Why do you think estate planning is a valuable practice area?
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Estate planning allows people and families to avoid a lot of unnecessary hardship. Not having plans in place can cause a whole lot of emotional heartache and financial cost. It is worth doing to protect people from things they simply don’t know can happen.

What’s unique about your state (legally), and why do you think it matters?
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We have the ability to transfer property in a multitude of ways to avoid the probate process.

What’s unique about clients in your area?
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They are generally well-versed in estate planning and very savvy. They make estate planning unique because of the interesting and well-thought-out situations.

‍Why is Oath right for your clients?
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We spend the time to make sure the plans are the correct ones for our clients. We don’t hide options, and we let our clients choose the best options while being well-informed of what those options will provide to their loved ones and families.

What are the state-specific documents that you prepare for clients, and why?
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Power of Attorney, Healthcare Representatives, HIPAA, Living Wills, Transfer on Death Deeds, Regular Wills, Revocable Living Trusts, and Protection Trusts. I provide a plethora of estate planning documents to help people avoid issues while they are alive and also once they have passed. Every person’s situation is unique, and not everyone fits inside a pre-planned bucket.

What do you estimate the longest possible probate is in your state?
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They can go on forever if you have the money. Generally, three years is not unheard of, especially when there is property that is not able to sell readily. The average is six months, though.

What story do you tell at your workshops?
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I let people know about my own personal story with my grandparents going through probate. We had issues with personal items disappearing, documents that were not up to date, and, in the worst cases, backups taking control of situations. It was the emotional, expensive nightmare that got me into estate planning.

What’s the most impactful story you’ve had from one of your clients?

Being able to set up a trust while someone was incapacitated to help avoid probate before they passed is a story I have experienced a few times. Usually, this is a spouse who is under the knife in surgery and is not going to wake up, but they have property still individually in their name. If they have a POA, which in this situation they do, then it's a last-minute rush to get deeds and property transferred. That allows people to avoid dealing with the probate process while they are grieving, which gives me a lot of joy. No one needs to deal with that when a loved one has passed, and no one needs to pay tens of thousands of dollars needlessly to go through probate.

What are your three favorite communities that you visit on your travel schedule?
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Carmel, Fishers, Noblesville.

Have you ever had a client you couldn’t help because they reached out too late?‍

Yes, they did not become a client because of incapacity issues. When people wait too long, sometimes there is really nothing I can do for them depending on the time involved. Guardianship takes a long time to really set up in Indiana.

What do clients ask most at your workshops, and how do you answer it?‍

They ask how to avoid probate without a trust. I let them know that it can be done in Indiana, but it does have some possible drawbacks and disadvantages. I generally want to walk everyone through their specific scenario to see if that would be a good idea or not.