of lateral it off to someone else? Does it continue in the trustee role? Cuz you know, at that point of course, the the powers of attorney don't don't mean anything. The person is is deceased. So, how does that maybe we we might call it kind of the final step? How does that work?
41:14 >> Mhm. Mhm. Little bit of clarification there. Child-free trust, we we work with the uh clients, but we partner with a trust company. Uh Well Trust and they actually provide the power of attorney services as well as the will and the trustee services. And so, they would be involved from the from the very beginning of anything being implemented. And so, they would, you know, do everything that's required for um providing the will, you know, getting the the house sold, dividing up the the
41:51 properties, and doing everything that is in compliance with the person's wishes.
41:58 >> Okay. Okay. So, so the trust company then steps it it it it's all it's really already in the role of the trustee and the the administrator. So, then they will follow through on on role and make sure that everything ends up getting ends up happening the way it should. Okay.
42:15 >> Absolutely. Yes.
42:16 >> Very good. Very good. Well, Melissa, this is this is really been en- enlightening. It's it's an a- and it's an aspect that I really haven't investigated on the show too often. I I think it's largely because we think of, you know, everybody has kids. Of course, that's not true as you pointed out. Um and so then what what do those people do? Um kind of last thoughts that you you want to um you know, express before we wrap things up.
42:43 >> Um I think just the biggest thing is is make a plan. Um [clears throat] not having a plan is is not a good plan. And uh it's I think it's just best to have that in place and and then you don't have to worry about it because it gives you so much more freedom than if you didn't have those things in place.
43:03 >> Right. Right. So, you know, for those of you who are interested in learning more about this, I'm going to bring up this is the um Childfree Trust website. It's at uh I think it's childfreetrust.com, right?
43:16 >> Yes, sir.
43:17 >> Yeah. And and so you can see um you know, the very here's the you know, how it works, pricing, about them, partners, etc. So, you can you can check this out and um I will also if you look down below in the show notes, you'll see a link to um Melissa's website and all all her contact information is there as well. I'm sure she'll be happy to help you um you know, with this get more information or you know, answer your questions. So, um Melissa, thank you so much for
43:52 joining me today and and and really delving into this im- important topic. I really appreciate it.
43:59 >> Thank you for having me, Kevin.
44:01 >> Yeah. I'll have you hang on just one sec while I wrap up. So, folks, Uh, you know, I I I think, you know, Melissa's key message here is get a plan in place. You hear this from a lot of my guests, and you may be thinking like, "Oh, I hear the same thing show after show." Yeah, there's a reason. It's because only about 25 or 30% of um Americans have any kind of plan in place. And this could Trust me on this, it creates a lot of problems. Whether you have Whether you
44:36 don't have children or whether you do, there's a lot of problems. And and especially if you are unable to care for yourself but still alive, it it really puts you in a in a position where um all kinds of bad things can happen. I'll I'll just summarize it by saying that. So, um I I I encourage you to to dig into this issue um and and and and get it taken care of. And you know, I'm If you If you talk to any professional in in the you know, trust and probate world, you will hear the same thing. It's not And
45:12 it's not just for people who have tons and tons of assets because we're living longer, and even though we may not have a whole lot of assets, we we need to be able to have have ourselves taken care of uh you know, e- e- e- e- even when uh you know, some some not great things happen. So, Um just real quickly then to wrap up my uh list of or my uh slate of shows, Monday, like today, at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, Trusts and Estates Weekly. Tuesdays at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time,
45:47 Business Lessons from the Military. Wednesdays at 10:00 a.m. Pacific Time, People Making Money. And thur- every other Thursday at 5:00 p.m. Pacific Time, join me at Jigger's Place for a cocktail and a schmooze. We talk about all kinds of things that have nothing to do with finances. So, a lot of opportunities for us to be together during the week. So, Melissa, again, thank you so much for joining me on the show today. It was a really lovely conversation. And that just leaves me to sign off as I
46:22 always do, which is to remind you, Marie darling, you are my bell. Courage at all times, my friends.