“Settling One’s Estate.“
This is the turn of phrase that we use after someone dies – “settle their estate.” And it is an activity that is easier said than done in a lot of cases. Mainly because we are complex people and we have complex estates. From retirement accounts to life insurance, real estate and personal property. There are just A LOT of things to settle.
And generally, we are asked to settle all these things in the midst of grief.
My friend Murph and I have both been a part of settling the estates of our fathers.
Murph and I have been friends for a couple of decades – despite his many moves and general inability to communicate well via text. We have many things in common – a love of food and travel, a corny sense of humor – but one of the saddest is that we both lost our dads too early.
And it was out of the differences between handling these two men’s estates that my vision for Bloom Legal Group was born.
Murph’s dad, Sid, was a planner. He died suddenly – unexpectedly. But he left behind a binder that contained everything Murph needed to settle his estate. Every number, every contact, passwords, instructions. I think Sid wrote his own obituary. It may seem morbid to have all of this done, but as someone on the other side of it, I see it as a kindness. It was a kindness to Murph who had space to grieve and didn’t have to stress about details or finding names and numbers for insurance or retirement funds.
My dad had talked with me about estate planning, but I never got around to it. He died suddenly – unexpectedly. And my mom and I were left to find important documents and wade through details while being more sad than I could ever imagine. We had to re-title vehicles and find insurance documents. We had to come up with all the words to describe a life that we just lost.
After my dad died, I was convinced that everyone needs to be a little bit more like Sid. Providing a road map to a life so the rest of us can finish the journey. Bloom Legal Group was born a couple of years later with the hope of showing people the type of kindness Murph was shown and to avoid the hardness I endured. When you come to Bloom, you not only receive your legal documents – a will, general durable power of attorney and medical power or attorney – but you also receive a binder. In the binder we provide places for you to keep all of the important documents, phone numbers and information so that when you are gone, those left behind can settle your estate and have all the room they need to grieve.
If you are ready to put a plan in place to give your loved ones peace of mind, contact us today and we’ll set up a time to meet!